Customer Reviews

How To Prune Roses "Real Men Prune Roses Bare Handed"

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
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"How to Prune Roses" is a clear, easy to understand teaching video. I never "got it" before, but with this in-home horticulturist, showing me, step by step, over and over again, I finally got it! Now, when I need a refresher course, there he is!
Highly reccommended!

This is an incredibly informative DVD...no frills or fancy productions to get in the way of all there is to learn. Mr Smith casually relates volumes of knowledge about the annual shaping of rose bushes, and true to the title, he really prunes bare handed!, with no blood or curses (unlike my adventures with pruning roses). I hope he plans on making more videos, like how to take care of roses the rest of the year!....James obviously knows what he's doing and should make a series of DVD's for my "How To" library. I can't wait to see my roses this spring!How To Prune Roses "Real Men Prune Roses Bare Handed"

I pruned roses for years with only one glove, and must say, with the Plantsmiths' clear instruction we can all discard the gloves. I have this recording in VHS format, and it is very clear/easy to follow. It's not a "fancy" recording, but takes you up close to the simplicity of pruning. Anyone can prune successfully (and bare handed) with the Plantsmiths' instruction.

Pruning is one of those gardening tasks that I always approach with some level of apprehension. Did I cut too much? Too little? The wrong branch? Unlike a bad haircut that will eventually right itself, a poor pruning job can be disastrous.

With that in mind, I can highly recommend this video. The instructions are very clear and I felt far more confident after viewing it versus just reading about how to prune and looking at diagrams. There's just no substitute to watching someone actually make the cuts.

James's teaching style is clear and easy to follow. I very much appreciated that he explained what he was going to do and why - makes for a much more valuable learning experience.

My only quibbles are the production values. The audio was unbalanced in spots, and the videography could have been better, especially with regard to close-ups and camera shake. These issues never became significant enough to cause a real problem, but the case for improvements could be made.

I'm familiar with James from his gardening book (which I also highly recommend). Hopefully more videos will be coming - I'd love to see one on tree and shrub pruning!

Highly recommend this if you're looking to increase your knowledge and comfort level with rose pruning. Would also make for a great gift - this video plus a rose bush would be a wonderful housewarming present.

[Disclosure: I received a review copy of this video from the author at no charge]

Jim is a friend of mine, so perhaps I'm biased, but he is one of the nicest men I've ever met, and that comes through in this wonderful video. As a rose expert, he demonstrates how to prune all kinds of roses, from smallest to tallest, but the best part of this video is that he shows you how to do it by actually pruning real garden roses, not nursery examples. Most home gardeners do not have perfect little sticks out of a box or pot, and when faced with last year's growth or an overgrown old rose, they don't have a clue where to begin.

This video is perfect for all skill levels, especially beginners, because Jim shows you exactly what to cut, where to cut, and how to cut it. And, unlike other videos, he doesn't just cut something and then move on to another shot -- he focuses on the same bush and shows every cut, start to finish, so you can see the whole process of pruning a rose properly.

The video is never dull, even at 50 minutes, because not only is the pruning process interesting to watch and learn from (and you learn a LOT), but Jim is the friendly, knowledgeable next-door neighbor you wish you had, pruning his roses without gloves because he prefers to be in tune with the plants and pay attention to where the thorns are, rather than manhandling them. He also gives plenty of advice during the course of the video, so it's not just shots of pruners cutting branches.

Even though I've had roses my whole life and shown others how to prune them, this video is a valuable addition to my collection, and I recommend it to anyone who has roses and wants them to be the best they can be.

I was given a rose bush as a gift by my rose-loving friend, and was encouraged to watch this video to help me with pruning. What a blessing! I was a little intimidated until I watched this video, and now I am confident. My experienced rose-loving friend says she also learned some new tricks. This video is a 'must' for all rose-growers!

This appears to be a good guide for pruning modern shrub roses, but I would have loved to have seen a section on pruning climbing roses, and the differences between pruning modern shrub roses vs. old garden roses and tea roses. That said, the basic techniques will be useful within the context of other information about pruning different classes of roses, and I'm not aware of any other DVD that demonstrates rose pruning techniques so this one will be useful to me as a starting point, but tempered with advice from books on the different techniques required for different classes of roses.

This is a nice teaching video, presented clearly and covering a variety of roses and methods of pruning. Other useful info includes how to differentiate between suckers and keepers, creating and making the most use of spaces, times of year for pruning and feeding plants and how to avoid most diseases. James definitely has an eye for shaping roses and I esp. liked the short segment covering miniature potted roses. Spend time with this professional and soon you will feel just at home with pruning roses as he does!

Step-by-step video on how to prune roses - and barehanded, no less! James Smith has an easy teaching style, speaks clearly and slowly enough to follow, and has beautiful hands (you're watching them on this DVD, so that's a perk).

Being a complete novice, I had to watch the video awhile to get a sense of what an "outward facing bud" was - critical to correct pruning! (Who knew?!) Also answered later in the video was when to prune.

Seeing the pruning done is easier than reading about it. (And watching the cats walk through the video added comic relief.)

The videography itself was the only weakness. The camera was unsteady at times, and zooming in to something happening on the back side of the branch didn't show much more than a stationary shot would have. Still, the shots are clear, and the teaching is excellent. Jim knows his stuff!

(I also *very highly* recommend his gardening book. The Wise Old Gnome Speaks: How to Really, Really, Really Care About Your Garden)