Roses – A Guide to Pruning
Less experienced gardeners may not give much thought as to when to prune roses. However, when you choose to prune your roses will make a huge difference to your plant’s health and longevity. So when should you prune your roses? As experienced experts in landscape and groundwork services, we provide you with this guide for a few tips and pointers.
Why is Pruning Important?
Before we discuss when to prune, first we should explore why this process is so important in the first place. To an extent, roses can fend for themselves without intervention. However, regular small maintenance can help your plants grow to their optimum potential. Pruning also helps to increase the longevity of your roses.
When Should You Prune?
Most roses in the UK are pruned in the late winter months. This is often around February and early March when leaf buds begin to swell. However this will be dependent on where you are and the climate conditions.
For those living in the south, you may prune roses in late February as the new growth begins for rose plants. Alternatively for those in the north, it is recommended that you wait until March after the last frosts before you start pruning.
Wind Pruning should be carried out in the Autumn to shorten the long shoots to avoid wind damages. The best time to do this is around the end of October to November.
How to Prune Roses
First things first, ensure to sterilise your tools before starting this task to eliminate any bacteria and viruses. The reason here is that roses are susceptible to diseases through open wounds. Start by making a cut up to 5mm above an existing bud with a sharp gardening secateur. If you are to cut any deeper than this, you risk the plant not being able to produce new growth from the stem. Best practice here is to angle the cut away from the plant. This will prevent rain water from dripping towards it, which can cause disease where it collects.
Prune out any dead or diseased stems and clear out the unshapely stems too. For those looking for an open shape, concentrate the pruning towards the outward facing rose buds.
Alternatively, if you would prefer an upright growth shape then prune above the inwards facing rose buds.
Summary
As an experienced team of landscape and groundwork service specialists, we hope you found this guide useful. Pruning is hugely important in order to look after the long term health of your flowers. Remember that most UK roses should be pruned in the late winter months when leaf buds begin to swell. However, there are instances where this may differ slightly as we have covered. Make sure to prune using clean tools in order to prevent disease. It is also important to remember to not cut too deeply, as this may prevent future growth from the stem.
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