Love and roses are on our minds with Valentine’s Day on the horizon. Forget the love, it’s ROSE PRUNING time. It’s time to prune those rose bushes back in preparation for spring growth, buds, and blooms. Many homeowners are afraid to cut back their roses in efforts to prevent growth dominance and focus on bud and bloom production. But in actuality, pruning is what your roses so desperately want and need during dormancy for future flowering. First, roses don’t want to hold on to dead and diseased/damaged stems. These rose stems are just taking up their space for future growth and blooms. Secondly, remove all suckers and small weak stems that are consuming water and nutrients from dominant (thick and long) stems. When roses put on new growth they want to focus on preparing for buds and flower bloom; not to maintain old little shoots. Third, remove all remaining sprouts in the middle of the bush. This helps the rose bush with air movement for absorbing carbon dioxide and prevent safe havens for pests.
These three concepts are the bases to why spring pruning for roses need to be done and done right!
So, that brings us to the how. The best way to learn how to prune a rose is through illustrations. Mississippi State University has developed a superb guide with diagrams on how to prune roses: https://extension.msstate.edu/sites/default/files/topic-files/flower/pruning-diagrams.pdf
It is certainly worth studying and utilizing to prevent further damage to your rose bushes and promote buds and blooms.
Lastly, two websites, one furnished from Texas A&M and the other from a Texas Master Gardener, can provide additional resources on correctly pruning your rose bushes for the South Texas/Hill Country region. It is vital to know how to care for your rose bushes in your temperate location in order to prepare them for the next three seasons.
- http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/archives/parsons/publications/roses/prune.html
- http://www.hillcountrymastergardeners.org/articles2/seminara_art2/seminara_cutting_roses2.pdf
Again, if you don’t feel confident or have the time for pruning back your roses/shrubs/perennials in preparation for springtime blooms, please call on the professionals – Liberty Lawn & Landscaping at 830-629-5296. You will be glad you did.
Liberty Lawn & Landscaping is a family-owned and operate the business for the last 12 years. We take pride in our work and the value of our services. Our knowledge base far exceeds the many local and regional landscape companies. We strive for quality service and satisfied customers.