Waikato District Council urges unauthorised pruners to put down their gardening tools

Waikato District Council is urging Tuakau residents to leave the pruning of council gardens to its contractors after repeat acts of incorrect pruning have left many rose plants dead.

General Manager water and facilities Richard Bax said roses in the gardens at the Tuakau Cemetery had been targeted by an unauthorised pruner every winter for at least the past four years.

Mr Bax said the pruning damage varied each time, but in one instance a climbing rose that was in full bloom was pruned back to ground level.

As a result of the repeat damage, the roses were replaced earlier this year at a cost of nearly $2000 but another poor pruning attack this month saw many of the roses pruned incorrectly and too late in the season.

Mr Bax said some of the plants were also suspected to have been poisoned by an unidentified substance, which wasn’t believed to be the general pesticide such as Roundup.

“There seems to have been some kind of poisoning which has resulted in all the foliage and stems to die off.”

Mr Bax said that although the phantom pruner might believe he or she is helping, the pruning needed to be left to the council’s professional contractors to ensure it was done correctly and in the best interest of the roses.

If you see someone pruning the roses that you believe shouldn’t be, please contact the council on 0800 492 452.