Mairin's Journal

I have the opposite story, Mairin. I planted a whole load of hybrid tea roses one year and pruned them hard early the next spring. They dwindled and died. Apparently roses should not be pruned hard the first year. Since then I am a lot more wary and never prune any roses as hard. In my defence, Dermot O'Neil claims to never prune any of his roses hard - just trims lightly.

Actually, I probably shouldn't have posted that scare story if you are nervous of rose pruning to start with. Sorry. But don't prune hard the first year!

My answer to those particular four-legged visitors is to feed them well! I got one of the special containers for the rat poison and I check them every day - if the food is gone it gets replenished. I found the evidence of my success under the deck on Monday - Hurray! The special container prevents other creatures from getting at the bait and seems to work.

Ugh! Shivers down my spine.

Holy shit, I have them pruned and pruned very hard - down to 6 inches or less.  And if I lose them, I can't replant into the same spot for something like 3 seasons i.e. 3 years!!!!

I'm sure they will be fine Mairin I bet if you look you have some side buds.  Never heard that you could not replant roses

Mairin, I think you are supposed to prune off any flowers just before you plant but how much I can't say. Maybe my roses were weaker - different type anyway. They will be fine, I am sure, but maybe next spring don' be so severe. And you can always plant in the same spot again, in a cardboard box (by the time the box bio-degrades any danger is gone!!!

I pruned my couple roses yesterday,cut out any weak steams,and them with grow across each other, and left others about 20 cm tall(not a shrub roses).Hope will be ok.

Mairin, i'm doing a Gardening Course at the moment and currently on the Rose section and the advise is "Let your worst  enemy prune your roses"!! they say newly planted roses should be pruned severely in the Spring, this will stimulate new growth from the base of the bush. Once established, they do not need to be pruned so severely.  HTs- Cut away, every single weak, twiggy growth. Anything much thinner than a pencil comes into this class. Cut the remainder of the canes back so they are something between six and ten inches long. 

I would not worry about the roses, they will be fine. As for the rat, a trapped rat does not go for the throat. When cornered, as he is short sighted, he sees the space across your shoulder as a means to escape and jumps. unforunate with short sight he miss judges the jump and lands where he should-nt. If you get wavin pipe of a foot or two long, put it on the pass the rat travels and put rat poison in it, he will eat it. The pipe is narrow enough not to let a cat enter it and eat.

Well said Spider, good words to be listened to.

Spider, what are you trying to do to me?  If my neighbours were looking out their back windows as I head for the glasshouse, they would come to the conclusion that there is something wrong with me because I go with a stick and hit it off every bit of timber I pass on the way.  Reading your comments makes my skin crawl!  I think I will have to get a tin bucket or a drum kit and bang that as I go.  My neighbours will be saying to themselves "God love her but something has affect her!".  

And Fran, you aren't helping the situation either with your comments!!!!!  If a rat jumps at me, you will hear my screams all the way over at your house! 

You could invent a nice recipe for 'Ratatouille'. Ha ha Lovely with home-grown spuds.

Thanks Ladybird for that information. That is what I did, cutting the remaining ones at an outwards bud between 6 and 10 inches from the ground and getting rid of all weak, diseased and crossing one.  So fingers crossed. 

Jacinta, will you stop too please.  Now I feel as if there are rats running up and down my back! 

And you could also serve it with not Pork, but Rat scratchings....... :)

Mairin, don't worry I won't get involved in this rat race !!!!!!! :-O

Okay, that's it with the pair of ye.  No more rats to be mentioned.  I need my sleep and I don't want any dreams with rats included, if ye don't mind!