Monster bush out back
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Double-knock out rose bushes too late to prune?
Comments (5)Denise, Landscape roses like Knockout Roses are very vigorous growers, so you prune them to give yourself some control over them. Otherwise they can get amazingly big and start looking kind of wild. The "rules" for pruning them are not necessarily the same as they are for some other roses like hybrid teas because they are landscape shrub roses. Some people don't prune them their first year because they want to get a good idea of how the natural shape of the Knockout rose is going to progress. Some folks prune them back only every other year because they want them to be huge monsters but know they have to maintain some sort of order and control. You just have to figure out what works for you and the space you have as well as the vigor of the particular Knockout you have. Some Knockout types get larger than others and some grow more vigrously. When you prune in late winter to early spring, you are doing so in order to control the shape and size of the bush, and to keep new growth coming out near the bottom of the plant. Remember that I mentioned my mom quit pruning her roses and the base of the plants became very ugly. Well, that "ugly" is what you want to avoid. If you don't prune, then the new growth comes out higher and higher every year and the bottom of the plant looks awful. I haven't grown Knockouts, but they probably should be pruned back to the 5, 6 or 7 largest canes each spring--removing what you need to in order to maintain the shape you like and that fits in with your landscape. You always remove the oldest and woodiest canes, because as they get older they just get woodier and woodier and don't look that great. Because Knockout Roses can be very vigorous growers if planted in ideal conditions, they sometimes need "corrective" pruning in the middle of the growing season when they send out an occasional limb that just shoots out from nothing to 2 or 3 feet almost overnight and is growing in the "wrong" direction, like directly into the wall of the house or a pathway or whatever. I don't think you have to deadhead Knockout blooms though, as they are self-cleaning. A friend of mine describes the more vigorous Knockouts as taking on the appearance of a drunken spider if left too long without corrective pruning, with long legs sticking out this way and that way, and she's not the only person I've heard describe them that way. I have a couple of David Austin English Roses that get that same "drunken spider" look in the middle of the summer, especially after a big rainy spell. They just send out canes out of nowhere that go this way and that way. I prune them out as needed and don't seal the cuts. They heal over just fine on their own. I googled and found you info on "Pruning Knockout Roses" and linked it below. Dawn Here is a link that might be useful: Pruning Knockout Roses...See MoreBlueberry bush not leafing out properly
Comments (8)We put snow in the pot to keep it from drying out while living in the porch. (We certainly had plenty to spare ...) I'll keep in mind for next year to get it outside before it buds ... We kind-of skipped from three feet of snow on the ground to Summer this year. (Was so glad that I wrapped the bushes in the ground with burlap to protect them.)...See MoreWhat plastic eating monster is in my back yard?
Comments (21)Update on my own roof rat control efforts. I have successfully used snap traps tied to branches in my fig tree, using the plan outlined on this U. of Florida extension website: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/uw120. A key idea is to activate the traps at dusk and disable them at dawn in order to avoid by-catch of other animals and birds (it also helps here that the traps are in a tree with nothing in it that would attract other animals, like possums). In two nights I have caught 3 rats (including a humungous, mature male and two young females). My neighbors (the new, responsible ones replacing the hoarders who had exacerbated the rat situation), seeing my success, have also started trapping. This is clearly a good time to do so: the rats are apparently desperate right now, with no fruit currently readily available and so desperate that they had, earlier this week, actually begun to eat the bark on my fig tree, girdling one branch completely, having already eaten all the terminal buds and baby figs on the tree. With luck, we can knock these populations back down and have some peace again on this front. Unlike the scare statistics put forth by professional exterminators, roof rat populations are not infinite -- they just seem to be -- and can be controlled (Norway rats, now, are another thing entirely...)....See MoreMy Dark Desire Is a Monster Bush!
Comments (8)My dark desire gets to 10 feet tall every year unless pruned heavily in early spring and late summer or pegged down. I normally prune to 2 feet tall. Also I have pegged it to get long arches of blooms and keep it lower without pruning as much. Not sure if my pictures Are able to show what I did but I bent the canes down slowly (it likes to break). I used twine and every week I would pick up some slack until I had arches that went almost to the ground. After one season the twine can be removed and the canes are hardened in place. If you peg her it will bloom along those long arches. Then just prune the laterals down and leave your arches in place every year. If you go the prune down to 2-3 feet twice a year it will still bloom great but it will bloom later than other roses, at least it did here. The years I pruned her really hard she grew to 4-5 feet tall before blooming so it took a while. 2019 prunned hard Not blooming yet 2020 pegged started together with the rest hope you get her to a happy place she is a wonderful rose...See Morebeesneeds
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