PRUNING: This year's winter in metropolitan Washington DC saw heavy snow and ice in February, followed by a great deal of rain in March, and high temperatures in mid and late March. Rosebushes went dormant in winter, but are now leafing out. Some bushes have broken canes. A few have suffered some degree of winterkill, with black canes that are dead.

Cut broken canes below the break, on healthy wood. If canes died, then cut them off, even if that means cutting even with the ground. I have several five to six feet tall rosebushes, Pristine, Gemini, Purple Heart, and Iceberg, where branches and canes were broken by snow and ice. Cut the cane below the break. On Pristine, the one good remaining cane had a hole due to a cane borer that ran to the ground. Therefore, I pruned Pristine to be even to the ground and I am hoping it will grow big and tall in spring.

Traditional instructions are to hard prune your roses when the forsythia blooms, which is mid- to late-March in Washington. I am about half way through my pruning (on March 30), but a friend completed his pruning last week. If one prunes sooner than mid-March, new growth is encouraged and the bush is less protected, such that a surprise freeze can damage canes.

For Hybrid Teas, Floribundas, repeat-blooming OGR's, and most Shrub roses, general advice is that if one wants a larger number of smaller blooms, such that the bush looks pretty in the garden, one prunes to about three to four feet. If one wants a smaller number of larger blooms, such as to enter at a rose show, then prune harder - down to about 12 to 18 inches.

Eliminate dead and spindly stems. Cut out twiggy growth. Cut out those short, “stem on stem” branches on canes that are layering up and do not offer a good basis for growing a long stem and a bloom. Remove old canes that are damaged

When pruning, cut just above a "good" bud. Try to prune above outward facing bud eyes, to encourage good air circulation.

If, after a cut is made, you notice that the cross section of the cane is discolored or has a "mushy" nature, or if you see insect damage, cut lower. Given the icy cold nature of this year's winter, one may need to prune the cane hard, till it is only a few inches high or, even, till it is cut off even with the ground. Continue cutting until you have a nice solid end surface with no discoloration.

Other types of roses are pruned differently. For Miniature roses, one may either scale down the advice for Hybrid Teas to a smaller plant, removing twiggy growth, examining canes and branches individually, and cutting down to three or four main canes with sub-branching removed and discarded. Otherwise, one may prune the bush quickly, by running a large clippers over the top and sides.

For Continuous-Blooming Climbers, the main canes tend to be laid out horizontally or in an arching pattern to encourage vertical laterals to form at each budeye on the canes, and the laterals form stems for flowers. This approach yields a "wall of color." (If climber canes are left to grow vertically, blooms develop only on the tops of those very long canes.) After canes are laid out laterally, prune the vertical laterals hard, to encourage new growth and blooms.

For Once-Blooming OGR's, trim the bushes lightly to clean them up, but do not prune severely or you will have no blooms. (Once blooming antique roses should be pruned after they bloom - say, in late June or July.) Dead wood or crossing branches should always be removed. If winterkill has damaged canes, then cut them back.

For all classes of roses, pruning should be performed with sharp bypass pruning shears. With bypass shears, the blades pass by each other like scissor blades, for a sharp cut. (By contrast, anvil shears cut like a knife onto a board, are useful for cutting woody branches, and will crush the rosebush stem.) To remove rust, rub the pruning shears with steel wool. Sharpen blades on a cutting stone. Add a drop of oil if needed. One rule to determine if pruning shears are sharp enough, is to try cutting a piece of paper. If it makes a clean cut, it's “good to go” for rose pruning.

For pruning or any other cuts made during the growing season, remember to seal the open end of the cut. That is, certain bees and wasps, including the carpenter bee, lay eggs near the top of freshly pruned rose stems and the larvae that hatch then burrow down into the cane. Therefore, it is important to seal off the open cut. Squirt a dab of Elmer's Glue-All or garden sealant on the end of the rose cane. If you are pruning late, and the rosebush bleeds sap, apply another squirt a couple days later.

Lastly, check back a couple weeks after the initial pruning to see how the plant is reacting. If any canes or branches die back, they should be removed.

