Ludwig’s rose corner
Rose guru Ludwig Taschner offers tips on corrective pruning and how to tidy up climbing roses.
Q: Juvenile vervet monkeys are demolishing my beautiful ‘Old Glory’ miniature roses that are planted in pots. How can I discourage them without causing any harm?
We’ve had the same query about dassies and buck. Hang up little pieces of hard soap sprayed with raw egg dissolved in water, or a few chillies – this will keep them away for a week or so and then they get used to it. You simply need to put a cage over each rose or fence-in the entire rose bed or garden.
Q: My garden has fine sandy soil that becomes very hard, so when my ‘Belle Époque’ rose died, I dug it up and discovered that the roots were growing upwards and not downwards. How do I prevent this?
Depending on how the roses are spaced in your rose beds, these are the ways in which you can improve soil aeration: • Dig a trench around each rose, the width of a spade blade and about 30cm deep. If rose roots are loosened or cut in the process, it’s not a problem. Add compost and a permanent aeration material such as macadamia nut shells, mix well and fill back into the trench. Also sprinkle and mix in Vigolonger fertiliser; it does not leach out and will last a season. • If the roses are planted closer together or in rows, then dig a trench on both sides and fill back with the appropriate mix. The great advantage with rose roots is that they will quickly and easily re-sprout and then stretch out into the well-aerated region. • The other longer-lasting option is to lift the roses and plant them in large plastic pots or 40L black plant bags, using proper rose potting soil, and then sink them into the sandy soil.