Q. Is this is a good time to prune my roses?
A. That depends on the type of rose . Leave the main pruning of bush roses until late winter, ideally as growth buds show the first signs of swelling. Restrict pruning in the fall to shortening over-long canes prone to being whipped about and damaged or broken in winter winds.
Among climbing roses there are two main types. Ramblers and climbing old roses that flower only once, most commonly in June, are pruned after flowering, in July. They flower mainly on the previous season’s growth. Pruning consists of removing some of the oldest (thickest) canes and shortening remaining canes enough to keep the plant in bounds.
I prune my repeat-flowering modern climbers in late autumn, starting with the removal of the oldest canes. I arrange and secure the remaining canes to the support in a fan shape, as close to the horizontal as possible for best flowering, and shorten them to fit the support. Side shoots off these main canes are shortened to leave just three buds.
Q. The compost in one of my enclosures is ready to use. Should I spread it on an empty garden plot now?
A. Spreading compost on the garden now would result in much of its nutrient content being “rinsed” away in late fall and winter rains. It is preferable to fluff the heap up a bit and cover it loosely with a tarp or a sheet of plastic to keep the material as dry as possible over the winter.
With the first warmth of spring, and a light mixing up of the materials to introduce fresh air, micro-organisms in the heap will become re-activated to further convert the contents into useable food for plants. That’s the time to use the compost in preparing plots for planting. Mixed into plots in the spring, compost helps to enliven the soil for the production of vibrant plant growth.
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