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Fri, Mar 9, 12 at 17:06
| Does it really matter how much to prune? I'm going to give my roses a good trim but I don't want to prune too much. Any advice? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| A lot of people will prune their roses to between 8 and 12 inches across the board. I don't do that. I try to let the roses tell me where to prune to by only cutting them back to where there is good, healthy green cane and then to shape them some. I find I get earlier bloom by not cutting them back so far in the spring and with my short season I like that. It's really a matter of choice though. By not cutting them way down I have taller bushes by the end of the season and some people don't care for that. |
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| Partly depends on what kinds of roses you are growing. If you grow hybrid teas in Zone 6, there could very well be frost/freeze damage--sometimes hybrid teas need to be pruned back to just several inches from the ground if there is lots of winter damage. Start pruning back higher up and keep pruning down a few more inches until the cut canes appear white in the center (not tannish). That's a good place to stop. For shrubs -- like David Austin shrubs, I think most people trim back about 1/3 of the way--maybe up to 1/2 of the way if the shrub tends to get way too large by the end of the summer. Of course, anything dead (brown) or diseased (purple), prune that away, no matter what kind of rose you have. And prune out any canes that look like they may rub against each other. That should about do it. Kate |
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- Posted by mike_rivers z5 MI (My Page) on Fri, Mar 9, 12 at 19:40
| Winter damage to roses starts at the tips and proceeds downward to an extent dependent on the severity of the Winter. The primary purpose (the ONLY purpose so far as I'm concerned) of Spring pruning is to remove the damaged wood. The outward appearance of the canes can be helpful but the best single clue is the appearance of the pith and the usual rule is to prune back until the pith at the center of the pruning cut is white and not brown. In my experience, this works well with the usual Hybrid Teas and Floribundas and all of the Austins in my garden. Some fairly hardy shrub roses, 'Bonica'for one example, seem to bloom satisfactorily on wood that has brown pith, and I have heard on the Forum that brown pith is normal on the older canes of some roses. Even so, my rule is white pith, period. |
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- Posted by rebeccah_2009 6 (My Page) on Sat, Mar 10, 12 at 19:52
| Good Advice! Thanks. All I have to do is come on here and ask a question. I always get good answers. I don't have enough time right now to do all the research I'd like. |
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