What Every Novice Gardener Needs to Know About Pruning Rosebushes

It's easy to understand why roses are one of the most popular flowers worldwide, and why millions of gardeners include rosebushes in their backyard garden displays. Few scents can surpass the heady floral fragrance of roses; few sights can rival the exquisite beauty of a rosebush in full bloom; and a bouquet of roses brightens up your home like few other things can.

True, many gardeners curse their rosebushes and wish they'd never planted them, because roses can be persnickety and problematic to grow. However, with proper care and attention most of the issues are easily resolved. The key is to catch a problem early, and not to let it get out of hand. Roses must be carefully monitored for insects and diseases. Above all, they must be properly pruned each and every year. Do these things, and a rose bush will reward you with a lifetime of beautiful blooms.

Why should you prune your rosebushes?

There are two very important reasons to prune. The first is to encourage new growth and more blooms by eliminating older, nonproductive wood and damaged or dead canes. Secondly, pruning is done to shape the bush. Without pruning, a rosebush will become a tangled mass of spindly stems and oversized canes that grow bigger and tougher to cut every year.

When should you prune?

There is much debate among gardeners on winter versus spring pruning. Gardeners who advocate winter pruning contend that bushes cut back early can adjust to their new size without needing to support canes that will be removed later. The danger of early pruning, however, is that tender new growth can be severely damaged by frost and cold. If this happens, you will need to "re-do" your pruning to cut away all the injured shoots. The safest bet is to begin pruning your rosebushes when you're sure there won't be another hard freeze.

What tools do you need?

For the most successful and easiest pruning of roses, you should ideally have three tools: shears, loppers and a garden saw.

A good pair of shears is a pruning must. Buy the best quality you can afford, and keep them sharp, as cuts need to be clean and stems should never be crushed or torn. (Rachet shears are ideal and will cause less fatigue in your hands and arms).

Loppers provide the leverage you need to cut older, thicker canes, and the long handle lets you cut hard-to-reach canes without getting pricked by rose thorns. A narrow-blade garden saw is useful for removing any crisscrossed canes and navigating tight spaces on the rose bush.

Don't forget the gloves

Rose thorns are very painful, and a good pair of extra-thick gloves to protect your hands and arms is a must for pruning rosebushes. Ideally, you should have a pair that goes past your wrist and covers most of your forearm. There are rubber-coated gloves made especially for rose pruning, and I highly recommend investing in a pair of these, especially if you have more than one or two rosebushes to prune.

Strip before you prune!

I don't mean take off all your clothes and run naked through your garden. I'm talking about the pre-pruning practice many gardeners swear by, which is to remove all foliage from your rosebushes a few weeks before you plan to prune. I've found this to be quite helpful for two reasons. First, stripping the rosebush signals the plant to begin growing new foliage. This makes it exponentially easier to see where to prune, as the new bud eyes will swell and turn red. However, be sure to cut the foliage off rather than rip or tear it, which can damage the cane and prevent new growth.

One last task before you prune

Spraying your rosebushes now will help ward off diseases that you can't see but which will affect the health and looks of the plants as new growth emerges. Sulfur-based dormant sprays are safe, easy to use and very effective at disease eradication.

For nuts and bolts information on pruning roses, such as how much to take off and where to make your pruning cuts and, please read the second article in this series, A Pruning Primer for Rosebush Gardeners.