How & When to Prune Roses

If you want to get beautiful roses in spring, do prune during their dormancy. These general tips will help you improve the health of roses.

When

You should prune roses just before the plant breaks dormancy. Major pruning should be done in late winter to early spring.

This timetable is just for reference, it doesn't matter pruning roses a bit earlier or later, your roses are hardy plants. But bear in mind to prune them before the new leaves unfurled, if not you will only get a few flowers on the plant top.

How

• Remove all leaves. Leaves will leaves fall off automatically when roses go into dormancy. But if your location is warm in winter, you need help removing all remaining leaves.

• Remove dead wood and thin, weak growth.
  
  

• Keep secateurs sharp, and slope downwards away. This can avoid rain water collected and fungal infection.

• Keep the most healthiest bud node. Cut week, twin-nodes off, these nodes cannot get health flowers but consume nutrition.

• Open up the center. Find outward-facing bud nodes and cut to above them. Remove inward-facing bud nodes can encourage plants to a vase-like shape with free air flow.

• Cut to the appropriate height.
  
  If you want to keep roses current size, cut down 1/2 height. But for climbers, just need deadheading and cut the weak stems, then train them horizontal.

• Clean up. After pruning, clean up the surrounding area underneath, coldness could kill peats eggs and bacteria.

• Feed your roses. You can feed roses by manure or long-lasting fertilizer. Fertilizer slowly breaking down will generate heat and can protect and encourage roses roots development.

Now, you can look forward to beautiful roses in spring.