Jim Donoso, Helen Moyot, Jolene Adams, Deane Coleman, Susan Gutierrez, Peter del Prete, Kim Larson and Ed Burton volunteered to help at a pruning clinic held at Regan Nursery in Fremont.

They demonstrated pruning techniques and also lectured about growing good roses, how to select roses for your landscape, and how to deal with disease and insects.

The 'star of the show' was the pruning of a climber.

This rose was tied upright to a post - but when the homeowner selects it and plants it at home, it must be trained with the long canes tied horizontal to the ground so that all the buds on the tops of the canes will sprout stems with blossoms.

The climber has been cut back - dead and spindley growth has been removed, and the youngest canes have been tipped and are ready to be tied down.

This will be a very nice rose for someone.

Peter Del Prete is our youngest member. He grows his own roses in his mother's yard and brings the blooms to the rose show.

He is helping us with the pruning demonstrations.

A shrub rose - ready for pruning.

Deane Coleman is bringing the bush down to size. This rose was very scraggly when she started, but she is carefully clipping the outer canes at the same hieght all around, and then she will clip the inner canes a bit taller so the bush will be rounded when it leafs out.

She is also making sure the center is clear so sunlight can reach down the center of the plant.

Here is the subdued shrub rose - ready to go home with some lucky shopper.