Am I imagining things or are some of our spring flowers and blooming trees running a little early this year? I have lilacs blooming and if I remember correctly they usually didn’t bloom until around Mother’s Day. My mother loved lilacs so we tried to get her a bouquet each year.

My rose beds are cleaned out and I just finished pruning all the roses. Whew! Glad that job is done for the year. Because of all the oak leaves I use as winter protection, I have to get the leaf vac out and pick up all the leaves each spring as well as in the fall. The chopped up leaves make a nice mulch to put back on the rose beds after I’m done with the spring chores. I’ve noticed that the sandy soil in my beds is beginning to look like nice rich black dirt. I’ve been working all the leaves and compost into them since I moved here 4 years ago. Using lots of horse manure and organic fertilizers has helped a lot also.

It’s fun watching the robins follow me around as I expose the soil in the beds. Lot’s of worms are lying just below the leaves and the robins are having a feast.

If you haven’t begun to prune yet, you should start soon. Leaving winter protection around the roses too long can promote canker on the canes especially as the temperatures climb.

I lost three rosebushes. One looked like a critter got to the roots as it came right up with no roots on it. The other two had tiny green stems but they looked like it would take all summer for them to mature to anything resembling a healthy rose bush. I’ve spent too much time in the past babying roses like that, only to lose them come the heat of July and August.

I guess as we get older we realize we can’t save them all so we get ruthless and toss them sooner rather than later.

All the hardy roses I planted last year did well so I’ve all but decided not to put so many leaves around the bushes next fall. This will save me time and make next spring’s cleanup a lot easier. I will put horse manure in the beds next fall though but it looks like soil come spring so there is very little cleanup.

I bought one rosebush at Lowes so far this year, "Greetings" from J&P.

It was a boxed rose but I soaked the box until it was completely saturated ( Two days ), poked lots of holes in the sides with a screwdriver, and planted it box and all in a very large pot. By doing it this way, I am able to keep the feeder roots that formed in the box giving my rose a headstart. Many recommend removing the bush from the box but doing so rips off those newly formed feeder roots making the bush have to start all over again.

I’m going to pick up "Voluptuous" which Horizon Roses gives high marks. I know it’s a hybrid tea but I’ll keep trying a few, especially the fragrant ones. I’ve got about 20 varieties of Griffith Buck roses in the greenhouse that are beginning to set flower buds so if I need any more roses to plant I’ll fall back on them.

Prune and clean up the beds working into the soil any organics you may have around.

Don’t fertilize now with any fast acting chemical fertilizers as they can burn newly developing feeder roots and seriously set back early growth on some of your established roses.

It’s OK to fertilize with organic plant foods such as Mill’s Magic, manures, or home made mixes using locally purchased fish, cottonseed, alfalfa, and blood meals. These products break down slowly as the soil warms and soil insects and microbe activity increases. By the time they release their nutrients, the feeder roots will have matured and will be able to handle it.

Watch for a dry spring. If we have periods with little or no rain be sure to use supplemental watering.

I activated my watering system two weeks ago.

Organics worked into the soil increases its water holding capacity also.

There’s always room for one more rosebush!

I’ve never seen a rose I didn’t like!

Remember, Don’t sweat the small stuff