FERTILIZATION: Most rose gardeners begin to fertilize after the rosebush has put out some green growth, which tends to be early to mid-April in metropolitan Washington DC. Fertilizers include inorganics, liquid inorganics, organic meal mixes, and liquid organics. Use one or another. Use a second from time to time, as a boost. You probably do not need them all.

Further, at the time of the first application of fertilizer, check soil with a pH meter, and add a cup of lime to increase pH if needed. Add gypsum to remove salts.

If you employ an inorganic fertilizer like 10-10-10, apply it at about one cup per large bush (one half cup for minis), scratched into the top three inches of soil, in early April, early May, mid-June, and early August. After applying, water in the fertilizer.

Otherwise, if you employ a time-released inorganic fertilizer like Osmocote, apply it according to the directions in April and you do not need to fertilize again. For example, at Bon Air Memorial Rose Garden in Arlington VA, with about 3,000 rosebushes, the rose gardeners apply Osmocote once in the spring, and the Hybrid Teas grow to be six to eight feet tall. (Bon Air Memorial Rose Garden is located at 850 North Lexington St., at the corner of Wilson Blvd.; Arlington, VA; 22205.) To minimize gardening time, I use Osmocote. As a booster, I add the organic fertilizer, Mills Magic Mix, in spring, at the same time I apply Osmocote, and once again in early August.

If you want to use a liquid fertilizer and if they are the only fertilizer used, apply liquid inorganics like Miracle Grow or Jack's Classic 20-20-20 about every two weeks. Apply with a hose end sprayer or possibly by a watering can for a small garden with two to three rose bushes. However, water the bushes well first and be careful about salts. As a booster, some rose gardeners apply liquid inorganics only twice or three times per year to provide additional nutrients, about two to three weeks before peak bloom.

For a boost, avid rose gardeners also may apply an organic fertilizer. One of my friends mixes his own organic fertilizer, using equal parts alfalfa meal, blood meal, cottonseed meal, and fish meal. Otherwise, one may buy a commercial product like Mills Magic Mix. One may alternate with a liquid organic like "Alfalfa Tea."

DISEASE AND PEST CONTROL: To prevent fungus disease on roses, the prudent rose gardener will water in the morning or early afternoon, so leaves can dry off by evening, and he or she will trim branches to encourage good air flow.

However, in hot, humid Washington DC, to prevent fungus diseases like blackspot, powdery mildew, and botrytis, the gardener generally needs to implement a chemical spray program. For example, with blackspot, once a leaf is infected by the blackspot fungi, there is no cure. So the strategy is to protect the new leaves. And it should be noted that each of the spots, a half inch or so in diameter, can contain between 500 and 1,000 blackspot spores, each of which can be transported to a fresh new leaf, where a new colony of 500 to 1,000 spores are formed, each of which can initiate a new colony, etc.

Fungicides fall under two main classifications. The Surface or Contact Protectants stay on the surface of the plant material, unless washed off by rainfall. They also have the capability to attack the blackspot fungus in a large number of ways. This is referred to as a multi-site characteristic. Surface fungicides include Daconil (active ingredient chlorothalonil), Bordeaux Mixture (copper sulfate and hydrated lime), and Dithane M-45 (mancozeb).

The Systemic Fungicides, by contrast, are absorbed into the plant tissue so they are not affected by subsequent rainfall. But the systemics are only single site fungicides, attacking only one biochemical function of the fungus and probably in less than 100 percent of the cells. Frequent use of one single-site fungicide could result in the development of a strain of blackspot resistant to that fungicide. Systemic fungicides include Ortho® RosePride® Disease Control Concentrate (formerly Funginex, active ingredient triforine), Banner Maxx (active ingredient propiconazole), Cleary's 3336 (active ingredient thiophanane-methyl), and Immunox (active ingredient myclobutanil). Compass (active ingredient trifloxystrobin) is a mesosystemic.

