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nz Friday, July 9, 2010 TARANAKI DAILY NEWS 11

GARDENING www.taranakidailynews.co.nz

Pruning roses: a step-by-step guide with Abbie Jury. One size does not fit all with roses, but there are some rules that apply to most types.

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Cut out stems that show damage or cross and rub
against other stems, shown here in the two centre
stems. The rubbing damages the bark and makes
the plant more vulnerable to diseases. Because roses

1 2
Bushy roses with lots of fine, twiggy growth (some standard roses are of this type
also) can be given the once over shear with hedge clippers. It doesn’t look the
tidiest when the cut ends then die back to the nearest leaf bud, but once they come
into leaf, there is little visible difference and it is much faster.
Cut out stems with dieback, seen here in the dark brown stems. do best with light and air movement, it is usually
advisable to keep the middle of the plant open. Remove
any spindly, weak stems.
Photos: ABBIE JURY

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All advice is to put on a copper spray after pruning
to help fight fungal diseases. We don’t spray our

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Some roses put on very long, whippy growths. Where space allows, arching these roses at all, but the advice comes consistently

growths over and tying them down (I use hoops of wire and a soft tie) forces all
the buds along the stem into growth and greatly increases the floral display.
Similarly, tying a climbing rose to a horizontal line encourages that stem to flower all the
way along, rather than just on top.
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Generally, prune back to a leaf bud (if you leave too much past the bud, it will die
back to that level, anyway) and pick a leaf bud on the outside of the stem. This is
because the new shoots will follow that direction and you want them growing away
from the plant and not criss-crossing the middle of the plant. It is commonly said that
you should angle the cut away from the bud to direct water away, but it doesn’t appear
to matter which way the cut goes. Just make sure you have sharp secateurs to make a
clean cut.
from those who know more about roses than we do, so
it is likely the advice is correct. It will also help reduce
the build-up of lichens and mosses on the stems and
the base. There are two types of copper sprays
available. Copper hydroxide is different to copper
oxychloride, so follow the application rates on the
packet and do it at winter strength.

Iford has been occupied since charm of old Italian gardens,

Roman times and the manor
house sits by the Frome River in
a steep-sided valley. Iford
Manor is mediaeval in origin,
the classical facade being added
in the 18th century, when the
hanging woodlands above the
where flowers are subordinate
to cypresses, broad walks,
statues and pools. The current
owners have restored the
gardens to their original design grows so slowly on somebody and die if their roots stay wet for these and gives the hardier
and over the years have Rhododendron who has no idea what it is or too long) as well as in alpine characteristics and leaf shape to
transformed the area of the little appreciation of what it grasslands. It is not as forgiving its offspring. In the wild,

Iford Manor, Britain garden were planted. In 1899,

This Grade I Italian-style
garden is famous for its tranquil
beauty and was the home of
architect and landscape
gardener Harold A. Peto from
1899 to 1933. The romantic
hillside garden is characterised
by steps, terraces, sculpture and
magnificent rural views.
Harold Ainsworth Peto
discovered Iford and the
individuality of the garden owes
everything to his inspiration
and eye for combining
architecture and plants.
The house is built into the
steep hillside, so terracing
forms an important element of
the design. Peto was
particularly attracted by the
Oriental garden.
A number of original plants
remain in the 2.5-hectare
grounds: a standard Wisteria
sinensis, Phillyria latifolia,
Buxus sempervirens (which
also grow as trees in the woods),
Cupressus sempervirens,
Hemerocalis citrina, the scented
day lily and, in the long grass by
the cloister, naturalised
Martagon lilies.
saxifragoides
We have a standing joke here
about plants we won’t part with
unless the recipient passes both
an interview and a test.
Saxifragoides is one of those
plants. After a good eight years,
maybe more, this plant is 6cm
tall and about 14cm across. We
don’t want to waste a plant that
takes for the plant to reach this
stature. It is an odd little vireya
species from New Guinea that
makes a mounded cushion
(generally a small mounded
cushion) and which is far more
tolerant of both cold and wet
conditions than any other vireya
we know. In fact, it is often found
growing in cold bogs in its native
habitat (other rhododendrons
will quickly give up the ghost
in our garden, where I have
managed to kill off two or three
plants now. It seems easier to
keep healthy in a pot.
The flowers are red and held
singly (most rhododendrons have
clusters or trusses). Sharp-eyed
readers may pick the similarity
in flower to the rather larger
vireya hybrids Jiminy Cricket,
Saxon Glow and Saxon Blush.
Yes, saxifragoides is a parent of
saxifragoides will layer naturally
(put down fresh roots from
branches that touch the ground)
and seed down. Very old clumps
have been found that have even
developed a woody rhizome
below ground, but in cultivation,
it is normally propagated from
cutting – very small cuttings, as
you can perhaps imagine from
the picture.
– Abbie Jury