Now with rose pruning everyone has their own methods that work for them. This is how I have learnt to do them, as as it is probably the most common question that is asked of me at this time of year, so this is what I will try to teach you. If you think I am doing it wrong or that your way is better, then please dont use my method. I dont mind, honest.
Roses in Perth are pruned in July. If it is exceptionally cold where you live, aim to prune them closer to August so they dont suffer too much from frost bite. I am pruning the roses early at work as I have been put on light duties and this is the only task they can find me to do. The very basic rules of rose pruning are,
1. Your aiming to get the rose back to about average knee height. So at least 30-40cm high. If it is a very old rose, then you can play on this rule and leave it taller due to the old wood (iceberg roses are notorious for this), however the new growth that you have pruned should be about 20cm.
2. Your aiming to get between 3-5 healthy canes that are growing from above the graft. Cut off anything that shoots from below the graft as this is the root stock. Your aiming to keep the healthiest canes, but they need to be at lest pencil thickness.
3. Try to keep the outside canes and remove the ones growing in the center. Your aiming to get a basic vase shape (like you can see in the bottom picture)
4. All cuts you make should diagonal (this discourages disease) and be made just above an outward facing node. A node is a growth point on the stem. They look like little dots with a line underneath, they appear just above where the leaf grows out of the stem. So outward facing would be a node that doesnt point to the center of your vase shape. The cut should be made just above this node. You should also try to leave at lest 3 nodes per stem.
6. Pull any remaining leaves off the stem. They will just die and add to disease problems.
5. Once you are happy with your pruning, clean away the ground around the base of the rose. Remove any dead leaves (this will help control diseases such as black spot), weeds and prune any other plants that may crowd the crown of the rose.
6. Spray with an insecticide and a fungicide (you can find rose sprays that will be inclusive of both if you hunt around), we use eco friendly brands, Eco Oil and Eco Rose.
7. Fertilise with an organic fertiliser. This will help improve the soil more over time then granular fertilisers. Organic fertilisers include, sheep manure, cow manure, blood and bone, dynamic lifter, etc. We tend to mix blood and bone with potassium. Try to avoid mulching up to the base of the rose.
Now there are some exceptions to my method of pruning steps 1-4, steps 5-7 are the same for all roses, regardless of type:
Roses less then 12 months old. These roses are too young to handle heavy pruning. Its best to just cut off any flowers and/or buds, cut off any growth from below the graft, remove any touching stems, then pull all the leaves off the stems. You can gently follow the normal pruning steps next year if the plant has grown sufficiently.
Standard Roses. The point of a standard rose, is to get a lovely round shape to them. So dont aim to get a vase shape, aim to keep the shape of the bush and prune off any thin, sickly or touching stems. Use your common sense and dont get carried away. You want to get rid of approximately 2/3 of the years growth. You also dont have to be as fussy with the nodes pointing outwards. Remove any shoots from below the graft (the graft should be at the top of the long standard stem).
Climbing Rose. Same again. You want to preserve the shape. So just prune the rose back to the shape of the arbor it is growing to.
Carpet/Ground Cover Roses. I hate these roses with a passion. They are a royal nuisance. They look messy and are a bugger to garden around. However if you must grow them, then I suggest pruning back 2/3 of the new growth and anything that looks very diseased or sick. My knowledge on these roses is limited simply because I avoid them like the plague.
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