Pruning Roses in the Fall for Beginners

Modern varieties of roses are remarkable not only for their lush beauty and wonderful aroma – most of them bloom again. The first buds usually appear in May, and the last – just before the frost. This distinguishes the rose from other flowers and makes the owners find a corner for it even in the smallest courtyard.

Capricious and difficult to care for varieties go down in history, they are most often found in the gardens of collectors. But no matter how easy it is to grow roses today, only with the right agricultural technology will they show themselves in all their glory. If everything is very clear with watering, fertilizing, processing and shelter for the winter, then pruning roses for the winter causes so much controversy among rose growers that it is time for a novice gardener to get confused.

Why prune roses

But why do roses need pruning? It is much easier not to touch the thorny branches and let nature itself take care of the formation of the bush. The fact is that the shoots of roses do not become thicker from year to year, after a few years their tops die off, and new shoots develop from the lower buds. Let’s say right away that only species roses do not need forming pruning – they only remove dried branches as they age to look neat. Another situation with varieties:

1. Removing shoots affected by pests and diseases prevents the infection from spreading to the entire plant.
2. Rejuvenating pruning prolongs the life of bushes – if branches older than three years are not removed, they will first lose their decorative effect and then die.
3. This flower has a powerful root system, good shoot-forming ability. It is necessary to maintain a balance between them, otherwise we will get a tangle of tangled thin young and dry old branches.
4. Spring or autumn pruning of the bush stimulates the development of new powerful shoots.
5. Large buds and continuous flowering can only be obtained if all parts of the rose receive enough nutrition. To do this, you need to cut off thin, weak, old branches that thicken the bush and consume nutrients.
6. The largest flowers can be grown only by normalizing the number of shoots.

Is it necessary to prune for the winter

Novice gardeners often ask if roses need pruning for the winter. Indeed, with the advent of heat, we will still be forced to shorten all the shoots that are frozen or damaged by bad weather. If spring pruning aims to form a beautiful healthy bush, then in autumn it is designed to prepare roses for winter shelter.

There is no unity among experienced rose growers on this issue. Some advise in the fall to remove only unripened shoots that can rot under cover or during a thaw, which can lead to damage to the entire bush, while the rest of the operations are carried out in the spring. Others are supporters of a full-fledged autumn pruning.

Beginning gardeners need to know the following:

1. Unripe branches need mandatory pruning. In young shoots, the spines bend when pressed, in adults they break.
2. Rose bushes that bloom once can not be cut off – their wood usually matures well by frost.
3. Before shelter, be sure to remove all flowers and unopened buds.

We advise you to carry out minimal pruning in the fall. The tops of the shoots in winter can rot or freeze, and if they are cut short, then in the spring there will be nowhere to shorten them. This will entail a temporary loss of decorativeness, will make the first, most abundant wave of flowering inexpressive.

Basic pruning rules

There are general rules for caring for roses, which should be followed in spring and autumn.

Pruning tools

How to cut roses correctly if there is no suitable tool, or it is not sharp enough? The answer is no. Here is a list of what you will need:

1. Pruner.
2. Garden saw. It removes shoots with a diameter of more than 2 cm.
3. Garden shears with long handles. They are simply necessary for pruning climbing or tall shrub roses. Even if you have two-section ladders, it is not possible to install them everywhere without damaging the plants.
4. To work with roses, you need gloves made of thick elastic material. You can use old leather ones.
5. Knee pads or a special mat. This will allow you to get closer to the bush without getting joint problems, especially if there are a lot of roses in the area.

Naturally, the tools must be sharp, as a torn cut can become a breeding ground for pathogens. Before work, they must be disinfected with alcohol or a solution of potassium permanganate.

Preparing for pruning

Pruning roses for the winter begins with cutting off all the leaves. They do not always fall off on their own, and you can not leave them on the bush. Among wild roses, there are many evergreen species that participated in the creation of varieties. Under snow or shelter, the leaves continue to breathe and evaporate moisture, which can lead to negative consequences. Alternatively, they may rot or spread diseases on them.

Before pruning roses in the fall, be sure to remove the mulch, if necessary, remove the supports.

How to cut

The surface of all sections must necessarily be smooth, located 1 cm above the bud facing outwards. So, the shoots will not cross, and you will provide the rose bush with good lighting.

Make cuts at an angle so that water or snow does not linger on them. Otherwise, the wound surface can become a focus of infection. Be sure to treat it with garden pitch.

When cutting the shoots, make sure that the core is white. If it is black or brown, it is necessary to shorten it to healthy wood or remove the branch completely.

Trimming technique

It is difficult to prune only the first few bushes. Having acquired a minimum skill, even novice gardeners successfully cope with this operation. Usually 3-5 strong, well-ripened shoots are left on a rose bush. But in any case, before proceeding with pruning, study the features of the variety. For example, more branches are usually left on scrubs.

Autumn pruning dates

Autumn pruning of rose bushes is part of the preparation for winter and is carried out immediately before their shelter. Wait for the cold weather to set in and the temperature to drop below zero at night. Any pruning of roses in autumn, carried out in warm weather, stimulates the development of buds. If a thaw comes, they start to grow, the plant will suffer.

The exception is multi-flowered climbing varieties. They are pruned at the end of summer or autumn, when the formation of buds is over, and the wood has matured.

Choose a sunny, windless day and start trimming.

Pruning in the traditional way

Pruning roses in the fall for beginner gardeners is best done in the old tried and tested way. It can be used for all types of spray and standard roses. Let’s analyze a simple and understandable scheme in detail. Trim:

• to the ground all dead shoots;
• damaged, diseased branches to healthy wood;
• completely – root growth;
• thin and bush thickening stems;
• all unripe shoots.

As a result, only strong, well-ripened healthy shoots will remain on the rose bush. Further, it remains only to shorten them in one of the following ways.

Strong pruning

The stems are shortened by 3-4 buds, leaving about 15 cm. So, all newly planted roses and hybrid tea varieties are cut off, intended for participating in exhibitions or obtaining large buds.

This method is absolutely not suitable for rooted climbing roses, floribunda, scrubs. Strong pruning is not suitable for hybrid tea and park roses intended for garden decoration, with the exception of rejuvenation or healing of weakened bushes.

moderate pruning

Strong shoots are shortened by half, weakened – a little more. Moderate pruning is good for all bush varieties. In floribunda roses, old stems are completely shortened, and annuals are only slightly pinched. Such pruning gives the bush a particularly attractive appearance and promotes long flowering.

Easy pruning

Shoots are only slightly shortened, leaving about two-thirds. Yes, the roses will bloom. Most varieties should not be lightly pruned for several years in a row, as they stretch and produce few buds.

Pruning climbing and ground cover varieties

These flowers are not cut at all, they remove old, diseased, unripened and dried shoots. In multi-flowered climbing roses, side shoots are shortened by two-thirds, and old skeletal ones by a strong branch.

These are easy ways to prune roses for the winter. The video will help consolidate the knowledge gained:

What to do after pruning roses

Necessarily before shelter, but after pruning, roses need treatment from pests and diseases. Depending on the temperature at which you will conduct it, select:

• Copper-containing preparations (active substance – copper). Apply at a temperature of +6 degrees and above.
• iron preparations. They have a similar effect, but are used at low temperatures.

Now we remove plant debris from the site and cover the roses.

Conclusion

There is nothing difficult in the autumn pruning of roses. Try, learn and in a short time you will do this procedure automatically.