Finally, we are getting a little bit of rain. Thus far in April we have only had about 1.5 inches of rain - and the bulk of that was 18 days ago. The perennial garden beds without mulch have big cracks forming as the clay soil dries out. I watered the rose 5 days ago or so and if the current rain does not amount to much I am going to do it again as soon as conditions permit.

Two weeks ago today, I potted up 4 new bare root roses from J&P. They looked real good when I potted them but sadly, none of these 4 has taken off yet. Plus the color is no longer a good green which has me worried. I moved them into the garage earlier in the week when we had freeze warnings for Wednesday and Thursday mornings (today is Friday) and today I put them back out in the North rose garden. Hopefully the rain and the warm temps (>70) coming for the next 5 days will bring them to life.

Earlier today I sprayed for the first time - fungicide and insecticide both at label strength. With all the bushes so small one gallon of spray was enough to get the job done. I was able to inspect every bush to see if the frost caused any problems and was happy to see that there were only minor casualties. There's no more frost in sight in the extended forecast. So hopefully that's it for 2024 with the really cold weather.

Next on the list is preparing the holes for my 13-rose order from Regan Nursery. They told me earlier today that my order will ship Monday or Tuesday next week. Hopefully that will permit the planting to occur on Saturday/Sunday next week. I have some helpers coming for the weekend so it would be nice to have the holes and roses all ready for planting.

Freeze warning in effect overnight. It's forecasted to be 31 degrees here at 5:00 AM. Hopefully that's not enough to do appreciable damage to tender young shoots. That's the last cold spell in sight for 2024. Let's hope that holds.

I'm letting Dr. Huey grow out some before I prune. There are very few surviving main canes. Not sure why as it was a mild winter. Usually, in Spring it's green to the tips. But not this year. There is a lot of basal growth so I think the good doctor will live on. Just won't be many blooms in 2024.

Completed pruning of everything (other than the Dr. Huey climber) earlier today at long last. I pruned 208 rose bushes over 12 different days, which averages out to about 17 per day. I am probably more meticulous than most (especially on picking up overwintered leaves) so it does take me a while. Last year I completed pruning on May 10th, so I'm exactly 3 weeks ahead of last year. I'd say Spring here is also about 3 weeks ahead of last year.

I am happy it's done. Now we need warmer weather - high of only 49 tomorrow and it will be 34 about 6 AM tomorrow morning. Would also be nice to have wind gusts of less than 30 mph, but I suppose one can't have everything.

May not get much pruning done today. Went out at 11:30 am to put some Epsom Salts down around yesterday's pruned roses and it was downright uncomfortable. It's around 60 degrees but the wind is blowing 20-40 mph. It's coming from a direction where the house doesn't seem to be blocking any of it. Maybe I'll be braver later in the day.

Yesterday's rain did not amount to much - about 1/16th of an inch in my rain gauge. May get a little more today but not much. I am going to have to break out the hoses soon I reckon.

Update: did get out just before 4 PM and was able to prune 10 more bushes. That's as much as I could do in the relative cold (high 50s temp) and 20-40 mph winds. It was chilly to say the least. Some 92% have been pruned (192 bushes) with only 17 remaining. Might be able to finish tomorrow afternoon if the rain holds off.