It’s time. We can finally prune.
I own a lot of roses. Too many in fact. At first look in spring, I am stunned by all the thorny canes I’ll be facing. Until this year, I used regular gloves, which ensured numerous scratches up and down my forearms. I’ve actually been asked if I’ve been in a cat fight and lost. Very funny.
Several years ago, I bought a pair of relatively inexpensive rose gloves. The jury’s still out on whether I like them, but my forearms look better. I’d like a pair of Bionic Rose Gloves like the ones on the right, but it’s only March, and I’ve already spent a small fortune on gardening implements. (I had to replace my trusty hoe, and of course, I couldn’t decide, so I bought two.)
Now, for the roses. Used to be, we all grew Hybrid Teas, the hot house flowers of the rose world. We were told to take the bush down to three or four canes and prune at least a third of it off. This was to create the perfect exhibition bloom. I never did exhibit my roses, but over 20 years ago, I followed “their” advice. I don’t do that anymore. Roses bloom on new wood, and such extreme pruning reduces the number of blooms. I’m into quantity, not show quality.
Many of my roses are landscape varieties, like Floribundas and shrub roses, hybridized for disease resistance. I own a few Hybrid Teas, but I prune them gently. Most are grafted, which means their root stock is a different variety than the rose growing on top. Have you seen any ugly, wild-looking, dark red roses growing around town? Those are roses, which died down to their root stock, and that is what you see blooming. They should be dug up and thrown away. The will never look beautiful again. A graft is a weak spot in any plant, and it’s not good for Hybrid Teas to struggle too hard. They are likely to swoon if too much is expected.
On the left, is the Hybrid tea, ‘Rio Samba,’ a lovely yellow and red-orange AARS award winner. I have two of these, and they really like the heat, but not the cold. I thought I would show you step by step how I prune this bush. First, I cut the cane which is growing across the middle of the bush. You don’t want any crossing canes if you can help it. Next, I look for any dead wood, which will be a light brown, and I cut it all the way down to the cane joint. Your cuts should be diagonal as shown in the photo on the right so that water doesn’t pool in the open wound. Even though I have cane borers in my garden, I don’t seal the wounds with sealant or Elmer’s glue. I used to, but it was too much trouble, and then I read the sealant harbored diseases. I just cut below cane borers. Also, prune to an outward facing bud. That way, the cane will grow outward giving more airflow to the bush and not cross over.
Once I’ve pruned this far, I stand back and look at the bush again to get an overall feel for what I’ve accomplished.
While on the subject of pruning, if you have a garden with shrubs, like roses, and tough perennials, buy yourself a decent set of pruners, like these Felco pruners. You’re worth it. For years, I tried to prune roses with inferior pruners, only to end up with hand strain. I own the Felco #6 for small hands, but I wish I’d bought the original ones. They’re cheaper and bring more strength to the job. I noticed in the photo that my pruners need to be sharpened because the cut doesn’t look as sharp as I like it. I’ll take mine to Circle Saw Shop, a small family owned business located in Edmond, for sharpening.
After I look the bush over, I check for any signs of disease. ‘Rio Samba’ has a real problem with dieback, which means she gets cold, or tired, or whatever, and her canes die back at certain points. This is not a good quality in a bush, but she blooms so heavy, I figure she gets tired like women who have a lot of babies right in a row. She’s entitled. I just cut below the dieback point and hope for the best. This photo shows another problem, which I call “blowout.” It’s not the technical term, but I think it’s an apt description. You need to cut below this even if there’s beautiful stuff above. Don’t worry. Just do it.
After I’ve finished this, I look at the bush and make cuts to create an even urn shape like this. See how nice she now looks? She’s ready for the garden party in May and June.
As for roses like Knockout®, they don’t need a lot of pruning. Simple deadheading and shaping up will suffice. Don’t overprune them either. They are supposed to be three to four feet in height and two to three feet in width. Give this plant some room and some fertilizer, and you’ll be rewarded with cherry red blooms all summer.
Once I’ve finished pruning, I clean up all of the leaf debris around the rose. Rose leaves harbor diseases like blackspot, so it’s important to keep it clean.
I hope you have fun pruning your roses this spring. If you get finished before I do, come on over and help. I’m sure I’ll still be out there pruners in hand. Oh, and once the pruning is finished, it’s time for feeding. That you can’t miss.
I truly enjoyed your very informative post. Pruning is definitely not my area of expertise (if I really have one!)
Since I’ve been adding roses to our garden, I’ll definitely follow your pruning suggestions, and I’ll be looking for some rose pruning gloves! Thanks for the interesting suggestions!
Sharon, thanks for coming over and commenting. I hope my suggestions help. I found it all very confusing when I first started growing these Queens of the garden.~~Dee
I don’t grow roses, but your pruning instructions were very informative. It makes me want to pick up a few roses and try them in containers. Happy GTS,
Aiyana
Aiyana, I can heartily say, “grow those roses!” You’ll be glad to grow them in pots. Just pick ones that don’t grow too large. Actually, the ‘Knockout’ series would be great in pots. We have them at church.~~Dee
This question shall reveal the novice I am! You may all laugh, I give you permission! But what do you do with the canes after you prune them? Not sure I want them in my compost bin….so I chopped them into pieces and am thinking about throwing them at speeders as they drive down the street. Seriously, just trash them?
Gail
Gail, we’re all novices at something. You made my day with the speeders comment. You must live on a through street like I do. Your impulse is correct. Just throw them away. The canes probably have diseases, so you don’t want them in your compost pile. Do likewise with the leaves.~~Dee
Thanks for a very informative post! I love roses too. Most of my roses are shrub roses and they only need a light pruning. I’ve got a couple of hybrid teas though, and I’ll take you advice on not pruning them too hard.
