By far the most commonly asked question that is posed to me is in regards to pruning roses, so let’s try to unmask the myth behind this important garden task. In general, roses are really quite easy to grow and they respond wonderfully if they are given proper “care”. Care meaning water, fertilizer, pest control & pruning.

March is the time to dust off those pruning shears and get to work on your roses, this is the perfect time to prune roses just before their spring growth resumes. Pruning has four main goals: to remove dead twigs & branches; to remove weak damaged & useless branches; to open the plant up to improve air circulation; and to create an attractive shape. And as a bonus pruning usually creates either more blooms or healthier, more robust blooms, with so many advantages to pruning there is no reason not to undertake this task.

The first bit of advice before getting started is to wear long sleeves and put on a thick pair of gardening gloves, roses will come out and bite you so it is best to be prepared. It is also an excellent idea to sanitize your shears with 1 part bleach to 4 parts water. If the rose has any diseases this will keep that disease from spreading to your other roses or any other plant in the yard. Most gardeners prefer to use the bypass or scissor type shears for rose pruning rather than the anvil shears which won’t make as clean of a cut.

Mary Jo Elston, a rose enthusiast and sales clerk at Howard Pine’s Nursery, has her North Lawrence yard brimming over with roses. She estimates that she has anywhere from fifty to fifty five rose plants growing in her garden. Elston’s advice on getting started, “People don’t prune aggressively enough on their roses. Roses look delicate but they really aren’t that delicate at all.” There are a couple of rules to rose pruning however so before you start hacking away at your roses follow these simple steps to a healthier, happier rose garden. Elston states, “First knock off the winter kill, which is all the black stems that have developed. While trimming these black tips try to keep the canes at the same length. You may have to get drastic with the shears in accomplishing this goal.”

The basic rules for pruning a rose are to always cut at a 45 degree angle about a quarter of an inch above an outward-facing bud and/or a group of five leaves. Then dab a bit of white glue on the cut to seal it. This prevents diseases from entering the open wound. By cutting above an outward-facing bud it forces the growth of the rose up and away from the center of the plant which will improve the plants air circulation and will reduce pests. At this time of year bud swells should be quite easy to spot. When pruning make sure that you cut back to the white tissue. When you view the severed cane it should be white tissue throughout with no hollow spots.

Prune dead branches by cutting to the base you may even have to use a saw to accomplish this. The best blooms come from new growth so old wood, grey and dry looking canes; they are near their end of production and need to be cut flush with the bud union. Cut off the suckers which have developed. Suckers are vigorous canes which grow from the rootstock below the graft union. Oftentimes, a gardener will have to dig a little into the soil to find where the sucker’s origin is and cut it off there.

Ideally, new canes should be growing up and slightly outward in a ‘vase’ shape and the center of the plant should have a nice airy, open feel that is generating good air circulation. Dead leaves, fallen blooms and any other debris should be removed from the base of the plant; they harbor insect’s eggs and fungal spores.

The All-American Rose Selections Organization lists 35 types of roses while we cannot possibly cover all of their pruning needs we have covered the basics in rose pruning. Let’s get more specific in regards to a few types of roses.

Rose Types:

Hybrid Tea Roses, if they have grown tall begin by ‘topping’ them down to about 3 feet in height. Look for ‘suckers’. Suckers are canes which spring from the rootstock, rather than from the bud union. Suckers will not be in bloom now and their foliage is usually different in appearance from the rest of the plant. Follow these canes carefully down to their point of origin below the ground and cut at that origin. Cut away all diseased, damaged and dead growth. Prune hybrids hard leaving no lateral growth that is smaller than the diameter of a pencil. Your complete pruning job should leave a rose plant no more than 2 to 4 feet tall with no remaining foliage.

Floribundas, follow the same guidelines by removing all damaged, dead and diseased canes. Prune more lightly than hybrids and forget the pencil rule and keep some twiggy growth. When you are finished no leaves should remain. Remove all criss-crossed stems and cut the remaining stems at various lengths leaving the center stems longer. By pruning a floribunda at various heights it will insure continuous blooming.

Climbers, for the first few years they should be left alone for the most part. When a climber is at a stage of maturity (3 or so years old) it’s time to prune. Assess the main, or basal, canes and remove at the base any damage, diseased, and dead growth. Lateral canes that are smaller in diameter than a pencil are best removed down to the main cane. Larger laterals might be cut to about 4 buds eyes in length. Remove any remaining foliage and re-tie canes where it is needed. They require light pruning in general and oftentimes look nice trimmed in a fan pattern.

Shrub Roses, of modern day require minimal pruning annually. Begin by removing all winter damage by cutting 6 to 8 inches all the way around at about a quarter of an inch above an outward-facing bud. Remove all dead, damaged or diseased canes. By pruning heavily fewer blooms will emerge but they will be larger, by pruning lightly the blooms are more prolific but smaller.

Lastly, after pruning has been accomplished Mary Jo Elston has these words of advice, “Don’t over water your roses. Roses like it hot and dry they prefer to be planted somewhere that will afford them at least six hours of sun a day. Also plant them about 3 feet apart and fertilize once every six weeks or so with a blooming booster.”

Hopefully, most of the elusive questions to pruning roses have been addressed and gardeners all over the area are ready to suit up and start trimming.

Mary Jo Elston’s Favorite Roses:

• Climber: Blaze (red)
• Hybrid Tea: McCartney (large blooms, smells great, pink)
  • • • Black Bacarra (black or very deep purple)
      • World War II Memorial (white with grey tinges)
      • Angel Face (purple, smells great)
      • Loves Promise (red)

• Shrub: Aspen Roses (yellow)
  • • • Knockouts (red, pinks and a new yellow)
      • Nearly Wild (pinkish purplish)

• Miniatures: Candy Sunblaze (pink)
  • • • White Sunblaze