Geranium_gem's Garden
Rose
Rose Pruning Basics:
1. Use clean, sharp tools.
2. Look at the overall plant, but begin pruning from the base of the plant.
3. Prune to open the center of the plant to light and air circulation.
4. Make your cuts at a 45-degree angle, about 1/4 inch above a bud that is facing toward the outside of the plant.
5.Make sure it is a clean cut (not ragged).
6. Remove all broken, dead, dying or diseased wood (any branches that look dry, shriveled or black. Cut until the inside of the cane is white.)
7. Remove any weak or twiggy branches thinner than a pencil.
8. Remove sucker growth below the graft.
9. Remove any remaining foliage.
Some general pruning guidelines by rose classification:
BLOOMS ONCE, ON NEW GROWTH
Modern Ever-Blooming Roses & Floribunda: These bloom best on the current season's growth. Prune hard (½ to 2/3 the plant's height) in the spring and remove old woody stems. Leave 3-5 healthy canes evenly spaced around the plant. Cut them at various lengths from 18 - 24 inches, to encourage continuous blooming.
Hybrid Teas & Grandiflora: These also bloom on new wood and should be pruned in early spring. Remove dead and weak wood. Create an open vase shape with the remaining canes by removing the center stems and any branches crossing inwards. Then reduce the length of the remaining stems by about ½ or down to 18 - 24 inches. You can allow the older, stronger stems to be a bit longer than the new growth.
BLOOMS ONCE, ON OLD WOOD
Ramblers: Prune to remove winter damage and dead wood or to shape and keep size in check. Ramblers bloom only once and can be pruned right after flowering, all the way back to 2-3 inches if you wish.
REPEAT BLOOMERS
Modern Shrub Roses: This group is repeat bloomers, blooming on mature, but not old, woody stems. Leave them unpruned to increase vigor for the first 2 years and then use the "one-third" method. Each year remove one-third of the oldest canes (in addition to any dead, diseased or dying canes).
Climbers: Climbers may repeat bloom. Prune early to remove winter damage and dead wood. Prune after flowering to shape and keep their size in check.
Bourbons and Portlands: These will repeat bloom, blooming on both new and old wood. Prune to remove dead wood before flowering. A harder pruning and shaping can be done after the first flowering.
MINIMAL PRUNING NEEDED
Alba, Centifolia, Damasks, Gallica, and Mosses: This group blooms only once, producing flowers on old wood and don't require much pruning at all. Prune only to remove dead or thin wood and to shape the plants and prune after flowering.
