Rosaceous Rosarian
Grand Valley Rose Society Bulletin
An Affiliate of the American Rose Society
January, 2005

Pruning Practice, Practice, Practice: The Carnegie Hall Effect

    The very first public service that GVRS offered was a pruning
demonstration in the Hemmerich Memorial Rose Garden (HMRG) at the Botanical
 Garden. In those early days, GVRS was in the capable and over-worked hands of our
 founders, Ursula Hemmerich and Tracy DiPaola. Several of us who attended the first
pruning demonstration are still around to carry on their work. That pruning
demonstration had a huge impact on the fate of this organization, and it remains one
of the most important reasons for our existence.
    Most roses that get planted need pruning. It's a task that can be
intimidating, and most people approach it with trepidation. Gardeners who attend
pruning demonstrations are people who pay attention to their roses--they're hungry
for information, and for a chance to practice on someone else's roses. 
    Pruning is a skill that is learned gradually--no one gets it right the
first time. Roses have adapted to being abused by novice pruners, and have
managed to survive anyway, so errors don't have to be fatal. You don't have to be a
heart surgeon to prune roses correctly--you just need to practice.
    Five years later, there are quite a few of us in GVRS with enough
practice that we can have the nerve to offer pruning assistance to others. You don't
need to be "expert" to help someone else get started--you just need to know
more than they do.
    Two years ago we began pruning practice sessions for our members, in
order to give ourselves a chance to make mistakes, and ask questions, before we
did the public demonstration. These pot-luck pruning sessions, held at Ro's
place, have been both fun and productive. Albert LaSalle has demonstrated proper
cleaning and sharpening techniques at each of these sessions, which means that
GVRS now fields quite a few well-prepared rose sculptors.
    This year, we're adding another option to our quest for pruning skills.
We're going to take on the challenge of pruning climbing and rambling roses.
None of the roses we prune at the Botanical Garden are climbing roses, so we
haven't had them to practice on. Now, we do. The CSU Cooperative Extension has
demonstration gardens out at their office at the Fairgrounds, including a big
climbing rose section. They really need to be pruned--who better than us?
Another practice session closer to Carnegie Hall!

Mark your calendars with these three dates for pruning opportunities: 
Member Pruning Practice/Pot-luck at Ro's: Saturday, April 2, 2005
Public Pruning Demonstration at the Botanical Garden: Saturday, April 9, 2005
Pruning Climbers and Ramblers at the Coop. Ext. Office: Saturday, April 16, 2005

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