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andreark

Help!! January in Northern Cal

andreark
9 years ago

I live in the San Francisco Delta area. Winter low temps are mostly down to mid 30s or lower 40s. My plants (40 now) have lost a lot of leaves but not nearly all. Due to my planting schedule, this is my first winter with a lot of leaf loss.

I have read many posts about stripping leaves in Jan or Feb. Many have opposing ideas about this. So HELP!!!

What should I do? Some of my babies are still blooming, Not vigorously, but some flowers.

I have 13 HTs, 4 Kordes, 15 Austins, and the rest 'Various'.

Thanks, andrea

Comments (6)

  • jacqueline9CA
    9 years ago

    Andrea - I also live in the SF Bay Area. Right now we are having a clear, cold spell after all of that rain. When it rains again it will warm up. I am planning on leaving all of my roses alone until Feb, when I will prune them, depending on what kind they are - some do not need pruning at all. I only strip old leaves which are diseased or dead and horrible looking on HTs and Austins.

    Do you have any OGRs?

  • andreark
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thank you Jacqueline. That was exactly what I did last year..

    And no, I don't have any OGRs. Every one that I wanted to plant,
    got to be a very large (and beautiful) plant. I have minimal bed
    space. The largest that will fit into my newer beds can't be more than
    5x4. My first two beds were a little larger, but I didn't even
    know what an OGR was as that time.

    Thanks again,

    andrea

  • roseseek
    9 years ago

    It's easier than you are thinking, Andrea. If you have seen disease and/or insect issues, and particularly if you want to spray (your choice, no judgments), strip the foliage. If you WANT to strip the foliage so you can more easily see the structure of the plants, do it. If you aren't going to spray, don't need to spray, don't want to spray (removing foliage and pruning prior to spraying reduces the amount needed); you haven't seen disease or bug issues or you don't want to strip the foliage, don't. I'm doing some striping because the weather has been perfect for mealy bug and I'm finding some on some of my roses and many of my clients' plants. I'm not spraying anything, but I am cleaning the areas and cutting off any infestations I find. I figure much of the issue will be eliminated by the freezes we're experiencing. If they aren't, I'll consider using something innocuous later, after the freezes and any rains (PLEASE!) we experience.

    There are positives and negatives for and against both practices, just as there are with all other facets of gardening (and life!). You aren't going to kill or even severely damage them either way. What fits your time, energies and desires best? Do that. Happy New Year! Kim

  • jerijen
    9 years ago

    Another thing -- we've found that when we get a period of cold, dry wind (as presently) most of the old foliage falls off anyhow. AND conveniently blows away to ????

    Then, if we blast plants with a gardenhose, we get rid of much that's left.

  • andreark
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thank you all. I haven't seen any disease or infestations, so I will just continue to pull off the dead (and ugly) leaves. I'm already seeing new bud eye growth, so I'll just continue doing what I have been doing.

    You know, for the first year or so of growing my roses, I thought that after a while, I would know most of what I needed to know..... Silly me!! This is a much longer learning curve than I originally expected. But it's a FUN learning curve. I'm having a great time with it.

    And happy new year to you all too.

    andrea

  • mustbnuts zone 9 sunset 9
    9 years ago

    Sounds like your plants are going through a normal process in winter. I do prune mine the week between Christmas and New Year. I do strip the leaves off so I force the plants into dormancy and give them a rest before spring. Come Feb/March, they will leaf out again and be beautiful. Although I do like the starkness of the garden in winter as well. It makes the spring all that more amazing.

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