Roses need lots of care in dry, hot weather

The recent brief shower didn't bring relief from the high temperatures and dry Santa Ana winds for either humans or plants. Fall is finally here? Doesn't feel like it. The outlook is for high temps and maybe even triple digits.

Last month I gave illustrations and descriptions for mid-season pruning with a suggested timeline for pruning and restarting your feeding program. What may not have been clear is that this is a light pruning, and must be carefully calibrated with the weather conditions.

Specifically, when temps remain in the 90+ range, you must take care not to remove too much foliage b...