Why Prune Roses? |
the basics |
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I used to prune my roses hard every spring, however, one year I didn’t have the time. I did give them a light tidying he previous fall. The following spring my many rose bushes outdid themselves with cascades of flowers and robust growth. It was a good learning experience. Now, I am not so gung-ho with my hand pruners and they no longer quake in fear when they see me approaching. So go easy on cutting them back, as the more you remove, the less food they produce for themselves. Don’t forget you are removing their leaves and stems, which are the food producing parts of the plant. With that said, roses respond well to pruning. They become bushier and more floriferous. Old canes need to be removed so new ones can take their place. It also may seem like a daunting task, but they are tough cookies and generally rebound if mistakes are made.
If rose pruning is not you thing, there are roses that need little or no pruning such as Parkland Roses, Meidiland Landscape Roses and Flower Carpet Roses. Protection from ThornsPruning roses is not a painless endeavor. To protect your hands and forearms from prickles and thorns, purchase some long cuffed rose gloves in pigskin, suede, leather or go all out and invest in Kevlar gloves. Regular garden cloth gloves only provide minimal protection.
Basic Rose PruningThere are numerous types of roses and their pruning methods differ to ensure their health, vigor and to promote their gorgeous blossoms. Hybrid teas, floribundas, shrub, species, climbers and ramblers all have different growing habits as well as flowering habits. Therefore, it is important to know which type of rose you have, so hang on to those plant labels.
'Miss All American Beauty', hybrid tea rose.
Removing Dead and Old CanesThose dead, dying, old, and ugly canes and stubs are often difficult to remove, but alas, they must go. They provide a pathway for fungus and disease, including rose canker. Dead rose wood is extremely hard and dense so hand pruners are usually insufficient. Use a pruning saw or loppers to make the job much easier, but do remember to disinfect your pruning tools preferably after each cut and especially after each plant. Mix a couple of tablespoons of Lysol or Pine Sol with water in a spray bottle. Spray your tools as you go.
Dead rose canes are brown and are difficult to cut into, but should be removed asap.
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The rose cane on the left is a sucker, the one on the right is a normal rose cane. Note the sucker's growth is elongated, the leaves are lighter green and is more vigorous.
Remove entire rose clusters once the flowers have faded.
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To remove entire canes, remove them at their base.
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This brown cane is dying back and should be cut back to healthy wood.
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spring pruning
Forsythias flower at the same time roses are ready for their spring pruning.
- Prune in February or March when the forsythia blooms
- Hybrid teas: keep 4 to 6 of the healthiest and strongest canes that are well spaced from each other. Each cane should have 3 to 6 nodes along their stems.
- Floribundas, grandifloras: keep 5 to 7 well-spaced canes with 5 to 7 buds. Cut the remaining canes back leaving 3 to 6 outward facing buds
- Modern Shrub Roses: after removing the dead, old, diseased and spindly canes etc., remove 1/4 of the remaining canes
- Remove all dead, diseased spindly canes at their base.
- Remove all suckers on grafted varieties.
Cut back rose canes to an outward facing bud (node) on an angle slanting away from the bud.
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A rose cane has started to grow after being cut to an outward facing bud.
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Autumn Pruning
- Prune lightly in October to prepare for winter.
- Cut back overly long canes so they don't whip around in the winter wind and dislodge the roots from the soil (referred to as 'wind rock').
- Remove spent flowers and flower clusters.
- Remove dead, diseased, broken stems and suckers.
Suckers grow from the roots below the graft (bud union).
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Remove suckers that form below the bud union, from where they emerge from the roots.
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Old Garden Roses and Species Roses
Nootka species rose.
There are two types of shrub roses: ones that flower once a year and ones that blossom multiple times. For those that bloom only once a year (Alba, Centifolia, Damasks, Gallica and Moss roses), prune immediately after flowering. For repeat bloomers (Bourbons, Hybrid Perpetuals, and Portland roses) prune in February or March. Remove dead, spindly and diseased canes as per then cut back each remaining cane by one-quarter just above an outward facing bud. Clear out any canes that are growing towards the center of the plant.