/Katarina (Roses and stuff)
Thanks Katarina. You’re right about the shrubs. Light pruning is all they need.~~Dee
Dee, I’m so glad I read your post, I keep forgetting to get my felco’s sharpened. I’ve only got two roses here, both climbers and both of them need some serious pruning ASAP!
Melanie, glad I could help.~~Dee
Hey, girlfriend– I was just outside pruning my grandmother’s rose bush and thinking that I really needed to talk to Dee about this. Then I came in here and read your blog! I sure hope I have not killed the bush. Thanks for the clear instructions. Love you. — CurtissAnn
Hey CA, I’m glad I could help, but I’m also glad we had lunch today. Face time is so important too don’t you think?~~Dee
Very informational and fun post Dee! I am planting knockout roses around my veggie garden(a sort of natural fence) this year. Good to know they don’t require a lot of pruning.
Ooh, Curtis, that will work great. I can’t wait to see photos of it.~~Dee
I brought my Felco pruners with me from England when I moved here and can’t recommend them highly enough. I did my pruning last weekend, always good to get it behind you.
Sarah, you were smart to bring them. They are the best.~~Dee
Hi again Dee. I gave this post a link and a nod on my blog today.
Deb, thank you so much.~~Dee
Dee, thanks for the lesson, lots of good advice. I’m with you about not sealing the cuts, mostly just because of laziness, but the roses seem okay. We prune on or around valentine’s day, weather permitting. Now those gloves at the beginning of your post look wonderful. I got the short bionic ones as a Christmas gift, they are so soft. I haven’t used them for the hard stuff, I can wear out a pair of gloves literally in a day, expensive or not! Some rose thorns will go through leather gloves, Killer did, one of the reasons he is history.
Frances at Faire Garden
Frances, those are my dream gloves. Maybe next year. I love your posts on Killer. Everyone head over to Frances’s Faire Garden and read her posts on Killer. I had my own Killer once too.~~Dee
Great information,
I have pretty much limited my roses to Knockout’s and climbing roses. I don’t have time for the spray routine right now, maybe someday.
Vonlafin, I understand why. Roses take a lot out of you quite literally.~~Dee
Thanks for thinking of us! Now I know what I will get myself for Mother’s Day!!!!
I’m going to hold you to it. You just live down the road, you know.~~Dee
Awesome post, Dee, though I lost it in a fit of the giggles over the “couldn’t decide which one so I bought two” story about the hoe. I don’t have probably as many roses as you do, and many are rugosas, but it’s always an entertaining bloodgiving session when I do get around to pruning them. This is good information from you, because as you know many people are REALLY intimidated by pruning.
Jodi, I know I was intimidated when I first started. It sounded so complicated. I have a couple of rugosas. ‘Hansa’ is the one I can think of right now. Great plants. I’m glad I made you laugh. I was laughing at myself when I wrote it. BTW, both hoes are good.~~Dee
Just did this task a few days ago….a rite of spring! I just bought my first Felco and I love it….I got the #8. It is quite satisfying to stand back and look at your work after you’re done pruning, no?
Connie, you bought #8, the ergonomic one. I’m sure it was a good choice. They all are. I’m still pruning.~~Dee
Hi, Dee,
Thanks for the lesson. I know I’m doing some things right.
I know how to prune at an angle; I have the right tools (though I think I would like to use those longer gloves to groom my fussy Maine Coon cat!); I know not to have crossed canes. But I don’t think I know enough about canes themselves. I probably leave too many…Oh, well. They are pretty! And I start fertilizing during the last of the rains, but it’s probably all different out here, right?? 🙂
Kathryn
Kathryn, the more canes you leave, the more flowers you get, although smaller in size. We start fertilizing around the end of March. Does your climate ever go completely dormant? It would make sense to fertilize after the rains because the rains would wash away the fertilizer.~~Dee
That was great information. I teach pruning and you nailed it. Nice gloves. I bought an expensive pair a few years back and they have been worth it.
Thanks, Deb. When I’m writing these, I’m trying to remember if I’ve forgotten anything. After the post, I realized I hadn’t dealt with climbers. Maybe I’ll do that tomorrow.~~Dee
Oh, I’m finished already. We prune in mid-February this far south. No blooms yet, but the foliage is filling out nicely. I hope to have flowers in time for the Spring Fling.
Okay, Pam, now I’m really jealous. We won’t have blooms until the end of April and that’s if we don’t have a freeze in between to wreck everything. So far, it has been very warm which worries me. Can’t wait to see your gardens.~~Dee
I’d love to help you prune. I always enjoyed doing it when I had over 70 roses in my CA garden. I found it rather satisfying.
GGG, just hop a flight and come on down. I’m sure there will be plenty of work to do. :-)~~Dee
You know, I didn’t know all this good stuff. And here I live in the rose capital! I didn’t know about special rose gloves, or how to cut them right. I’ve just been chopping to my heart’s content and stop when it looks like I should. But then I’ve usually had miniatures. I guess I’ve been lucky. I’ll be careful now and heed your advice (or try to!)
Brenda
Brenda, I didn’t know all that stuff either until I became a fanatic. You need more roses, girl. If you’ve never been to Tyler’s rose parade and week long celebration, you need to go and write about it on your blog. I went with HH and the kids one year. The Diva still talks about the rose gardens. BTW, are you coming to the spring fling?~~Dee