Rose bushes can provide years of dedicated service. They look beautiful and smell fantastic. However, many people neglect pruning their roses. Why? Because they don’t know how.

When you take the time to correctly prune your roses, you open them up to receive more air and sunlight. This will encourage your roses to provide you with more blooms. It also improves the shape and can trim out any lanky branches that can grab at you as you walk by.

If you’ve never before pruned your roses, these easy tips will help you on the correct way to prune your roses.

 

When To Prune Your Roswell Landscape

We recommend that you prune your roses after the last frost of the season. For some, this may be as early as January, for others, it may not be until May. It all depends upon where you live. Waiting until the after the last frost prevents damage to delicate branches that are open after pruning.

When Rose Buds Swell

We also recommend that you wait until the buds begin to swell as this is a good indication that you can safely begin pruning.

 

Roswell Landscapers Should Prune

  1. If you’re unsure to prune, these tips will help you. If you are still unsure, give us a call and let us guide you through this process.
  2. Anything that is dead should be pruned. If the buds are coming from new growth, leave those alone, you can prune those next season.
  3. Use good sharp pruning shears or long handled loppers for pruning. Shears work best on small branches and loppers work great for taller and thicker canes.
  4. You want sharp tools, otherwise you risk tearing the delicate branches. Clean your tools with alcohol prior to pruning to avoid transferring any disease to your plants.
  5. Always cut one quarter of an inch from any opening buds. Some people like to seal off the cut,others do not. If you do choose to seal off your cuts give us a call for the best sealants for your roses.
  6. Prune all of the suckers. These will suck the life out of your rose bush. It is wise to go for the root of the sucker, push the dirt back and aim for the root for best results.
  7. Thin and crossed canes should also be pruned. These are weak and can cross near the center of your rose bush. Tehy will get in the way of good circulation of the plant and your plant will look wild if you don’t get rid of these.

Deadhead Flowers

Deadhead everything that is dead. You’ll be able to see where these are as the bush blooms. Be sure to pinch off all dead buds and flowers as they bloom as well.

 

Toss It, Don’t Leave It

Be sure to rake up all of the dead stuff and get it out of the way, you don’t want anything to try to rot.

Also, avoid putting these trimmings into your compost pile. they do not compost well and can harbor diseases like black spot that will not only ruin the compost, but can re infect the plants.

 

Old Fashioned Rose Gardens In Roswell GA

If you have an Old Fashioned Rose garden, don’t prune them other than getting rid of dead growth and deadheading flowers as they bloom. Just keep them shaped and trimmed back as required for best results.

Roses actually do much better when they are pruned. If you, like many, are nervous pruning your roses, give us a call and let us do it for you. We know that you value and treasure your flowers but if you aren’t properly caring for them, you’re not getting the most out of them.

Roswell, GA landscaping

 

Roses can be absolutely gorgeous when they are properly pruned and trimmed up. They produce larger more beautiful flowers and the plant itself will last for many years to come if it is properly cared for.

At Lawn Frogs and Landscapes we have many great products that can help you in your rose pruning and other gardening needs. Give us a call today and let us show you what we can do for you and your roses as well as the rest of your gardening and landscaping needs. We’re only a phone call away and would love to hear from you.