By: Charles Bankston

Monroe, Louisiana

www.PerennialAndRoseGardening.net

Do you prefer big, stately blooms or do you prefer the smaller blooms in one large “spray”? What’s a “spray” you might ask? This is simply those plant stems that shoot up and produce multiple blooms (i.e. one stem with multiple blooms on top). For those that enjoy, rather, the stem with the single, large flower at the top can help with such productions by “side pruning” or often referred to as “finger pruning”.

When you see those new growth shoots appear, watch for the production of multiple blooms at the top of the stem. Typically they will show themselves with a central bud (the largest of the group) surrounded by smaller, side buds. Simply use one hand (thumb and finger) to pull back the emerging leaves being very careful not to break the tender shoots at the stem tops. This should better expose the tiny side buds. Next, use your other thumb and finger to carefully snap the side bud out and away from the larger bud that will be left standing in the center.

This will allow for all the plants (or stems’) energy to be transferred to the single bud rather than having to share its energy with three, four or more buds. The results are larger, statelier blooms. Keep in mind, especially if you’re the picky type, to side prune early in the bud’s life cycle otherwise you’ll have the big blooms, but will also have the scaring left behind from the side pruning. Doing this early on will limit scaring of the plant tissue and result in not only pretty blooms, but nice looking stems as well.

In other words, it does little good to side prune when the central or center bud is about to open, because the energy has already been distributed to the spray of blooms instead of the one, central bud.
Now, to deadheading. For tidy and season-long color in the garden, deadheading or the act of cutting off spent blooms is critical. It also offers up the opportunity to inspect your plants as you walk through the garden clipping off the old blooms. At least, this is how I look at it—better to look at chores in the positive light, right? At any rate I’ll refer to this “chore” as deadheading.
For roses, you want to deadhead old or spent blooms at a particular location on the plant’s stem—this is important. Don’t cut where the stem is spindly or weak (i.e. near the top), but rather cut down closer to the ground where the stem reaches a pencil’s width or more. I’m not saying cut your rose canes at the ground. Rather, just ensure you’re cutting into plant wood or tissue that is strong (i.e. a pencil’s width or larger). You’ll also as a rule of thumb want to cut just above a five leaf set.

For instance, on rose bushes you’ll find leaf sets along the stem that have typically three and five leave sets or leaflets. You’ll want to locate a leaf set with five leaves and then using sharp pruning clippers cut about a fourth of an inch above the intersection of the leaf set and the stem. Then, in the crease or connecting point of the adjoining leaf set and the stem you’ll find emerge new growth and a new stem, followed by blooms!
For those into the more technical aspect of what occurs, basically there is a chemical that is produced, a plant hormone that helps regulate the rose bloom growth cycles. Auxin, the hormone, is present in the top portion of the stem and when the cane or stem is cut, the Auxin travels to the (new) top of the stem to help promote more growth and ultimate plant survival.

This hormone then produces more vegetation and thus more blooms while limiting lower stem growth. By the way, this is what occurs in any growing plant whether it is trees, vegetables or flowers. Haven’t you ever wondered why trees “bush out” when “topped”? Auxin is the answer. It limits lower stem vegetation or in the case of trees, trunk vegetation and keeps the vegetation at and near the top.
One other thing worth noting. When you make your cut, pivot or angle your pruning clippers so that the cut is just slightly off center (about 45 degrees) and sloping away from the leaflet or five leaf set on your roses. This is just another little trick that will help prevent fungal born diseases. For other plants and perennials, this very specific approach is not necessary. For instance, with perennial Salvia you can go about the garden with sheers lopping off the top section of the plant (by about a third) after the first big flush of bloom spikes.

This sheering will then produce more bloom cycles as it does with roses, but the rigor in which you apply the technique is not as critical. Roses just like to be pampered!
For more information on this topic and others, visit www.perennialandrosegardening.net and look for video clips of the techniques mentioned.
Happy Gardening!