How Many is Too Many?
It is so tempting when we are out of space to plant roses too close together. And then, when we are out of sunny spots, we kid ourselves by believing that some roses will be okay growing in the shade or under trees.
Roses are sun lovers. Roses planted in the shade will not bloom as much and fungal diseases and pests will be constant companions to roses planted in inappropriate locations. Roses need six to eight hours of sun, and they need to be spaced properly (based on their size at maturity) to maintain air circulation which is crucial to preventing disease.
In my garden November is the month of evaluation and reckoning for each of my roses. Should it hold on to its coveted space or make way for a new, better-performing rose? This is the month that I also look for and mark out any remaining new planting locations in my garden for roses. Then I strive to be truthful and answer the question “Are there any appropriate new growing sites left for roses in my garden or is my garden already over-stuffed?” If I determine that my garden is at saturation (it is) and I really have my heart set on some new roses (I do), ‘something has to give’. And this ‘something’ is that some of the roses in my garden will need to get ‘shovel pruned’.
Should it stay or should it go?
A book entitled, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up was recently all the rage. The method the author, Marie Kondo, uses to tidy up a home is very simple. If an item in your home does not “spark joy”, Kondo says it has to go, but in return, she promises that “your life will change dramatically” and “the effects are stupendous.”
In the garden, the performance of each rose matters. Swapping out a non-performing rose for a super-bloomer will probably not make a dramatic change in our life, but it will make a stupendous difference in our garden. To help make the decision easier, try this simple 4-prong query:
a) Start with an examination of conscience. Could the rose’s non-performance be my fault? If the answer is ‘yes’ or ‘maybe’, give the rose a one-year reprieve and resolve to take better care of it.
b) Did the rose ‘spark joy?’ Did the rose give me lots of blooms, or at a minimum were the scant blooms ‘knock-out’ gorgeous? If the answer is no, the rose has to go. A rose should never be dull. And since we are growing roses for their blooms, those rose plants that are stingy with blooms might also be candidates for the shovel.
c) Was it more trouble than it was worth? The blooms on a rose that is a disease- or pest-magnet would HAVE to be ‘super joy-sparkers’. If they are not, there is no excuse and this decision is easy. That rose definitely has to go.
d) One cane ‘wonders’ Is the rose bush down to one or two canes? Some roses don’t put out basal breaks which are the productive new canes that come from the bud union. These desirable new canes shower us with more blooms than old canes. Shoveling roses with only one or two old canes not only makes sense, but it also makes way for those new roses we want.
One last consideration: Only plant what you can take care of
It is said that when you grow roses, you will never be bored as there is always something to do in a rose garden! But if you never stop and experience calming moments of harmony, peace and gratitude in your garden, or if your rose garden tends to look neglected at times, consider whether it is because you have too many plants and not enough time to properly care for them. This question truthfully answered might cause you to stop and recheck your rose shopping list before you head off to the nursery.
