Taming a Wild Rose

Some of my friends raise sheep for their wool.  Last year, when I attended a sheep shearing event in El Dorado County, they teased me about not having an emotional attachment to anything because I was raised on a pear orchard.  They assumed I was good at pulling up plants, then putting them aside to die without feeling anything.  In their eyes, I saw everything as expendable.


You know what they say when you assume things about people.

Sacramento has been getting some gorgeous, sunny days, lately.  It is the kind of weather which makes people active and want to stay outdoors.  I finally had the chance to pick up my loppers and use them when I discovered my wild rose (rugosa robusta) leaning into our pomegranate bush and growing into it.

All this happened over the winter.  When it comes down to it, I would rather be harvesting pomegranates in the fall than watching the bush being taken over by a wild rose gone wild.  I started that rose from a 2-inch slip, and it grew 6 feet in 3 years.  The storms had pushed it away from the fence, and it was now flopping over the pomegranate bush and surrounding area.  If given the chance, it would take over our backyard.

I instantly made an executive decision to prune it, and I didn't back down.  In less than 5 minutes, I hacked that wild rose like a hybrid tea, and it now measures about a foot from the ground.  From my kitchen window, I can see barely see what's left of it.

Ouch!

After I threw out the rose clippings, I tossed the Valentine's Day roses from my husband.

When you think about it, today is April 4, and Valentine's Day was February 14.  My friends were wrong about me.  I do have an emotional attachment to plants and animals.