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A Thorny Subject - How to Properly Remove Rose Thorns |
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Written by Chad Cook
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Saturday, 12 August 2006 |
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You have likely heard of the phrase: every rose has its thorn. Too many, thorns represent the risk which lurks behind the beauty of the roses, all sorts of myths try to interpret the presence of these dangerous little daggers on rose stems. Greek myth suggests that Cupid shot arrows into the roses accidentally after being stung by a bee and it was the sting from his arrow that caused the thorns to take root.
Don't despair if these little daggers are a thorn in your side. With a tiny bit of care and some tolerance, you can remove those pesky thorns for a nice smooth stem on your rose.
Thorns do actually help the plant drink water, so it is substantial that you remove them correctly and do not inflict extreme damage on the stem. You need to take your time and practice a proper dethorning method or else you and the rose will be injured in the process.
Carelessly removing thorns will damage your roses in the long run. They can not last as long as they should and any peeled or torn skin will hinder the amount of water that makes its way up to the petals. Proper dethorning takes practice and patience.
You can remove thorns properly on the plant, or you can wait until the stem is cut and do it later. It is best to try and remove thorns on the stem when it is very young and before the rose blooms if you know that the stem will be cut at some point in the future for display or for the purpose of a bouquet. You can take off thorns by applying slight pressure to the sides to simply take them off the stem. You can use this same procedure with cut stems.
Removing thorns by hand is a tedious task, and with different roses, the thorns grow so close together that it is almost hopeless to remove one off without stabbing yourself on another one. That's where a dethorning gadget can come in handy.
You can buy a specialty product like a thorn stripper. This kind of tool strips the stem of leaves and thorns. You can also fashion your own by some metal strapping from your nearby hardware store. If you do create your own, be sure to file the edges which will touch the flower so the stem is not torn excessively in the dethorning procedure.
To use a dethroning gadget, you simply hold it just below the flower and close the jaws together around the stem. Be certain that you don't use too much pressure when closing the jaws of the stripper because you could harm or even severe the stem. Lightly drag the dethorner down the stem. The thorns should pop right off. It may take a bit of practice to get the hand of a thorn stripper, but after a few tries you ought to have a good idea of how much pressure is required to remove the thorns.
You can also remove thorns by a knife. All you need to do is scrape the stem of the rose with a sharp floral or small pairing knife. If you are taking away thorns from the cut stem, then you may consider only removing the thorns and leaves that lie below the water level.
You want to think carefully about whether or not you need to remove all the thorns from your roses. It is important to remove rose thorns when the flowers will be in a hand held bouquet or worn on the lapel. When placing cut stems in a vase for display, you should remove the thorns that will be below the surface of the water, but you don't have to take off those that will be above water level. Taking away thorns can shorten the life of your roses so be sure that you aren't over dethorning your blooms.
An important time to do some dethorning, though, is when you are preparing plant litter for your compost pile. After pruning off any dead or decaying canes off your rose bush, you must consider removing the thorns before tossing the old stems into your compost pile. Removing the thorns can make it safer for you to work and exposing the stem in this way can also help speed up the decomposition procedure. |
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Last Updated ( Monday, 28 August 2006 )
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