It’s January in Arizona, which means it’s rose pruning time. This annual pruning is designed to provide us with better spring blooms. I don’t mind the work, but I’m not thrilled with the idea of stripping down my roses to their naked canes and looking at the sudden lack of beauty that engulfs my garden. Especially when I still see new flowers, and my wife sees them as well.
I’ve had to reprogram my heartfelt urges and accept that pruning is a period of rejuvenation for my roses. One positive aspect of January pruning that I welcome is that a few thoughtful snips erase all of my previous season’s mistakes, giving me a fresh start for the coming season.
If we don’t prune our roses, we won’t have as magnificent a spring flush with perfect foliage and luscious blooms. The time we spend working on our roses during January and early February is worth it. We all need rest to refresh, and our roses deserve no less.
Before I share some tips that will help you during pruning season, let me state that it’s next to impossible to kill a rose by pruning. You can literally take a chainsaw to your roses, cut them back to 6 inches, and they will survive. Please, don’t take a chainsaw to your roses. I just want you to know that all those commercial landscapers with their chainsaws are not executing the roses they appear to be terrorizing. It just looks like it. Remember, the rose is a living plant that wants to survive and thrive.
There Is No Right or Wrong Way to Prune
There is no right or wrong way to prune your roses. How much you remove from your plants is up to you. Last winter, I cut my roses back to between 6 and 12 inches because the plants were full of damaged or questionable canes. Disease, sun damage, and age led to several unproductive roses in my garden. It was time to reclaim the good parts of each of my plants.
Remember, annual pruning is designed to provide us with better spring blooms. Pruning is also done to retain the shape of the rose bush and encourage new growth. You can leave as much wood on the plant as you wish, so long as it’s healthy. Many rosarians have suggested that six to eight strong, healthy canes are ideal for plant development. Floribundas and shrub roses will have more branches naturally. Climbing roses, which are pruned differently, have their own guidelines, which I’ll discuss in my next post.
After pruning, the roses’ final height can affect your plants’ rose production. If you prune back to 12-24 inches, your rose will likely produce fewer but larger blooms. If you want more flowers and don’t mind that they are smaller, allow your rose to be slightly taller.
Consider the age of the rose plant before subjecting them to an extensive pruning. Roses typically establish their root system and develop new stems during their first three years. Give them time to mature before subjecting them to a hard winter pruning.
Remove Top Growth and Leaves
Before you start, take the time to cut off all the top growth so you can see what you’re working with. You can see the bottom 3 feet or so of your plants by removing the wild, uncontrolled growth and all the candelabras. Then remove any remaining leaves or flowers from the plant. By defoliating the rose bush you can clearly make pruning decisions.
Basic Pruning Cut
A basic pruning cut should always be made above an outward-facing bud. Look for the leaf scar where the leaf was growing last season, and right above it; you should see where a bud is swelling. Cut at a 45-degree angle away from the bud.
Remove Damaged or Diseased Branches
Next, remove any damaged or diseased branches. The annual pruning is designed to provide us with better spring blooms, which can be impeded if you don’t remove the damaged or diseased branches that will draw energy away from healthy canes and buds once it wakes from dormancy. Be sure that any diseased branches are removed down the cane far enough to be in a healthy cane. If there is a darker color on the cut edge, cut it again lower down on the cane. That color could indicate the leading edge of the disease, and if you leave it, it will continue down the cane. The cut edge should be all white or pale green. Anytime you encounter a cane more than 1 inch wide, use your loppers to cut out the oldest, unproductive wood near the rose’s crown.
Once you have removed all the diseased and damaged canes, look for any long, spindly canes. The rule of thumb is to remove all canes that are thinner than a pencil.
Look for Crossing Canes
The next stage requires you to make some decisions. Look for canes crossing over and/or rubbing against each other. Crossing canes rub against each other and will cause scarring, which could be an opening for disease. Decide if one stem or both should be removed. Remove any that have already been damaged, but consider leaving it for now if you are debating the value of the second branch. Also, remember to maintain the basic vase shape with an open center to allow good air circulation.
The final pruning step is to reduce the rose’s height up to at least one-third.
Clean Up All Debris
After you finish this last step, remember to clean up all the debris. It is important to remove any diseased material from the remaining healthy plant and any pests lurking to winter over in the debris. For the same reasons, don’t add the debris to your compost pile.
We love our roses — their elegance and fragrance make each day beautiful. Hey, this is the most work we’ll have to do all year — assuming we have our roses set up on an irrigation system. I hope you will take the time to get your roses ready for spring. I promise, a little effort now will enrich your garden this spring.
Today’s featured picture is a Rosa “Peace” rose. I’m wishing for all of you to find “Peace” in the coming year.
Happy New Year!
