Finger pruning is how gardeners can ‘manipulate’ hybrid tea roses to break the flowering cycle and keep on producing blooms says rose grower Ludwig Taschner.
This simple task is done just before the flower buds form. This is usually done in the second half of September, depending on the growth and the weather.
Finger pruning involves pinching off the very tip of a third or even half of the soft not yet flowering shoots on a bush. The flowering is staggered because the un-pinched buds will flower as normal while the pinched stems will only flower two to three weeks later.
Roses have flushes of flowers, with periods in-between when the new buds are forming. With finger pruning, the non-flowering period of 42 days is shortened to three weeks or even less.
How to finger prune
Quite simply, it involves counting the number of flower bearing shoots and pinching off a third to a quarter of these. Pinch out the tip by using the thumb and pointing finger and snapping the shoot sideways.
Soft pinch or hard pinch?
A soft pinch removes the very tip of still undeveloped folded-up leaves while a hard pinch (picture above) breaks off the upper 3 or 4 leaves.
A soft pinch will result in one new stem forming while a hard pinch produces two or three new stems.
Soft and hard pinching may be carried out on one bush. Since the main purpose of finger pruning is to create green leaves faster it makes sense to pinch out the thinner stems or those too close together or are bent, crooked or have damaged leaves.
Growth after pinching
When three to five stems on a bush are pinched by snapping off the tip or the upper two to three leaves, the un-pinched stems lengthen within days.
Meanwhile the purplish leaves of the pinched stems turn green within a week and the stems become mature long before the un-pinched stems. The roots respond to this with increased vigour.
When the un-pinched stems come into bloom they may be picked with long stems because the pinched stems have sprouted new shoots and can absorb the sudden extra sap pressure when the other leaves are removed.
Help for unhappy roses
Roses that are not growing well and have started making flower buds on unnaturally short stems will benefit from finger pruning too.
Pinch off the tip of every shoot or remove every bud, because the formation of flowers uses up lot of energy. This builds up more leaves with a stronger downward sap flow. This strengthens the roots allowing them to penetrate further resulting in the pushing out of basal shoots and stronger re-sprouting at the top. The difference can be seen within three weeks.
Other rose care tips for September from Ludwig’s Roses:
- This is peak growing season for the roses so it is important that water gets to the roots of the roses. That means deep watering once a week, not a daily dribble.
- From the end of August onwards it is best to start the monthly fertilising routine of scattering Vigorosa fertiliser over the rootzone. Normal sized rose bushes can receive 30g (a single measure) per rose, with a double dose for large bushes i.e., Climbers, Panarosas and Spires etc.
- To eliminate sucking insects like aphids and thrips that deform or dry out the new shoots, drench with Koinor which has a long lasting action for up to six months.
Article and images supplied by Alice Coetzee.
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