You’ve heard it. You’ve probably even said it. Roses are a pain in the neck. Longtime Rosarian Rich Baer disagrees. And he doesn’t have a problem making that clear. The misinformation that makes people walk past roses at the nursery needs to be corrected. Baer has the resume to take on the myth-busting mission: degrees in plant pathology and physiology; two stints as president of the Portland Rose Society during more than 30 years of membership; editor of Portland Rose Chatter, the society’s newsletter; and caretaker of 800 roses in his Southwest Portland garden.
He’s also a bit of a rebel. Rose people are a passionate and opinionated group; many believe there’s only one way to properly tend your roses. Baer, however, believes many of the long-held beliefs about the “right way” to care for the often-cosseted plants are wrong — and he’s just as headstrong.
“I’m a heretic,” he’s been known to say proudly.
ONE BUSTED MYTH:
Leave rose hips on in fall because it slows growth and helps the plant into dormancy.
THE TRUTH IS:
When hips appear, the plant is producing seed, which takes 10 times more energy than producing flowers. So the plant is actually speeding up rather than moving into dormancy, according to Baer. “People see hips start to form and the plant stop growing and they think therefore the plant has become dormant,” he says. “In reality all the energy goes to making seeds.” So leave them on if you like them (birds do) or cut them off if you don’t. Removing hips often will force new growth and flowers if the weather is nice. A snap of cold weather will kill the new growth, but it’ll get cut off when you prune, so it’s nothing to worry about. People also are concerned when their roses don’t get hips at all. This happens with modern, repeat-blooming roses, Baer says, so don’t worry.
(Excerpt from an Oregonian article/interview with Rich Baer. Photo by Rich.)
Join us for this Chapter Meeting on November 18th, 2021, 6:30 PM to hear a special presentation by Rich Baer. Business meeting to follow.
Register in advance for this meeting: https://beav.es/UhU
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Hope to see you there!
