Before writing about the 1957 Rose Parade yesterday I went outside and took some pictures of my roses.

It is time for pruning them, but I always hate to prune them when they still have blooms on them.

My Tropicana and St. Patrick rose bushes both still have a few beautiful blooms on them. However, I know that it is time for Winter Pruning. Last year I pruned them in the last week of December, so I am a bit behind.

I really love this bloom. It still looks full of life.  The blooms have actually looked like this for several weeks. The weather has been just so that the blooms are not drying out and are keeping the same state as when we had a spate of very cold overnight weather.

Here is a bud on my pink floribunda rose bush. You can see that the development was stopped just as the bud was about to open.

I will have a lot of fun on Saturday when I go through the first round of pruning. I go through first and do a rough pruning and then in a second round I make decisions on how to shape the bushes for the next growing season. I usually do this on consecutive weekends.

As I prune my roses I will be thinking of my Grandpa who worked for many years for Interstate Nurseries.

What is your favorite color of roses?

Steven