Tips for pruning roses

Pruning rose bushes doesn't have to be difficult or intimidating. Rose bushes must be pruned in a special way. Make pruning more efficient with these proven tips.

Roses have a reputation for being difficult to grow - as long as you feed them and prune them well, you shouldn't have too many problems with these lovely plants. Pruning is an essential part of rose plant care and the life of the plant in your garden. In general, prune rose bushes just before the plant goes dormant after the last frost of spring. This is possible at the beginning of the year in warm climates and between January and April in cold climates.

If they are old roses you care for, prune them after flowering. They bear flowers on last year's wood. When pruning roses, cut the deadwood first - it will help you "see" the shape of the plant without the distraction. It is a good idea to visit a public rose garden and look for specimens of the roses you are growing. Notice how the gardeners pruned roses of the same type.

In cold winter climates, spring pruning is often reduced to one option: simply cutting back the wood that was killed in winter. In warm climates, the cut can be made on three levels, depending on the intended use. Heavy pruning (cut to leave three or four canes, 15 to 10 inches high) will produce fewer but larger blooms. A moderate cut (five to 12 sticks, cut to 18 to 24 inches) makes for a larger shrub. And a light pruning (less than a third of the plant is thinned) will increase the number of short-stemmed flowers produced.

Cutting tools for rose bushes

Invest in a good quality pruning shears with both curved blades. (Those with a flat "anvil" on a blade tend to crush stems, not cut them.) This is one tool where the price really makes a difference. Choose a manufacturer with a proven track record and buy the best you can afford. Some loppers have a special handle for left-handers. Others have rotating handles that are comfortable on your wrists, and there are models with removable blades for storage. Smaller versions (cost about $ 20) are available for miniature rose pruning.

Next, you will need a pruning saw to remove large sticks of wood. You get a clean cut without damaging the button joint. The third tool you will need is loppers. Loppers are scissors with long handles (30 to 45 cm). They give you leverage for the thicker sticks. Finally, buy a good pair of leather gloves or gloves that are puncture resistant. Now you can start pruning roses.

Why prune roses

Pruning intimidates some gardeners. But learning how to prune a rose bush isn't a difficult task. Understanding the reasons behind the cuts will make pruning less daunting. Here are the reasons for pruning.

Health: The dead or damaged stems of a rose should be pruned back to green wood in late winter or early spring before the plant grows again. Remove sick sticks if you notice them. Improve air circulation by removing sticks growing in the center of the plant.

Appearance: Modern bushy roses need help to maintain their compact, open shape. Heirloom roses require less trimming because their loose, twiggy appearance is part of their charm. By the fall, miniature roses had grown large and long-legged. Cutting spent flowers encourages plants to re-bloom.

Control: Some roses grow with wild dedication. Pruning rose bushes removes diseased and dead stems and canes and reduces the overall size of the plant. Keep them in check by pruning their ends or entire canes at any time. Colder evenings produce poorly formed, blotchy flowers and yellowish foliage that often sheds. Rose hips, which can interrupt the next bloom cycle, can develop if spent flowers are not removed.

Roses cutting principles

1. Continue to prune dead wood for healthy tissue. You can recognize the living tissue by the green bark and the white medulla.

2. After you have made each cut, cover it with a drop of white glue for quick recovery and protection from pipe drilling.

3. Trim to ensure the center of the socket is for maximum air

4. Remove any growth on the main canes that by themselves cannot support a fairly thick stem.

5. If there are suckers - growths of the root structure that sprout below the bud junction - remove them as close to the main rhizome as possible.

6. Remove woody old sticks; looked as close to the button association as possible.

7. After pruning your rose bush, remove the remaining leaves from the canes and remove any debris from around the bush. Discard leaves (do not use them in the compost pile).

How to Prune Roses

1. Make your cuts at a 45 degree angle about 1/4 inch above the axis of a blade with one eye resting.

2. Point one eye on the outside of the stick and tilt the cut on the other side. This allows excess natural juice to be absorbed and the cut to be sealed without affecting the developing eye. Cutting a rose bush into an outward-facing bud also stimulates outward growth, opening the plant to air circulation, creating more comfortable shapes, resisting disease, and preventing the canes from tangling. Cuts closer than 1/4 inch to the eye can damage the eye. Higher cuts leave visible stubble - a haven from pests and diseases.

3. If the rose bush has leaves, it is easy to see where to cut. Where there is no foliage to guide you, find the sleeping eye by finding where the foliage once connected. The eye is usually visible as a slight swelling over the surface of the stick.

4. Use the same pruning technique when cutting stems for display and removing used buds. When caring for a rose bush, remember to sharpen your pruning tools regularly - yourself or a specially trained person.

5. Wipe the metal surfaces after each use with a soft, slightly oiled cloth to prevent rust. Store tools in a dry place.