Once again it is
rose pruning time. There may be more written about rose pruning
than any other topic in the garden.
For business purposes, I and several others here at Roger's
Gardens just finished completing a personality test. We learned
the differences in how we communicate, tackle our work, organize
our day and much more. I find it entertaining that, as
gardeners, we can stand in front of a row of roses ready for
pruning, yet approach the task in many different ways. With
tongue in cheek (sort of), let's see how you like to prune
roses. Take the Pruning Personality Test.
1. Rose
pruning reminds me most of:
A. Giving a haircut to my best friend.
B. Mowing grass.
C. Performing brain surgery.
D. The unfortunate euthanizing of homeless pets.
2. I prefer to dress for my rose pruning chore with:
A. Thick leather gloves and sturdy work boots.
B. Flip-flops, Levi's and a T-shirt.
C. Surgical gloves, a freshly pressed pinstripe shirt and
tailored slacks.
D. Safety glasses, thorn-proof gloves, a first-aid kit and
wide-brimmed hat.
3. My preferred tools for rose pruning are:
A. Freshly sharpened pruning shears and loppers.
B. Hedge shears, preferably gas-powered.
C. A scalpel, a micrometer, a surveyor's transit and a laptop.
D. Several rose books, a Valium and a spouse whom I can instruct
— from a safe distance.
If you chose A for at least two of these questions, you're what
Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung described as an Introverted
Intuitor, or in gardening terms, a Conventional Rose Pruner.
You're generally sensible, cooperative and optimistic. You
approach the task rather straightforwardly, follow a few basic
principles, but don't fret the small stuff too much. You're
slow, however, to try new ideas and will pretty much continue to
prune your roses as you always have, regardless of new
information. (Even though the rose hasn't had more than six
flowers in the last five years and is continually laden with so
much mildew it appears to be snowing in the garden, you're
carrying on as usual.)
If you checked B twice or more, you display elements of the
Laissez Faire Rose Pruner, Jung's Extraverted Feeler. You don't
sweat the small stuff. In fact, you don't like to sweat at all.
You're unencumbered by facts and data. Intricate techniques,
pruning seminars and the like are for the people with too much
free time. Rather than spend the afternoon examining where to
make each cut, you'll be done and on to something more important
— like snickering at the neighbor's rose-pruning dilemma.
If you answered more than one question with C, you are a typical
Perfectionist Rose Pruner, Jung's Introverted Thinker. Possibly
an engineer by trade, you prefer to proceed slowly and think
through the process in detail before making any rash decisions.
A couple of more measurements, a quick check with the boys at
MIT and you'll feel a lot better about things. "Not too fast;
let's think this thing through" is your credo. It might be June
before you're finished, but they'll be worthy of a spot at the
Smithsonian when you're done.
If you're heavily skewed toward D answers, it's a safe bet that
you're a Nervous Nellie Rose Pruner, what in Jungian Theory
would be an Extraverted Sensor. You're a bit insecure and unsure
of whether you're up to the task. If you don't prune correctly,
your roses will almost certainly die. Do you have the proper
tools? You've only got two bottles of sunscreen in the cabinet;
better get some more. What about bees? You saw one a couple of
weeks ago. You recall a story in the National Enquirer about a
lady in Connecticut who was hideously disfigured last year after
an altercation with a large hybrid tea. Just to be on the safe
side, better get your tetanus booster updated; it's been almost
six months.
Of course, there are four more rose-pruning personalities, the
Drama Queen Pruner, the Command and Control Pruner, the Two-Face
Pruner and the Can't-We-All-Just-Get-Along Pruner, but these
conflicted pruning personalities generally require more in-depth
psychoanalysis.
The point of my making fun of these different approaches to rose
pruning is simply to point out that no matter how you approach
your rose-pruning chore, you are almost guaranteed to have
beautiful roses. Roses are incredibly resilient — and resistant
to our psychotic quirks.
In case you are wondering, according to Jung I am an Introverted
Intuitive Thinker Judger, and when it comes to roses, I tend to
be a perfectionist.
(My apologies to Dr. Jung, and much gratitude and credit to Dr.
Leda.)
ASK RON
Last week you mentioned several garden tours in Orange County.
How do I find out more about these?
DAVID
Newport Beach
I'm glad you're interested. These garden tours don't get
underway until April, and for many of them the details aren't
all in place quite yet. Keep reading this column — when we get a
bit closer, I'll give you some dates and contact information.
