Rose Report

Spring is calling to ‘wake up’

half. This allows you to see what you are doing and more easily make detailed pruning cuts later. Second, remove any canes that are dead (no, they will not recover if you give them time), damaged or have purple or black disease patches. Third, look for canes that are crossing and rubbing on each other. Keep the one growing in the direction that able to see light shining through. Find a bud or emerging leaf cluster that is pointing outwards, away from the center of the bush, and prune about ¼ inch above it. This will cause the cane to continue to grow outward. The overall shape should be like a vase, with canes growing gracefully around an open center space. main canes are called laterals, and these are what you prune. Prune the laterals down to two or three sets of buds. See photo of climber anatomy.

Old Garden roses, also called Heirloom roses, that only bloom once in early summer should not be pruned until after they have bloomed. Then you can follow the same directions as modern roses above.

Rugosa roses have a dense growth habit shaped like a cascading fountain. They do not need annual pruning, because this would destroy their natural form. Just remove any dead or damaged canes, and perhaps a few of the oldest woody canes that aren’t producing many flowers.

Time for Fertilizer

Roses are one of the few flowering shrubs that bloom continuously from May to October. This requires a lot of energy, so roses need more feeding than most landscape plants. The spring treatment is the most important to get the plants off to a good start. For details on fertilizing roses visit the Rose Info section of our website and click on Fertilizing Roses.

Optional Fungicide Treatment

If you have roses that are prone to blackspot or other fungal diseases, apply your first fungicide treatment now and continue through the growing season as your plants require.

blends best into the overall shape of the bush and cut off the other one. Fourth, prune individual canes with an eye toward the desired shape of the whole bush. Remove old, woody canes that don’t produce many flowers. Remove some canes growing in the center of the bush to improve air flow. You should be

Climbing roses need a different pruning technique. Train the long canes that emerge from the crown of the plant on a trellis or other support so that you create a fan shape. Try to angle the canes so that they are as horizontal as possible so they will produce more flowers. The side shoots that grow off these

Get ready for the show!

The hard work of April will bring the beauty and wonder of that amazing first flush of rose blossoms by the end of May. If you have any question about your roses, please contact our Consulting Rosarians at the Ask a Rosarian email helpline kcrosehelp@gmail.com.