To prevent fungus resistance, it is recommended that one alternate systemics. Alternate spraying a systemic one week with a contact spray the next ten days or two weeks - such as Funginex one period and Daconil next. Or alternate systemics that have different active ingredients - like Funginex one period with Immunox next or Banner Maxx one period with Compass next, or some other combination. When weather is very damp, one may need to speed up the schedule, spraying every seven days, but then slow it to every ten to fourteen days.

The other fungus problems found in metropolitan Washington DC include white powdery mildew, found after a period of cool nights and warm days, and botrytis, which affects the flower bloom, ranging from pink spots to a bigger problem, where a big bud turn brown and rots or where the bloom balls up and does not open. Most fungicides that prevent blackspot also prevent powdery mildew and botrytis. For a mild case of botrytis, peel off the outer layer of petals from a bloom by hand. For severe powdery mildew, spray systemic fungicide Rubigan (active ingredient fenarimol) or E-Rase (jojoba oil).

Finally, it might be noted that downy mildew is more common out west and is rare here. But the past three years' cool, wet weather caused a few local Rosarians to find outbreaks and they sprayed with chemicals like Aliette (active ingredient fosetyl Aluminum). Downy mildew is a serious, contagious problem that defoliates and kills rosebushes, so one should immediately contact a CR for customized, intensive help.

Regarding insects, in mid to late spring we begin to note insects in the rose garden. Many are beneficial; a few are destructive. The approaches for insect control vary with Rosarians, depending on the level of plant damage they consider tolerable. In most cases, the beneficial insects (such as the syrphid fly larvae, the paratisizing wasp, lace wing larvae, and the lady bug/beetle and its larvae) will control the damage by destructive insects.

I let beneficial insects control aphids on my roses. For Japanese Beetles, I put down milky spore in my yard and my two neighbors’ yards (after they gave permission) about five years ago. (Milky Spore lasts for ten years.) I hand pick against Japanese beetles and spray Merit every two weeks in June (see below).

Other insect problems occur only from time to time. Spraying a hard stream of water by a garden hose under minis and low rose bushes will control spider mites. (Spider mites move in from grass and can defoliate a rose bush, so if you suffer an outbreak, spray every two days the first week, then twice per week, and then less often.) To control thrips in cut roses that you bring into the house, you can breathe hard or "huff" onto the blooms, and thrips will think they are about to be eaten and will fly away.

Rosarians who want stricter insect pest control might spray an insecticide. Spray insecticides only as you see problem insects, vs. fungicides are sprayed on a preventative basis. Spray the systemic insecticide Merit (with active ingredient imidacloprid) or another insecticide against rose slugs, by adding it to the fungicide mixture.

One special case that does not happen often is an attack from rose midge, the tiny black gnat that lays eggs on rose stem tips and whose larvae eat the buds so there are “crispy” ends and no rose blooms. One friend with over one hundred rosebushes discovered this problem last year, so he applied Bayer Advanced Complete Insect Killer (with active ingredients imidacloprid and B-Cyfluthrin). He sprayed rose bushes and the surrounding soil and repeated in two weeks. He found midge problems completely solved with only two to three applications, at which point he discontinued use. To protect bees, spray this insecticide in the early morning or towards evening when bees are less active.

To ensure safety when spraying all fungicides and insecticides, always wear protective clothing. Wear eye goggles, a respirator, gloves, and protective clothing. Wash hands after mixing chemicals. Shower after spraying and wash spray clothes separately.

In conclusion, should you have any questions about spring care, please contact a Consulting Rosarian. (Click on "Consulting Rosarians" on the PRS web-site, www.potoamcrose.org, for a list with phone numbers and emails.) The Consulting Rosarians in Washington, northern Virginia and suburban Maryland know the local weather and soil conditions and they will be glad to help you.

In addition, the reader is encouraged to investigate The Capital Rose, the award-winning bimonthly membership newsletter published jointly by the Potomac Rose Society and The Arlington Rose Foundation. It describes current rose care problems and how to solve them, among other topics. Information on joining the Potomac Rose Society can be found on the website.

Kathy George, Potomac Rose Society Secretary; incorporating material originally written by Bob Alde.