Beheading Thorned Roses

Deadheading is the term gardeners use for pruning roses that have dropped their petals. Beheading is separating the head of a human being from its body. Murder by beheading is a graphic symbol of vile intent. It’s intent is to horrify and paralyze the onlookers. Research shows that this mode of murder has been in many countries over millennium. Looking at the graphic photos and videos of the ISIS beheadings of the human males was thorny. The faces of the male decapitators holding the moppy blooded hair show defiance of all that is truly human.  They certainly are not the ISIS goddess followers because she symbolizes all that is feminine including death and resurrection. Death and resurrection as in plants. So I’ll return to the thorned Floridian roses.

There’s a trick to good rose pruning. I have chopped rose bushes to death. Not a murderer by intent but by lack of good garden training, the yellow roses planted got pruned back so badly they died. I also made the mistake of planting them where there was too much shade. Roses like full sun. At least the Floridian variety do.

The instructions are to diagonally snip the stem after the first set of 5 leaves. I will admit to you that I have never done this. My Floridian variety roses still produce beautifully.  But now they’re about 5 years old as a set of canes so I might consider pushing them to bloom more during this Spring and Summer. Floridian variety roses will bloom during the winter but they get sleepy and need to rest. February ends our winter except for a day or two in March in the 50’s so the roses are safe to be pruned back to the cane. However, my experience with the yellow roses keeps me from a heavy pruning.  I’ll start with the five-leaf prune and see how that produces more blooms.

For every beheaded man is the petaled tears of the women who bore and loved them. The blood of Cain is upon their murderers. I pray resurrection for their injured souls.