Basic Garden Tips

Basics of Pruning Roses

One of the best (and necessary) things you can do for your roses is to properly prune them every year.

Pruning is simply cutting away dead or damaged wood and shaping the rose to encourage growth. Your goal is to end up with a plant that is vase shaped with the center open. This allows good air circulation which you rose needs.

Here are a few guidelines to follow when pruning.

Prior to beginning, soak your pruning shears in equal parts of water and bleach. This will help prevent transmitting diseases to your roses
You should do your pruning in the early spring prior to any new growth just as the buds begin to swell
Hand shears will work for pruning branches up to the thickness of a pencil. Loppers should be used on larger branches
Begin by cutting out all dead wood. Dead wood will be obvious by it's dark coloring and brittleness.
Then trim out all the thin branches (smaller than a pencil)
Next, remove all branches that cross, overlap or are rubbing each other

* Cut your healthy canes to be about one to four feet long, or whatever size that you prefer.

* Cut you roses properly so that they stay healthy. Cut so that the bud is facing outside of the bush and at a 45 degree angle that slopes inward so that you can keep promoting the outward growth.

* You should use bypass pruners that work like scissors and not the anvil types because the anvils crush the stems and make the roses more available to diseases.

About the author:
Gordon Goh is author of the free, informative website offering quality useful tips for Rose Gardening.
Article Source ezinearticles.com

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