Ludwig’s rose corner
Ludwig Taschner offers advice on how to cut roses for the vase and what to do about a scale infestation.
Q: Last year, my ‘Blue Fairy’ rose suffered from a bad infestation of scale. What can I spray to prevent it this season?
Last summer, because of the heat and not enough rain (in summer rainfall regions), scale and mealy bugs became a problem. We have conducted some tests by spraying with various pesticides and we found that a combination/mixture of 50ml Ludwig’s Insect Spray and 5ml Plant Care in 10L of water offered excellent control within two weeks. Q: When I pick my ‘Ingrid Bergman’ roses for the vase, should the cut always be at an angle and a specific distance from the eye?
You can cut at an angle or straight. We prefer straight because there is less stem exposed to the elements. In other words, the wound is smaller. Cut fairly close above a leaf, but don’t worry too much about the distance. It’s more important that you don’t cut more than 50% of long-stemmed blooms off a bush because removing too many leaves puts the roots under stress. Do you have a passion for gardening? Then you’re invited to celebrate the first-ever Garden Day on Sunday 9 October. This special day is being launched to bring all green-fingered people together to appreciate one of life’s simplest but most profound pleasures. Whether you garden in a small townhouse space, on a balcony, on a farm or in a spacious urban haven, the size doesn’t matter; what’s important is to appreciate your own planted paradise and share it with friends and neighbours.
Besides the pleasure a garden gives you, studies have shown that gardening has distinct health benefits: it lowers blood pressure, increases brain activity and combats stress and anxiety more effectively than any other kind of leisure activity – including reading! For older folk it lowers the risk of dementia, strokes and heart attacks.