Pruning Roses Can Be Intimidating

The pruning principles of roses.  That’s coming up on This Land of Ours.

Pruning roses can be a bit intimidating for beginning gardens. That is until they’ve learned the ins and outs and why it’s so important to make the cut. The main reasons, for improving health, appearance, and so roses won’t grow out of control. Some of the pruning principles when trimming your roses include:

• Always prune dead back to healthy tissue recognizing the living tissue by its green bark and white pith core. After making each cut, cover it with a drop of white glue to ensure quick recovery, as well as provide protection against cane borers.
• Prune to ensure the center of the bush is open for maximum air circulation.
• Remove all growth on the main canes that are not capable of sustaining a reasonably thick stem on its own.
• If you find growths from the root structure that sprout from below the bud union, remove them as close to the main root cane as possible.
• Saw off old woody canes as close to the bud union as you can get.
• Remove any remaining foliage from the canes and clean up debris from around the bush.

Listen to Cathy Isom’s This Land of Ours program here.