It’s important to prune your roses in the summer to keep them healthy and looking their best. Here’s a quick guide on how to do it.
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Checkout this video:The Case for Summer Pruning
Summer pruning of roses can have many benefits, including improved air circulation and increased sunlight exposure. Summer pruning can also encourage new growth, which can produce more flowers. However, there are a few things to keep in mind before you start pruning your roses.
Summer Pruning Increases Flowering
Summer pruning roses is often overlooked as a way to improve flowering. But by selectively removing canes that have flowered, you can increase the number of flower buds for the following season. Summer pruning also helps to keep roses healthy by removing diseased, damaged or crossing canes.
Here’s how to summer prune roses:
First, identify the canes that have already flowered. These can be cut back by about one-third to one-half their length.
Next, remove any canes that are diseased or damaged. These should be cut back to healthy wood.
Finally, remove any crossing or rubbing canes. These canes can damage stems and reduce air circulation, which can lead to disease problems. Crossed canes should be cut back to about 6 inches from the main stem.
Summer Pruning Reduces Disease
Summer pruning reduces the amount of leaf surface on the plant, which in turn reduces the amount of disease that can affect the plant. Diseases love warm, wet weather, and by pruning back your roses you will decrease the amount of available leaf surface for diseases to infect.
How to Prune Roses in Summer
Pruning roses is an important part of keeping them healthy and preventing disease. It also encourages new growth and allows you to shape the plant the way you want it to look. You can prune roses in summer to remove spent blooms, encourage new growth, and keep the plant healthy.
Cut Back to an Outside bud
Remove any dead, diseased or damaged wood first, cutting it back to a healthy bud. In general, you want to cut back to an outside bud – this is a bud that points away from the center of the plant. Doing this will encourage the plant to grow outwards, rather than inwards.
Prune Above an Inward-Facing bud
Start by removing any dead, diseased or damaged wood. Then, cut back canes that are growing outward and away from the center of the plant to an inward-facing bud. You can identify these buds by their pointing toward the center of the plant. Cut these canes back to about 6-12 inches above the ground.
Remove Dead, Diseased, or Damaged Wood
Start by removing all the dead, diseased, or damaged wood from the plant. These can be identified by their appearance; Dead wood will be dry and brittle, while diseased wood will have canker or other signs of disease. Damaged wood will have cracks, splits, or other physical damage. Once you’ve removed all of the problem wood, you can move on to shaping the plant.
Cut at a 45-Degree Angle
Pruning roses in summer may seem like a daunting task, but with the proper technique, it can be easy and even enjoyable. The key to summer pruning is to remove the spent blooms (known as “deadheading”), as well as any crossing or damaged stems. You should also trim back any leggy growth to encourage new, bushy growth. Here’s everything you need to know about summer pruning:
Cut at a 45-Degree Angle: Using sharp, clean pruning shears, make all cuts at a 45-degree angle just above an outward-facing bud or leaf node. This will ensure that new growth emerges in the desired direction.
Remove Spent Blooms: Deadheading is the process of removing spent blooms (aka “old flowers”). This encourages your rose bush to produce new flowers, rather than continuing to put all its energy into producing seeds. To deadhead, simply snip off the stem just below the spent bloom, taking care not to damage any healthy leaves or buds.
Trim Leggy Growth:Leggy growth is often the result of too much nitrogen fertilizer, which encourages leaves but not flowers. To remedy this, cut back leggy stems by about one-third their length. This will encourage your bush to produce new, fuller growth.
Summer Pruning Tips
Rose bushes need to be pruned every year to produce the best blooms. Summer pruning helps to shape the bush, remove diseased or damaged canes, and promote new growth. It’s important to prune your roses at the right time of year, and we’ve got all the tips and tricks you need to get it right.
Use Sharp, Clean Pruning Tools
The first step in summer pruning is to sanitize your pruning tools. Use a solution of one part bleach to nine parts water, or 70% rubbing alcohol. This will help prevent the spread of disease from plant to plant.
Next, take a close look at your roses. You’ll want to remove any dead, diseased, or damaged wood. You’ll also want to remove any canes that are growing inward, towards the center of the plant (known as “suckers”).
Now, you’ll need to decide how much you want to prune your roses. For established plants, you can remove up to one-third of the plant’s growth. For young plants, or those that have not been pruned in a while, you can remove up to two-thirds of the growth.
Once you’ve made your cuts, be sure to dispose of the clippings properly. Do not compost them, as this could spread disease to other plants in your garden.
Wear Gloves to Protect Your Hands
Pruning roses in summer is essential to the health of your plants, but it’s also a great opportunity to shape them into the beautiful specimens you’ve always wanted. The key to success is to follow a few simple tips and to use the right tools.
Wear gloves to protect your hands from thorns, and use pruners that are sharp and clean. Make sure to disinfect them between cuts to avoid spreading disease.
Start by removing any dead, diseased, or damaged canes. Cut these canes back to healthy wood, making sure to angle your cuts away from the center of the plant. This will help prevent water from accumulating and spreading diseases.
Next, cut back any long canes that are interfering with the plant’s natural shape. You can also remove any canes that are crossing or rubbing against each other. Finally, cut away any weak or spindly growth. These canes will never produce strong flowers, so it’s best to get rid of them now.
Once you’ve finished pruning, it’s important to fertilize your roses and provide them with plenty of water. This will help them recover from the stress of pruning and produce healthy growth in the future.
Prune in the Morning or Evening
When pruning roses in summer, be sure to do so in the morning or evening when it is cooler out. This will help prevent the spread of disease and will also help the plant heal faster. In addition, be sure to sterilize your pruning tools before and after use to prevent the spread of disease.
