There is an increasing interest in rose shows and, therefore, in timing techniques or methods that enable gardeners to grow flowers in perfect condition for exhibition.
Our method of growing roses for this purpose is good but is not guaranteed. Nothing in the growing of roses can be “guaranteed” except the inevitable bugs and blight.
But we believe it will work anywhere in the country often enough to pay off if it is modified to suit varying conditions.
Rose Pruning For Shows And Other Events
Pruning roses to get a burst of bloom for shows or any scheduled event, such as a wedding, differs from regular annual pruning and must not be confused with it. Bushes must not be pruned drastically early in the season.
Then, only tall branches should be cut back slightly; weak canes should be removed, and any that grow horizontally as their foliage will not be symmetrical.
The major rose pruning is done a little later. Authorities differ as to when perhaps because climatic conditions differ.
Many say a flat six weeks are required for an eye to grow into a bloom. Some argue for more time, some for less.
Because we had nothing exact to go by here in Warwick, Virginia, we kept our records for four years and learned by trial and error.
Timing: The experience led us to conclude that the time for major pruning is exactly 58 days before the spring show and 44 days before the fall show. As we have less than 100 rose bushes, we must be careful.
When we have more than one bush of a variety we want to show, and there are several shows in succession, we prune one bush the required number of days before the date of each show. When we have only one bush of a variety, we prune two canes for each show.
After Pruning Care
After pruning, we keep an eye on the weather and the other on the rose bushes. When the season is dry, we flood the beds every 10 days. Leaf feeding — now so popular —has its good points.
In the case of the latter, we feed rose plants through their leaves and roots, using a complete fertilizer and cow manure dissolved in water. When plants are fed heavily, the importance of watering cannot be over-emphasized.
Rose Bud Control
Rose buds must be watched. There are numerous ways of encouraging or retarding bloom. The normal rate of development is learned by experience.
If the weather is unseasonably warm and blooms get ahead of schedule, we withhold water and fertilizer.
Retarding Bloom
One satisfactory way of retarding bloom is wrapping individual buds in aluminum foil which is light (does not weigh buds down) yet insulates them adequately from the hot rays of the sun. If covered when small enough, their opening can be postponed as many as four or five days.
Blooms can also be held back in the refrigerator with little or no damage to their substance. There’s a chance, however, that dark varieties such as Crimson Glory and Mirandy may be a bit in the ice box.
Encouraging Tardy Buds To Open
Tardy buds, those a day or so late in opening, maybe cut the afternoon before the show, put in a container of lukewarm water, and set on a board placed across a bathtub about one-third full of hot water.
If the shower curtain is drawn and the door of the bathroom shut, the steam and humidity will work wonders in making the buds open.
There’s no time for eating and bathing just before a rose show. Anyhow, the refrigerator and bathtub are both full of flowers!
44659 by M. Temple Ballard