Can you kill a rose bush by pruning

If you grow landscape roses, learn more about pruning them here.

Why You Should Prune Roses

• Pruning promotes growth. Every cut results in healthy growth that will eventually bear flowers.
• Pruning determines plant shape. Every cut causes growth to head in a specific direction. If you want your rose to grow a certain way, you can position cuts to coax growth toward that shape.
• Annual pruning helps deter disease. When you prune to remove older or crossing stems in the center of the bush, you make it easier for sunlight and air to reach between branches. Increased air flow and sunlight dries wet leaves more quickly, which helps prevent disease outbreaks.
• Pruning keeps a rose healthy. Whether canes are diseased, damaged or dying, a simple snip eliminates the problem and encourages remaining stems to grow stronger.

What You Need to Prune Roses

For basic pruning on recently planted roses, you only need leather gloves to protect hands from thorns and a pair of sharp hand pruners (bypass pruners are best). If you have more mature roses, you will likely also need a pruning saw and loppers. If you're dealing with very thorny canes, look into rose gloves that extend beyond the wrist to protect against scrapes.

If you garden in an area where you know that Rose Cane Borers are present and active, you will also need white glue to seal cut stem ends.

When You Should Prune Roses

In coldest regions: Prune at the end of winter. Wait until after the last frost, just before buds begin to swell.

In more moderate zones: Roses frost several times but may never lose all leaves. In these areas, prune during the coldest part of the year, when growth slows – and before buds begin to swell. This should correspond to 3-4 weeks before the average date of the last killing frost. Prune on a day when canes are frost-free.

In warmest zones: Roses may never enter a complete dormancy or fully lose leaves, but plants will enter a slow-growth phase during the coldest part of the year. That is an ideal time to prune roses.

Timing Tip: In coldest and moderate areas, where freezes can kill, pruning timing is critical. Prune too soon and the rose will be more dormant than awake. Stems will not have greened up, and new growth will appear low on canes. A subsequent hard freeze will kill new growth and possibly even the plant. If you prune later, as recommended, the rose will be more awake, and new growth will start toward branch tips. A late freeze will only damage upper portions of the plant, and the base will remain alive.

How You Should Prune Roses

Make cuts on stems about 1/4 inch above a bud and at roughly a 45-degree angle sloping away from the bud. Growth will begin from the bud just below where you cut. Place your cut so that new stems will grow in a direction you want.

Remove:

• Canes that are dead or dying
• Canes that rub against another cane (remove one of them)
• Canes damaged by insects, diseases or storms
• Canes thinner than a pencil

How Much You Should Prune

Once you remove problem growth, you can substantially shorten your roses or just take a little off the top. The more you shorten your bush (the harder you prune), the fewer, larger flowers you will have. Prune less, and you will have many smaller flowers.

In terms of inches, cut plants back to 12-15 inches for few, large flowers; to encourage many smaller-sized blooms, cut plants back to 18-24 inches.

#1 Rose Glove Available Here

“But he that dares not grasp the thorn should never crave the rose.” – Anne Bronte

The best time to prune roses  is in the early spring (often about the time daffodils begin to bloom). Pruning has two key benefits: it keeps your plants healthy and improves their overall appearance. While pruning can be an intimidating task, keep in mind that it’s very hard to kill a rose bush with poor technique and most mistakes (no matter how bad) will eventually grow back. Also, most experts agree that a good attempt at pruning is often better than no attempt at all.

Start by removing any dead, diseased or winter damaged wood, cutting it back to where it’s healthy. Sometimes it can be difficult to determine whether a stem is dead or not, since its coloration can be the same (dark brown to black). One way to know for sure is to cut off a little from the tip of a stem. If it’s green inside, it’s alive. If it’s dark brown to the core, it’s not coming back!

We offer the best pruning tools for all your plant care needs. Clean quick cuts, whether for gathering blossoms or clearing away excess, helps prevent disease and die-off. Be sure you have the highest quality hand tools for the job.

To remain healthy, roses need plenty of air circulation. Remove any large branches that run through the center of the bush. These will reduce airflow once leaves develop. Also, remove shoots that are growing across other plant parts and any thin, spindly stems that are smaller in diameter than a pencil. Make these cuts as close to the plant as possible. If a small stub remains, new growth will develop. After cuts are made, seal them with a protective paste to prevent disease and cane borer problems.

Once you have opened up the center of the plant, move on to pruning for shape and appearance. How you groom will depend on the type of rose plant you have. Different varieties require different approaches. For example, you need to carefully prune old garden roses stem by stem. With miniature roses, an overall “buzz cut” will suffice. Shrub roses need to be trimmed back, but don’t require a heavy trim job.

For hybrid tea, grandiflora or floribunda roses, strive for a plant that’s shaped like a vase, broader at the top and narrower at the base. The bush’s remaining stems should be cut at various lengths between 10 to 15 inches long, to promote continuous blooms.

Climbing roses require special treatment. For one thing, don’t get trigger happy with the loppers or shears. After planting, wait a couple of years before making cuts. This will give the plant some time to get established. However, don’t totally neglect its “hygiene.” Young climbers still require some grooming while they await the big pruning. Remove diseased or dead wood and tie canes to a trellis or other support as they grow. Once the plant grows long canes, lateral branches will begin to produce flowers.

As with other types of roses, only prune climbing roses in the early spring. Remove old and unproductive wood and then cut it back to two or three buds. Also, remove all of the laterals that bore flowers the season before. If you have misbehaving canes that are growing the wrong way, try training them. If that doesn’t work, remove the uncooperative ones.

Regardless of the type of rose plant you prune, try and make sure that the growth buds on the remaining stems are all facing out (see Basic Pruning Cuts). While this may take a few years to achieve, it will keep branches growing away from the center of the plant. Having trouble finding buds? Look for a slight scar or line on the bark of the rose.

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This is the classic model that started it all. The FELCO 2 pruner is a high-performance, get-it-done tool that lets you work all day with minimal hand fatigue. Includes all-metal construction with replaceable parts.

Once you’ve finished, it’s time to clean up. Rake any leaves or debris from under the plant so you don’t create a home for invasive insects. Also, apply a lime/sulfur spray or a mixture of copper and lime to destroy any insect eggs that may be present.

Tips & Techniques

1. Always use clean, sharp garden tools.
2. Prior to starting, take into consideration the overall shape of the bush, but always start at the bottom of the plant.
3. Prune to open up the center of the plant. This will promote more air circulation inside the bush, slowing insect attack, and reducing fungal problems.
4. Prune stems at a 45 degree angle, just above a growth bud that is facing away from the center of the plant.
5. When making cuts, do not damage the plant. Cuts should be sharp and precise.
6. Remove any dead, diseased or winter damaged wood, cutting it back to where it’s healthy. You’ve reached healthy wood when the center of the cane is white.
7. Remove small twiggy shoots and those that are crisscrossing other growth.
8. Seal cuts to prevent disease and cane borer problems.
9. Remove suckers that grow below the graft (bud union).
10. When you’re finished, clean areas around and under plants to reduce problems with disease and insect pests.

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