Pruning Roses in the Flower Garden
One of the many tasks we complete this time of year is the pruning of my rose bushes. Proper pruning improves the health of the plants, prevents disease, and encourages better flowering.
There are different pruning strategies for different times of the year, but overall the goals are the same - to control the plant's shape, to keep the bush fresh and open, and to allow for better air circulation. This week my gardener, Brian O'Kelly, has been busy pruning the rose bushes on the perimeter of my flower garden. I have grown roses for more than 30-years. Many of the rose varieties I've purchased are highly prized for their petal formations and fragrances, so proper maintenance is very important to keeping them healthy and productive.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- During summer, my flower cutting garden is full of roses. Many of the rose cultivars growing at my Bedford, New York farm were transplanted from the gardens at Lily Pond, my former home in East Hampton. I also have various David Austin roses – all highly prized for their lovely petal formations and beautiful fragrances. This photo was taken in mid-June.
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- Most of the roses in this garden grow along all four sides of my garden fence.
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- Many of the roses are old fashioned and antique varieties. They include: ‘Alchymist’, ‘Boule de Neige’, ‘Cardinal de Richelieu’, ‘Charles de Mills’, ‘Constance Spry’, ‘Dainty Bess’, ‘Pierre de Ronsard’, ‘Ferdinand Pichard’, Konigin von Danemark’, Louise Odier’, Madame Alfred Carriere’, ‘the Reeve’, ‘Pearlie Mae’, and ‘Sweet Juliet’.
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- These roses look fuller every year – in part because of regular pruning. We regularly prune all the roses and cut any superfluous branches or shoots for better flowering and good health. A rose is a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus Rosa, in the family Rosaceae. There are more than a hundred species and thousands of cultivars. They come in many different colors, such as pink, peach, white, red, magenta, yellow, copper, vermilion, purple, and apricot.
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- Here is what they look like just before any of the pruning begins.
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- Brian starts on one side and works his way around over the course of a few days. In general, pruning is done before the plant breaks dormancy. This will be early in the year in warm climates, and anytime between January and April in cold climates. Every few minutes, he stops to evaluate the work he has done and to make sure he hasn’t missed anything that needs more trimming.
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- Brian cuts out any of the “three Ds” – dead, damaged, or diseased branches first.
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- Cutting away the dead wood first helps to see the shape of the plant without distraction.
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- Dead wood is typically brown in color, so it is very easy to identify.
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- Live, healthy wood is always bright green.
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- Rose stems are often armed with sharp prickles – they aren’t thorns at all. Unlike a thorn, a prickle can be easily broken off the plant because it is really a feature of the outer layers rather than part of the wood, like a thorn.
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- This rose has different sized prickles along its stems – they vary according to variety. And, while most roses have prickles, there are actually some that don’t have any at all.
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- Here, Brian shows where the cut should be made – always just above a bud eye. The “bud eye” refers to the area on the stem where branching occurs.
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- This is a rose hip or rosehip, also called rose haw and rose hep. It is the accessory fruit, the seed pod, of the various species of rose plant. It is typically red to orange, but ranges from dark purple to black in some species. Rose hips remain on the plant after the rose blooms fade. Rose hips are actually edible and many birds enjoy them. They also make great jellies, sauces, syrups, soups and seasoning, and even fruit leather.
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- Brian also looks at the overall shape of the plants. Here he is working on the top of one of the older climbers. Climbers take some dedicated work, but the end result is always so satisfying.
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- This is one of the older canes of the plant – quite thick, but still very strong and healthy.
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- Newer growth is green. This is also from the same rose plant.
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- And look how long it is, climbing and holding tight to the fence.
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- With the mild weather we’ve had this year, there are even some leaves on a couple of the branches.
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- Here one can see how pruning improves the shape of the bush. This one is well shaped in height and width.
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- Of course, all the cuttings are collected and taken to the pile for chipping.
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- There are still lots to do, but they’re all looking great. I am so proud of how well we maintain all our roses here at the farm. The basics of rose pruning are not difficult to learn, and the process triggers new buds to push at the base so that new vigorous canes can form. I can’t wait to see them all in bloom again come spring.
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