The garden club lady who changed how I prune my roses

Last spring at the community garden in Maplewood, this older woman named Ruth came over while I was hacking at my knockout roses. She didn't scold me or anything, she just knelt down and pointed at a stem and said, "Honey, you're cutting for today, not for August." She showed me how to find the outward-facing bud and cut at a slant about a quarter inch above it. I had been pruning for 5 years and never once thought about where the bud pointed. That one 10 minute conversation saved me from another summer of lopsided bushes. Now I walk my rows before I cut anything and think about which way each branch should grow. Has anyone else had a random stranger give them a tip that completely rewired their plant care?

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hall.nora24d ago

Two summers ago I was at the big plant swap over in Millbrook and this guy with dirt under his nails watched me untangle my clematis for a minute. He said I was twisting the vines too tight around the trellis and that plants need to breathe like people do. He showed me how to weave them in a loose figure eight pattern instead. My vine went from looking like a tangled mess to actually climbing straight up and flowering twice as much. I still think about that every single time I put a new plant on a support. It's funny how one little tip from a stranger just sticks with you forever.