Methods Of Pruning Roses
Whatever the variety of rose you have in your yard, you will eventually have to prune them, usually during the winter months. Pruning roses can be tricky because of the sharp thorns they have on their stems. For this reason it is always important to wear some form of protection on your hands.
Rose bushes generally come into flower during the spring and summer months. Once the roses have stopped flowering it is then that you should think about pruning them. Please remember though, that roses should not be pruned for the first couple of years. The reason for pruning roses is to allow room for the following years growth. If pruning roses that are very young, you are hampering the growth of the following years blooms.
Pruning roses as soon as they have finished flowering is essential for controlling their width and height. Be careful when it comes to pruning your roses, and do not get too carried away. Rose bushes only need light pruning, mainly to remove the old stems.
Modern Hybrids Require Different Pruning Times
The majority of today's hybrid roses originally came from one particular rose, the china rose. The hybrid varieties of today have been bred to flower for longer periods of time. Every year the rose will produce new stems and each of these stems will also flower. The beauty of roses is they flower from spring all the way through till we see the first signs of frost. Once the frost has appeared, everyone knows that the time has come for pruning roses.
However, there are occasions when the rose will need pruning, whatever time of year it is. If at any time your rose bush has any evidence of disease then remove the affected stem. The same applies if any of the stems have died. When you are pruning roses always cut just above a bud, and make sure that you do this at an angle. Pruning at an angle allows any water to run straight off the stem, which can help prevent disease.
As well as pruning your roses, remember to always dead-head your roses once the flower head has died. This is to be done with all species of roses, and will help encourage the rose to flower again. Another reason for doing this is to prolong the life of the rose bush. Dead-heading also saves you from having to pick up all the dead rose petals that have fallen all over the yard.
