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Spring pruning of roses — basic rules

By Administrator 30.10.2022 Leave a Comment

Spring pruning of roses bought from us is one of the most important in the season, it must be done. In the process of pruning, we remove all dry branches that have frozen over the winter (dead), all diseased and unproductive shoots. Sanitation of the bush is the first priority.

Why you need to prune roses in spring

This operation guarantees an increase in the number of buds, new buds wake up in the rose, the plant rejuvenates. The operation helps to form a powerful bush, and during this operation it is possible to maintain the health of plants, because during sanitary pruning, crooked, diseased, weak shoots growing inside are removed.

The intensity of pruning for different types of roses is very different, so be careful not to take «extra» so that your flower queen can quickly recover.

Rose pruning dates

Roses are pruned several times a year.

Do spring pruning of roses from the end of winter to mid-March. Swelling growth buds will serve as a signal to start work. If young growths are frozen, they should be cut to dormant buds.

Spend summer pruning throughout the entire flowering period — remove wilted buds. This will help to avoid rotting of the petals, excessive consumption of nutrients for unnecessary seed formation, and also stimulates growth and re-blooming in remontant varieties. Cut the inflorescence along with the shoot to the nearest strong bud. At the very end of summer, do not remove wilted flowers, then new shoots will not grow and will not freeze in the autumn-winter period.

Autumn pruning is carried out in October-November. Most often, it is necessary for plants that grow in a site with strong winds. At the same time, shorten the longest branches by 15-30 cm. Such pruning will help to avoid strong rocking of the rose by the wind. In the north, where all varieties of roses require protection from frost, cut the branches to a height of 20-30 cm — then it is more convenient to cover them.

How to prune roses in groups

Don’t cut vigorous floribundas too much, as this can deplete them. But even weak pruning will lead to the development of thin branches. The best option in this case would be a combined one, when at the beginning of flowering some shoots are pruned strongly and others weakly. The bushes will put out a lot of root shoots and will bloom longer.

In the spring, in the second year after planting, it is advisable to shorten all the main basal shoots by a third of their length, and cut the side stems to 2-3 buds, leaving about 15 cm from the base. Cut large branches on old bushes completely or up to 3-5 buds in such a way as to open the middle of the bush.

In remontant and hybrid tea varieties of roses, flowers appear on the growths of the current year, so they need moderate-strong annual pruning. The largest stems are cut to 4-6 buds (about 20 cm from the ground), less powerful — up to 2-4 buds (about 15 cm from the ground). This type of pruning gives the best results.

When the shrub begins to age, remove two or three stems annually. When you prune remontant and hybrid tea rose bushes, you stimulate the growth of strong basal shoots and form a spherical bush with an open middle and evenly spaced branches.

Three important points of sanitary cleaning of the bush:

When we cut off the shoot, we look at the cut. The core should be white. If brown — cut below, to a healthy part of the shoot.

We remove very thin branches. A good flower will not grow on such a branch — so we need to get rid of it.

Novice rose growers regret cutting roses. Do not be afraid — the rose will grow new shoots, and competent pruning will only benefit it, and no harm.

Features of the forming pruning of roses in spring

There are three possibilities for trimming the shoot: we can trim strongly (leave no more than a third of the height), moderately (leave half) or weakly (cut off no more than a third).

What does it affect:

If we cut strongly, we stimulate the growth of shoots from the base. Let’s use this method. if the rose is weak and you need to stimulate its growth (you should not abuse it and do not do this from year to year — this will weaken the plant). The same goes for planting roses.

If we cut moderately, the rose will give out side shoots, which will make the bush voluminous. In this case, the side branches will be thinner and the rose flowers themselves will be smaller.

We can cut all the shoots at the same height or at different heights.

If cut at the same height, all the buds will bloom together (almost at the same time), and then there will be a break in flowering. The rose will gain strength before the second flowering.

If we cut at different heights, we will stretch the flowering period, the flowering will be almost continuous, but not massive. Choose for yourself which option suits you best.

Another rule: we cut off powerful shoots weakly, and weak shoots — strongly.

Watch a helpful video about summer pruning of roses, it will help you understand the intricacies of this procedure.

It is worth recalling that roses should be cut not only in spring. And about the terms and rules for pruning rose bushes, it is written in great detail in our material.