 | Rose Care
It was April 15th a couple of years back when the Rose Society of the Ozarks and guests met at the Close Memorial Park Rose Garden in Springfield, Missouri, for a free demonstration on sharpening shears and pruning roses. Here Rose Society president Jack Evans and Jim Buckley get things moving.
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 | Sharpening Shears
Jim Buckley showed how gardeners can produce a beautiful edge to pruner or shear blades by applying an inexpensive diamond hone (the purple object in his right hand) at the correct angle to the blade and giving it a few strokes. Diamond hones are handheld sharpeners that sell for $5.95 and up. They come in coarse, medium, fine, and super-fine "grits" for producing varying degrees of sharpness.
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 | Sam
Sam McGowan, one of the Rose Garden's creators, was ready to get to work.
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 | Culling a Wild One
Sam's first job was clearing out rootstock growth from a 'Fragrant Cloud' rose. When growth breaks from the rootstock below the graft of a variety and takes over the plant's growth, the process is called "reverting to rootstock." It sometimes means losing the grafted rose. |
 | The First Step
The starting point: removing the mulch from around roses. Mulch protects the rose in winter but can serve as a medium for pests and disease during the growing season. Here Steve Selph does the honors.
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 | Teamwork
Rose Society members Bob Wills and Enid Selph teamed up for the cleanup.
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 | How to Prune Roses
Dan Faflak, consulting rosarian with the local Rose Society, gets ready to show exactly how to do it. Dan in 2006 was chosen as a Master Rosarian by the American Rose Society, an honor reserved for folk who've been consulting rosarians for at least 10 years and, among other things, have provided leadership in the ARS Consulting Rosarian program.
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 | Dead Wood
Dead wood on roses is the enemy, says Dan, adding that it all has to go because it serves as a medium for pests and disease. Dan also advises using a sealer to coat rose cuts and protect the plants from cane borers.
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 | Cutting Back to Vigorous Growth
Dan was careful to cut at a slight angle just above a bud pointing in the direction in which he wanted to encourage new growth. We also noticed that unlike many gardeners, he made no effort to save new growth that was obviously weak, but removed it to allow all the plant's energy to go into developing vigorous new growth. For us, this was a valuable lesson.
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 | The Result
The result? A rose with all dead wood and weak or problematic growth removed, even from the bud union. This rose's energy will now all go into producing new, healthy growth.
If you'd like to see this remarkable garden in bloom, surf over to A Rose Garden by clicking on Real Gardens.
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