Spring Rose Pruning 2024
The When & the How of it . .
Our fall and early winter were quite mild, but in January we had some very cold weather – at least a week in duration. I hope these days were not too hard on our roses. So far things look good – but time, and the first serious pruning, will tell. On nice days it is always harder to be patient and wait to do our pruning until the end of February or the beginning of March.
In their book ‘How to Grow Roses‘ ARS founders J. Horace McFarland and Robert Pyle had advice on pruning. They separated the pruning process into two parts: thinning out and shortening. In terms of the recommendations here we can put the removal of dead, diseased, & damaged canes done any time into the thinning out category. Also, the “opening up” of the center may fall there as well. These things, along with a moderate degree of shortening can be done in the late fall or early winter. Shortening, in the sense of McFarland & Pyle, is what we usually think of as the final spring pruning. This is generally done in late February or early March in our PNW climate.
The usual telltale plants that indicate when we should do our spring Rose Pruning are not yet showing any color in our yard: no yellow on the Forsythia – and no pink on the Quince.
Be patient! There could still be snow in the forecast and additional cold weather is likely.
As to how to prune, let me first say that most old garden roses and climbers need special treatment. Ask questions now, before you’re in the garden!
“How do I ask” you say. You can send a question using the TRS website or Facebook page or ask questions in person at the March TRS pruning.
For some personal hands-on experience pruning modern repeat-blooming rose types, please join us at the Pt Defiance Rose Garden on the first Saturday in March.
New folks will be partnered up with experienced rosarians, so you won’t be set up to make big mistakes when you get back to your own garden.
We need you!
For modern repeat-blooming roses we want to accomplish two things at least:
We want to get rid of any dead, diseased, or damaged canes
And we want to “open up” the center of the bush.
In addition, we want to shape our plants and keep them inside the area in which we want them to grow.
We remove canes on the order listed above: dead canes first, followed by diseased ones, then the damaged ones.
We should use sharp, clean pruning tools.
Since rose canes are soft at their center, we need to to use pruners that do not crush the canes (and leave them damaged!) Usually, cuts should be made about 3/8 inch above an outward-facing bud-eye. If you don’t see any sprouting eyes, then cut 3/8 inch above a “leaf scar” that faces outward.
Be sure that your cut is made in healthy cane material.
If the color of the pith in the center of the rose cane is at all brown, keep cutting down until you find pith in the color of a fresh green apple. If this sounds like mumbo-jumbo, we will sort it out with some good / bad cane cuts at the March pruning.
Roses are very hardy
So, if we do have a hard freeze after you have done your final pruning, don’t fret; just be aware that you may have to go out later and do some re-pruning – to again get down to healthy wood.
