Saturday, February 21, 2009

Oueen Elizabeth' as a hedge

By Jack Dawson

Many gardeners are inclined to look rather askance at the miniature roses and regard them as some kind of modern freak. How such an opinion equates with accepting climbing 30ft (9m) monsters I'm not sure, and it is very unfair because many people with insufficient space for conventional bushes who only have small gardens, patios, terrace pots and tubs, are thereby enabled to grow and enjoy roses.

A frequent cause for disappointment with containers exposed as this one will be is due to direct sunlight on the container sides, which heat up and become hot - you cannot expect roses, or any other plants, to grow with baked roots. One solution may be to use a metal or fibreglass container inside a timber or other attractive outer casing, in which case make sure there is an inch (2.5cm) or so clearance for ventilation and for heat to disperse.

Next spring, prune back the stems that were left last time, and from then on, pruning will consist basically of taking out the one oldest main stem each year. This is easier said than done, especially when some side shoots have shot up through the lacing. The way I always tackled the job was to look carefully at each base, decide which old and perhaps barky stem was for the chop - then reach under and cut it through with long handled loppers. That may take some courage, as there is then no going back - but it is the best way.

Obviously, we cannot remove the redundant stems in one piece, they have to be traced out from the first cut and removed piecemeal. Almost inevitably, you will be bound to miss pieces here and there, but not to worry, they will show out in a day or two as they wilt. Every piece must come out because leaving bits to die and remain is to ask for coral spot fungus to put in an appearance.

Finally, other than to repeat the similarities with the previous question, a climber growing in these conditions provides one of the exceptions to general rules. Dead-heading is good and usual practice in order to prevent a plant dissipating its energies into seed production and to concentrate on new growth for the following season.

Size, however, is one of the problems here, and there is something to be said therefore for allowing this plant to divert some of its energy into producing a hip display for the autumn and winter.

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