Roses are pruned to remove the old growth which encourages the sprouting of healthy new stems in spring for a great show of flowers in October. Pruning also makes the garden look neater because by July the roses are looking scraggly and untidy.
There is no need to be scared of rose pruning. It is simply a matter of removing dead, old or weak growth and removing criss-crossing stems so that there is room for new shoots to develop. Do not get bogged down with the details, like where to cut in relation to an eye or whether the cut should be straight or slanted.
Different strokes for different folks
Roses come in many different shapes and sizes, from large ramblers and shrubs to small pot roses. Here are rose grower Ludwig Taschner’s tips on how to prune each kind of rose to get the best from them.
Hybrid tea roses
These bush roses are the still the most popular garden roses because of their elegant pickable blooms on long straight stems. When pruning these roses, the aim is to rejuvenate the bush so that it produces good quality blooms.
Start by cutting the bush down, reducing the height to 70cm, or 50 cm for lower growing roses. This removes all the top growth so that it is easy to look into the bush and see what old woody stems (grey-brown) can be removed and newer stems (light brown) can be retained. Select three to six healthy stems that can be kept and cut back to about 40cm high. Cut the stems back at roughly the same height. By doing this, the bush will grow evenly in the new season. Remove all the remaining leaves.
Tall hybrid tea (Spire and GrandiRosa) roses
These tall growers, up to head height or higher, are usually planted to provide a screen or high focal point and the initial cutting back should be to about shoulder height. As with hybrid tea roses, cut out the old woody stems from the centre of the bush and keep four or less stems, that are cut back to chest height ( 1.3 m).
Floribunda roses
Floribunda roses produce clusters of blooms and have the ability to flower freely and continuously on the hardy bushes. Floribundas are pruned the same way as hybrid teas, maybe even shorter. The newly sprouted stems produce clusters of blooms and need the space to develop and flower.
Low growing spreading roses
Those with a spreading growth habit like ‘Deloitte & Touche,’ ‘My Granny,’ the ‘Sunsations’ and Flower Carpet types may be trimmed with hedge clippers. The newly sprouting shoots grow more sideways towards the sunlight. However, for a better look it is best to thin out the inside twiggy stems. By not doing so they will dry out because they are not getting sunlight and eventually it looks messy and prevents new sprouting from the inside of the bushes.
‘Iceberg’ roses
This variety can flourish year after year on the old wood without having to renew itself from the base. Large shrubs of ‘Iceberg’ may be lightly pruned and they will still produce the same quantity and quality of flowering clusters. However, if you want a tamed ‘Iceberg’ to fit in with other floribundas, prune as you would for hybrid tea roses.
Standard roses
These are bush roses that are budded onto a long, straight stem. They are pruned almost the same as bush roses. Cut back all stems and branches to about 50 cm of the crown or bud union and then remove all the older wood and twigs. The final cutting back should leave the stems about 30 cm long. Miniature standards are obviously cut even shorter unless they, too, are expected to perform like a small shrub.
Large shrub roses
These roses are used as a feature or as a screen on a fence or wall. They have wide partially spreading growth. They may be cut back to head height, to about 1.5 to 2 metres and arched branches shortened slightly. Cut out the thinner inside growth so that sunlight falls on the branches so that they sprout flowering stems all over.
Miniature roses or pot roses
Take a hedge clipper and trim it down by a third or half. Older, woody stems can be removed from the centre. It is too time consuming to cut off all the little twigs. The rose will sort itself out in spring.
Climbing roses
These can be rejuvenated by cutting (sawing) out old wood if there are younger stems to replace it. Very long canes are shortened. For best flowering performance these canes should be tied horizontally onto a support.
Aftercare
The after care is as important if you want the roses to flower well.
Pull off all green leaves still on stems. Retaining them would create a habitat for red spider and fungal diseases.
Loosen the soil around the roses, aerating it and in the process mixing in organic material. Fertiliser may be added at this time or later in August.
Once all this is done, water deeply to get the season going. At this stage water once a week or even fortnight will do.
For more about rose pruning visit Ludwigs Roses.
Article and images supplied by Alice Coetzee.
For more on gardening, visit Get It Magazine.
