PRUNE YOUR ROSES, CITY OF ROSES!

Have you noticed?  The early blooming bulbs are poking through the ground.  It’s not spring yet, but the plants are whispering about it.  It stopped raining for a few hours and the sun broke through the clouds,  so I decided to get outside and take stock of the garden.  First order of business: trim the roses.

Here’s an easy how to: http://gardening.about.com/od/rose1/a/RosePruning.htm

If you own a house in Portland, chances are you have a rosebush somewhere on your property. (Portland originally encouraged it’s residents to plant roses in commemoration of the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial celebration-it was dubbed the City of Roses in the 20’s.)

Roses are not the most forgiving plant, but give them some TLC and they’ll thrive (and your house will look like a proper Portland house).  February is the best time to trim your roses, right before bud break- so get to it.  Oh, and you should probably fertilize them too.