Everything Roses

Rose Pruning Tips

Rose pruning and deadheading are important parts of your garden care routine. There are as many different opinions about how and when to prune as there are roses in need of pruning.

What follows are tried and true methods that promise to help promote and maintain, healthy vigorous growth.

As time goes by you may feel the urge to modify these techniques or even develop some new ones of your own.

That's great! Variety is the spice of life and developing your own technique and style is what gardening is all about.

Rose pruning isn't as complicated as some people may think.

In fact, there are only five basic rules and a few common sense ones.

If you keep these basic rules in mind every time you pick up your pruning shears, you'll be rewarded with beautiful roses that reflect the time and care that you put into them.



Natural Growth

Proper rose pruning techniques are based on the natural growth habit of roses. By keeping the following facts in mind and using them to guide you when you prune, you will be rewarded with numerous high quality flowers throughout the growing season.

Rose blooms are produced on new growth.

Proper pruning is geared towards promoting strong healthy canes, otherwise flowers will appear on spindly outer twigs and be of poor quality.

The more healthy wood you retain the bigger the plant will be. The bigger the plant, the more flowers it can produce.

Nutrients are stored in the woody canes of a rose, so the larger the plant is, the stronger the plant will be.

Therefore be conservative when you prune. Never chop down (for example) a vigorous 6-foot plant to 18-inch stubs.

An exception would be colder regions where plants will die back and dead growth will need to be removed.



Rose Pruning Tips

Always keep the center of your bushes "open" or free of excess growth. This denies insects and disease a place to live, and allows good air circulation which helps to keep down the instances of fungus infection.

Always remove any dead, diseased or decayed growth. This keeps your bushes healthy and also denies disease and insects a place to call home.

Shape your rose bushes as they grow. This adds symmetry to the plant and garden.

Remove crossing or weaker branches to promote stronger growth.

Perform most major pruning in late winter or early spring while the plant is still dormant or just coming out of it's dormant state.



Common sense rules

Always use sharp pruning shears and clean the shears with rubbing alcohol after use to kill any disease or fungus spores.

When pruning, always cut just above a growth node (where the base of a leaf attaches to the cane).

Make your cut at about a 45 degree angle and about a 1/4 inch or so above where a new branch will sprout.

If an excessive amount of cane remains above a growth node it may start to decay and will then spread throughout the entire plant.

Seal the cuts you've made to keep out disease. Save money and use regular Elmer's glue. It works just fine and is less expensive than commercial preparations.

Or if you prefer, use a professional grade "Prune & Seal" compound, which will have an additive to help protect against fungus and disease.



Hard or Low Pruning

Cut canes back to three or four buds above the base or the bud unions. The end result is strong canes that are about 8 to 15 inches high.

This rose pruning technique works best with young hybrid tea, grandiflora, and floribunda varieties. You should not do hard pruning with established bushes because they may not recycle.

The only exception is as a last-ditch effort to revive sick or neglected bushes or to remove cold or frost damaged canes.



Moderate or Medium Pruning

Cut strong stems back to approximately half of their length. Weaker stems should be removed to promote strong healthy canes.

This technique works fine with established gardens of floribundas, hybrid teas, grandifloras, and tree roses.



Light or High-Long Pruning

Cut the canes back to around 2/3 of their total length. After all unwanted wood is removed, any remaining stems are "tipped" or trimmed back to an active leaf node.

Light rose pruning throughout the active growing season is generally recommended for most roses, as it tends to encourage more blooms and helps to maintain the plants' shape and vigor.

This technique is helpful when a rose is badly over grown or if you find that other techniques are not working, or if the bush has been poorly shaped and neglected.





Rose pruning is not difficult to master, and with a little practice your time and effort will provide your roses with long term healthy growth and beautiful flowers for many years to come.

Good Luck and Happy Gardening!