How to prune a rose bush in 3 minutes or less

It’s time to sharpen your rose pruning skills!

Get some expert advice and hands-on training at the Sierra Foothills Rose Society’s annual Winter Rose Care Workshop at the Orangevale Grange Auditorium, 5807 Walnut Ave., Orangevale.

Set for 9 a.m. Jan. 11, this free event covers all aspects of rose pruning, then wraps up with lunch – a chili cookoff!

No advance registration necessary and the public is welcome. Bring gloves and bypass pruners.

The workshop features master rosarians Baldo Villegas, Linda Knowles and Charlotte Owendyk – each a nationally recognized, award-winning rose grower.

“Practice under the watchful eye of experienced rosarians who prune hundreds of their own roses,” say the organizers. “When you leave, you will confidently prune your roses!”

Make that “thousands” of roses; Baldo grows more than 3,000 bushes at his Orangevale home. With that many roses, he knows how to get pruning done pronto.

Highlight of this workshop is always Baldo’s demonstration of his “Three-Minute Pruning Method.” He’ll show how to prune a full-size hybrid tea in three minutes – and often less – by looking at the plant from the base up. By identifying the canes to keep first, the job becomes much simpler.

Instructors also will share advice on pruning tools as well as how to control pests and diseases in the garden (an important part of why we prune roses every year).

The morning-long session wraps up with a chili cookoff at 12:30 p.m. Participants vote for the best chili while also having an opportunity to get advice from the society’s rose experts one on one.