Pruning Rose Bushes
Pruning roses seems daunting to many gardeners. Cutting back a beautiful rose bush seems counterintuitive, but regular pruning encourages new growth, helps shape the plant, and gets rid of dead wood to reduce the risk of fungal disease. While learning how to prune roses takes time and practice, you shouldn’t let that or the thorns deter you. Roses are hard to kill as long as they are in a sunny spot, get watered and you give them a haircut in the spring.
First, before pruning, get some good gardening gloves, ideally ones that extend up your forearms because those thorns can really hurt. Get some bypass pruning shears for a nice clean cut. If using old shears, sanitize and sharpen them. If your rose bush has long branches, maybe a pair of long-handled loppers are needed also. And it’s a good idea to wear long sleeves and pants.
The best time to prune roses is early spring when the first growth appears. A good rule of thumb is when you see the yellow forsythia bushes blooming, it’s time to prune your roses. When the leaf buds begin to swell and turn a reddish-pink hue, it’s another sign it’s time to trim. If you prune too early, the plants are more vulnerable to frost. Pruning them too late will remove new growth. But it’s better to trim rose bushes a little late than early, or not at all. Around Longenecker’s Hardware, we are in growing Zone 6b, in case you want to look up tips on the internet, Facebook or elsewhere.
After the first autumn frost, you can trim down the longer stems to make them less top-heavy and susceptible to winter storms. Any dead or diseased foliage and branches should also be removed; just make sure to clean your shears to keep from transferring disease to other bushes.
So on to actual pruning: Remove any remaining leaves to reveal the structure of the rose bush and allow you to see every stem. This also helps remove any pests and diseases living on the foliage.
Begin pruning dead wood. These are the brown woody stalks that once flowered but have no growth currently. Just cut them back down until you see the wood is still green inside.
Then you want to open op the center of the bush. This aids air circulation and reduces fungus and disease. Trim off any branches that cross each other. Your rose bush needs an airy, light center with open room between several thick canes.
Anything thinner than a pencil should be trimmed off. They will just bend and probably won’t be able to support new growth.
Now for the remaining stems. Cut them down to half an inch above the fist outward facing bud eye – the small bump where a leaf will grow. Cut at a 45-degree angle to promote outward growth.
Finally seal your cuts with glue (like Elmers glue) or a pruning sealer to protect from rot.
Roses absorb a lot of nutrients and do best when fed with long-lasting fertilizer. Fertilize your roses every month or 6 weeks with a balanced fertilizer of 10-10-10 or 10-6-4. Or go organic and use fish emulsion, kelp meal, compost, or well-rotted manure. My roses have always loved banana peels planted around their roots. Stop fertilizing in fall as they will be preparing to go dormant.
Then sit back and enjoy the show of blooms as you’ve created the most beautiful roses on the block.