Deadheading and Cutting Roses for Flower Arranging
When cutting roses for cut flowers and for deadheading spent blossoms, cut just above an outward facing leaf that contains five or more leaflets. This method encourages more flower buds to form.
A 3 leaflet leaf. Look down the stem for a 5 to 7 leaflet leaf when deadheading & cutting roses.
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A 5-leaflet leaf. Cut just above this leaf to produce more rose blossoms.
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Climbing Roses and Ramblers
Although both climbing roses and ramblers both climb with their overly long canes, their flowering differs. Rambler roses only flower once per year while climbing roses generally have repeat flowerings. Although both of these rose types have long flowering canes, they do remarkably well when trained horizontally. Tie canes along a fence or onto another support as this stimulates flowers to form. Wait a couple of years before pruning newly planted climbers and ramblers. Allow them to form a framework first. When trained upright, tie the stems to their support as they grow. Space the major canes to promote air circulation, optimize the sun and to show off the flowers.
Pruning Climbing Roses
The large flowered climber
Altissimo rose.
- For climbers that flower only once per year, prune just after flowering.
- For repeat bloomers prune in early spring, after flowering and a wee bit in fall.
- Remove dead, diseased, crossing, spindly, rubbing and non-productive canes.
- Cut back all side shoots by 1/3rd just above an outward facing node but keep the main branches.
- For all types of climbers, cut back each lateral stem, whether it has flowered or not, to 3 to 6 inches just above an outward facing bud or leaf.
- In autumn, remove dead, diseased, old non-flowering canes and spindly ones to ground level
- Secure remaining canes to their support to prevent winter winds dislodging the plant from the soil.
- Remove suckers on grafted varieties ASAP.
Pruning ramblers
Rambling rose flower on second year's canes.
- Ramblers blossom once a year so prune right after flowering.
- Keep the main branches but cut back all the side shoots to 6 inches, just above an outward facing bud. Or remove entire stems to 8 inches off the ground once they have finished flowering.
- Remove suckers from grafted varieties as soon as they form. In autumn, prune off old, dead, diseased canes and ones that grow towards the centre of the plant at their base and secure remaining canes to the support.
- Since ramblers flower on second year’s wood, don’t cut back all the stems every year as this removes any future blossoms.
- To rejuvenate old plants, cut all the canes to the ground in late summer.
- As new stems emerge, keep only the strong ones and cut them back by 1/3rd and secure them to a support.
pruning tree roses
Tree roses, like this floribunda Iceberg rose, are grafted and often form suckers.
Tree roses, also referred to as standard roses, and are considered a novelty plant. They look like a tree, but are not really; they are three rose plants grafted together. The hardy rootstock (the roots) is grafted onto a long leafless trunk with a desirable rose (scion) grafted on top of that trunk (scion). Because they bear two grafts, reliability and hardiness is an issue, especially in cold climates. Suckers are another problem. They will appear from the roots and the trunk as the 'spliced' plant parts often want to grow themselves instead of supporting the desirable rose bush on top. When suckers do appear they will look more robust, with larger leaves and thicker stems and bear different flowers than the rest of the plant. Pull them off when they are small or prune them off at their base if they won't yank off.
Prune stand roses by removing dead, diseased, spindly canes and ones that rub and cross. Prune healthy stems back in spring by one third as new growth emerges. Avoid heavy pruning in fall. Just remove overly long canes and deadhead after flowering. Mulch well and wrap with burlap for winter to prevent winterkill.
Prune stand roses by removing dead, diseased, spindly canes and ones that rub and cross. Prune healthy stems back in spring by one third as new growth emerges. Avoid heavy pruning in fall. Just remove overly long canes and deadhead after flowering. Mulch well and wrap with burlap for winter to prevent winterkill.
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