Why Prune Roses? |
the basics |
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It was a few years ago when I neglected to give my roses their annual spring pruning. To my delight they did remarkably well. It was a good learning experience, which resulted in a more gentle approach instead of a major haircut every spring.
It makes sense as the more you remove, the less food they produce for themselves. 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 ThornsMost rose canes are armed with thorns or prickles, so protection is a necessity. It's not just hands that need to be covered, but forearms as well so you can reach inside the plants without being shredded. Good rose gloves reach the elbow and are made of pigskin, suede and leather.
These suede long sleeved rose gloves are available at Lee Valley Tools. Click on the picture to go to their website.
Basic Rose PruningWhen purchasing a rose, keep the label so you know if it's a hybrid tea, floribunda etc., as not all rose types are pruned the same way. Some flower only once a year, while others are repeat or continuous bloomers. Knowing when to prune ensures you don't remove potential flower buds, while increases plant health.
'Miss All American Beauty', hybrid tea rose.
Removing Dead and Old CanesDead, dying, old, 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. A pruning saw or loppers make the job much easier compared to hand pruners. To prevent spreading disease, disinfect your pruning tools 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.
When shortening canes, cut just above a node.
This brown cane is dying back and should be cut back to healthy wood.
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Keep the last of the autumn blossoms on rugosa roses if you want their colourful rose hips.
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.
When removing flowers for vases or when deadheading, cut the stem just above a five or 7 leaflet leaf.
To remove entire canes, remove them at their base.
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Before spring pruning.
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After spring pruning.
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spring pruning
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Prune roses when forsythias flower.
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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.
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Prune the Old Garden roses, such as Alba, Centifolia, Damasks, Gallica and Moss roses that flower only once a yearimmediately after flowering. Prune repeat bloomers such as Bourbons, Hybrid Perpetuals, and Portland roses in February or March.
Remove dead, spindly, diseased, crossing canes and those that grow towards the plant's centre. Cut back each remaining cane by one-quarter just above an outward facing bud. |
Shortening Stems, cutting Flowers & Deadheading
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 three leaflet leaf.
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A five leaflet leaf.
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When cutting stems, cut just above a five leaflet leaf that faces away from the plant's centre.
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A properly pruned rose cane.
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Climbing Roses and Ramblers
A rose covered arbour.
Rambler roses only flower once per year while climbing roses generally have repeat flowerings. This means they require different pruning methods, however, they both need to be tied to their supports as they grow.
To promote flowering, train their stems horizontally along a fence or onto another support. 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.
To promote flowering, train their stems horizontally along a fence or onto another support. 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
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The large flowered climber
Altissimo rose.
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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.
- To learn more about rambling roses click here.
pruning tree roses
Tree roses, like this floribunda Iceberg rose, are grafted and often form suckers along the trunk.
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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. 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 trunk as the 'spliced' plant parts want to grow themselves. This means that the rootstocks take over the desirable rose bush on top.
The suckers are easy to identify not only because of where they emerge, they look different than the desirable rose on top of the plant. They are robust with thick stems and large leaves, If and when they flower, the blossoms will not resemble the rest of the rose blossoms. As soon as the suckers appear, pull them off if you can. If they are too big to yank off, cut them off at their base. 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. |
More On Roses...
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