How to Trim Rose Bushes in the Southeast

Roses are available in a multitude of colors.

Timeless treasures in any garden, fragrant and colorful roses are a pleasure to grow--adding beauty to any landscape. Once established, they require minimal but regular care, feeding and pruning to remain healthy. In the southeast United States, roses typically bloom in late spring through early summer. Trimming flowers to bring indoors for enjoyment or promptly cutting dead blooms from faded flowers off the vine after they wilt will ensure the vines continue blooming for a longer time than if left untouched. Trimming rosebushes also increases health through boosting sun exposure and air circulation, and removing dead or diseased vines.

Things You'll Need

• Empty coffee can
• 3 cups 70 percent alcohol solution
• Leather gloves
• Bypass pruning shears
• Long-handled lopping shears
• Pruning saw (optional)
• Pruning sealer, wood glue or nail polish

Instructions

1. Contact your county extension service or local botanical garden to inquire the best dates for pruning. The time frame will depend on the predicted end of freeze, which is dependent of average annual minimum temperatures established by the United States Department of Agriculture. In Florida, this could be as early as February. In states such as Georgia and Alabama, it might be March, and in parts of North Carolina or Virginia, through April. Put the date on your calendar and commence work at that time.

2. Pour the alcohol solution into the empty coffee can. This container will be used for dipping the blades of tools for sterilization before, during and after pruning. Tool sterilization in between cuts will aid with keeping fungus and diseases from spreading throughout the plant during the pruning process.

3. Prepare tools for use. Ensure that all tools are clean and well-sharpened. The use of dull blades on pruning equipment may cause damage to the plant, which will prevent growth and flowering.

4. Inspect the plant. Visually determine areas that need to be removed, either due to a desired shape you wish to achieve, or merely for the removal of dead and diseased portions. Take note before trimming if the leaves are mottled, discolored or the wood appears to be dead.

5. Prune your rosebushes. Starting from the middle and working out to the sides of the plant, start pruning by holding the bypass or lopping shears at a 45-degree slanted angle to the vine and squeezing the handles to make a cut. Cut one vine at a time, removing approximately 1/4 inch above each bud for shape. When two canes cross each other, remove one so the one left behind will flourish. Also, it is important to cut 2 inches beneath any area that has a dark or diseased appearance to ensure the wood on the remaining vine appears healthy.

6. Seal large cuts with a dab of pruning sealer, wood glue or nail polish. Sealing the pruning cuts decreases the potential of insect damage to the plant.

7. Remove all rosebush clippings from the ground and discard of properly, preferably in a mulch pile.

Tips & Warnings

• Always use bypass pruners instead of anvil-shaped pruners, which tend to crush rosebush stems during the pruning process.

• Lightly prune 1-year-old plants, which are still getting established.

References

• Walter Reeves: Gardening in Georgia: Outdoor Flowers and Foliage: Rose - General Care
• North Carolina State University: Cooperative Extension Service: Department of Horticulture: Roses for North Carolina
• Clemson University: Cooperative Extension Service: Pruning Roses
• Deep South District: Spring Roses Care in Florida