Late April into May is the time to prune your roses. We’ll still get some temperature fluctuations but now's the time to inspect your roses to see how they fared through the winter and to get them ready for the new season.
Start by gathering your tools. You'll need garden scissors, a good pair of bypass pruners, a set of loppers for large canes and sturdy gloves.
Next, remove the rose collar from the base of the rose and start pulling back the mulch. It’s best to remove mulch gradually over the course of several days. This will allow the rose to adjust to the change in soil temperature.
Start your actual spring pruning by using your bypass pruners to remove any dead, diseased and damaged canes. Next, remove any canes that cross in the center. This will open up the center of the rose bush. After all the dead, diseased, broken and crossed canes have been removed, the remaining canes should be cut back 1/3 to ½.
Select an outward facing bud eye and cut the cane about ¼" above the bud eye.
The bud eye may be active
or dormant.
Make your cut at an angle so water will roll off the pruning point. Pruning cuts made this way will keep the rose bush growing outward. For larger canes you can put a drop of white glue on the end of the cane to keep moisture and insects out.
Use your garden scissors to remove move any small, twiggy stems and rose hips from last season. Even with mounding for winter protection, roses can experience significant dieback. Pruning roses with many brown canes may mean you’ll cut the canes almost to the ground, in some cases.
Use a good bypass hand pruner for medium sized canes and a long handled lopping pruner for larger canes.
Mini-roses grow on their own roots.
This is the time of year to remove all winterkill down to healthy wood. Climbing roses have two types of stems, the main climbing canes and the lateral shoots, which come off the main canes.
The lateral shoots are the ones that produce flowers. Start by removing any dead or damaged canes, then cut back the remaining canes a foot or so.
After pruning your rose bushes, fertilize them with Fertilome Rose Food or
Mile High Rose Food. Finally, don't avoid pruning because you're worried about making a mistake. Roses need to be pruned in the spring in order to do their best. As long as your roses are healthy, well-watered and fed, one or two bad cuts isn't going to harm them. If you have questions about pruning roses, stop in. We'll help you.
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