Hi -

I have recently moved to Las Cruces for job reasons from Vermont. Needless to say, the climate is a bit different!

We bought a very neglected place. There were originally many nice plantings, but almost all died due to lack of water through the years of renters. Amazingly, three very nice roses survived. One is a huge thing (approx. 8-10 ft tall) on the west side of the house. I of course started to water it when we got here in June, but didn't feed because I have heard feeding is best in the fall here. The bush put out one major flush of blooms, but despite removal of spent flowers did not bloom again over the summer. The roses on the east side of the house bloomed continuously over the summer. The question is, why didn't it bloom more? I fed it in Oct - is that appropriate? When can I prune the beast? How ruthless can I be with the pruning? I've not been much of a rose fan in the past, so am not that experienced with them. However, I have been impressed with the toughness of these - I've more respect for roses now!

Also, is there anything a person can be planting or doing in the garden now? I'm itchy to get going again - this lack of snow makes me think I should be in the garden!