Shaping Your Rose Bushes

Pruning allows you to shape rose bushes to the desirable height and size making them compliment your garden. When you prune, you are able to encourage the production of large, long-stemmed flowers from hybrid tea roses or smaller but more abundant clusters from floribundas. It depends on what type of rose you are shaping to get the result you want to achieve. General pruning recommendations are used for hybrid tea, floribunda and grandiflora modern roses. Climbers, miniatures, ramblers and heirloom varieties have different pruning requirements and techniques.

Not only is a more pleasing affect achieved, the health of your rose garden is accelerated by pruning. Proper pruning consists of removing dead, diseased and damaged canes. By thinning canes from the interior of the plant, air circulation is increased and the possibility of some common fungal ailments such as mildew is decreased. By removing dead or damaged canes you increase the overall wellness and beauty of the roses and allow more of the plant’s energy to go immediately to its growth.

Typically you should wait until after the last frost before pruning your roses. In warm climates it might be as early as January or as late as May in areas subject to a late frost.

The main tool you will need for pruning roses is a good pair of bypass pruning shears. The clean cut made with these is beneficial when making precise cuts near a bud eye. A pair of long handled bypass loppers is necessary for large canes. The long handles provide extra leverage necessary to cut thick old growth. And, of course, a good pair of gloves is necessary to protect your hands and forearms from cuts and injury from thorns. Wearing a long sleeved shirt and long pants is also a good idea.

Before pruning think about the overall shape you desire for your rose bush. For many roses and gardens the classic “urn” shape promotes an appealing, full shape. Because of an open center there is better air circulation too.

The first cuts to make when you start to prune remove all the dead branches and canes. Dead canes are generally gray or brown while healthy growth generally appears green or red. As you cut into the canes if the pith (center) is dry and brown continue cutting further down until you reach a green or cream color. If canes cross or rub on other healthy growth, wherever possible, remove these.

Now you can start to cut on the healthy part of the plant contributing to its shape. Cuts at a 45 degree angle about ¼” above a bud eye should be made facing outward or in the desired direction of growth. Remove all branches thinner than a pencil because branches need to be a sufficient size to support your new spring growth. Thinner branches usually do not add to the overall shape you seek.

If you want more abundant blooms on smaller stems, leave most of the canes, pruning back lightly or about 30%. Medium pruning general removes more foliage, leaving up to 8 to 10 well placed canes, fewer on hybrid tea roses. The canes should be reduced to about one half their original height. This amount of pruning will work well for most healthy roses.

When a severe winter has left a fair amount of damage to your roses, heavy pruning may be the best step to take. Make sure to cut back the wood to where the center is healthy, living wood.

During the blooming season you may want to do some deadheading which encourages the plant to re-bloom. This allows you to enjoy new blossoms throughout summer.

And remember roses are resilient. Have fun and experiment to see what type of pruning works best with your rose garden.

Dayelle Swensson is an avid writer for the web on a number of topics. Having gardened herself for many years, she is able to advise others about a variety of things including gardening tips, lawn and tree care, watering, hose reel and keeping your home garden looking good and healthy.