With the arrival of spring, it’s time to focus on your roses. These tips will guide you through the pruning process, even if you’re a beginner.

Steps for Pruning Roses

  1. Remove the Protective Cover: Start by taking off any protective covering before proceeding with pruning.
  2. Cut Off Weak, Dry, and Old Shoots: Eliminate weak, dry, and old growth. Don’t forget to trim young growth near the center of the bush, which also needs attention. Pruning allows you to shape the bush as you desire.
  3. Timing: Prune when the weather is warm and the buds are swelling, but before the shoots have begun to grow. This usually occurs in March or April.
  4. Use Proper Tools: Use secateurs treated with manganese to make clean cuts. Make 5 mm slices above the bud at a 45-degree angle. Treat the cuts with a garden guard.
  5. Spray with Copper Sulfate: Before the leaves bloom, spray the bushes with copper sulfate for added protection.

Special Considerations

  • Indoor Roses: If you didn’t prune in the fall, wait until spring before the buds open. Shorten last year’s shoots, leaving 4 well-developed buds. If the indoor rose isn’t blooming well, prune it back significantly and remove weak or dry branches.
  • Bush Roses: Leave 3 to 5 strong shoots, cutting them down to 3-4 buds. The bush should remain 10 to 20 cm high, and remove any shoots that are interfering with each other.
  • Climbing Roses: Prune only to shape the bush. Remove branches that thicken the plantings, leaving only horizontal shoots.
  • Tea-Hybrid Roses: Cut them so that 25 cm remains above ground, leaving five buds on the shoots. For young roses, trim to 15 cm, leaving four buds. Note that flowers will bloom on the current year’s shoots, so heavy pruning won’t harm them.
  • Floribunda Roses: Lightly prune in spring. Shorten two to three-year-old shoots and reduce one-year shoots by a third.
  • Ground Cover Roses: Thin out the bush and cut away diseased, damaged, and dry branches. Remove horizontal branches as well. Every five years, conduct a thorough pruning to keep the bush blooming.
  • Border Roses: Sanitary pruning is essential. Do not cut vertical shoots; lightly trim the lateral ones. To promote beautiful flowers, graft above the fourth or fifth leaf at the end of summer. Remove faded buds promptly.
  • Park Roses: Also require sanitary pruning. Slightly shorten the shoots to encourage larger blooms.

By following these steps, you’ll ensure that your roses thrive and produce stunning blooms this spring!

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