How to Cut & Trim Rose Bushes

Rose bushes benefit from regular pruning. Trimming the plants protects them from disease and insects, and encourages them to produce more flowers. The stalks or branches of rose bushes are called canes, and removing or cutting back canes is the key to flourishing plants. Using the right technique for cutting the flowers makes for indoor displays that last longer and stay fragrant. Follow the steps in the first section to keep your plants healthy. Use the steps in the second section for cutting the blooms.

Things You'll Need

• Pruning shears
• Loppers
• Sealing compound
• Bucket
• Lemon juice
• Sugar
• Bleach

Instructions

Pruning Rose Bushes

1. Prune roses when they're dormant. Generally, this is in the wintertime after a frost. In some climates, roses don't go dormant, so wait until a low-growth time like January or February.

2. Make clean cuts just above leaf buds at a 45-degree angle that point toward the center of the plant. Ragged cuts allow insects and disease to attack the bush. Don't damage the bud when you make a cut.

3. Cut out any dead or damaged canes all the way back to where they branch off the bush. Old canes that no longer have smooth skin and very thin canes should also be removed even if they have new growth.

4. Trim any canes that cross each other or rub together in the center of the bush. Remove suckers when they appear. Suckers grow below the leaf bud and form very thin canes.

5. Prune the entire bush back by cutting the canes to 1/3 of their length after you've removed deadwood, suckers and damaged canes.

6. Paint the cuts with sealing compound to protect the rose bush from disease and insects.

Cutting Rose Flowers

1. Choose roses that are about to open. Cut the stem of the flower on a 45-degree angle above a leaf stem with 5 leaflets on it and put the flower in a bucket filled with lukewarm water.

2. Replace the lukewarm water with fresh water when you've cut as many roses as you desire.

3. Cut the rose stems again at a 45-degree angle while holding the stem under the fresh water and leave the roses in the water for several hours.

4. Make a solution of 1 quart water, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon sugar and ½ teaspoon bleach.

5. Pour the solution into a vase and add the cut roses. Trim back any leaves that would be submerged in the liquid.

Tips & Warnings

• Sealing compound can be found at your garden store.

• Keep your pruning tools sharp. Ragged cuts will damaged the bush.

References

• American Rose Society
• US National Arboretum
• Rose Gardening Tips and Techniques

Resources

• Preserving Fresh Cut Flowers Naturally