How to Prune Rose Bushes Correctly

Remove one-third of the length of old rose canes every spring.

Pruning can be a head-scratching experience for gardeners. In order to maintain healthy canes, roses need to be pruned whenever there are any signs of fungal diseases. Deadheading old blossoms, removing damaged stems and shaping the rose bush is also essential for an attractive and healthy plant. Without proper pruning, wounds can be created in the canes of the rose bush and leave your plant open to a number of fungal and bacterial infections.

Things You'll Need

• Bypass shears
• Denatured alcohol
• Glue

Instructions

1. Cut back stems that have spent roses with a pair of bypass shears when you need to deadhead. Deadheading not only makes the rose bush more attractive by removing the wilted flower, it also reduces the risk of the rose plant becoming infected with botrytis. Make a cut right above a five- or seven-leaflet leaf. The bud that you choose to cut back to should be outward facing and look healthy. Your cut should be at a 45-degree downward angle.

2. Remove any damaged or dead wood from your rose bush. To know if wood is dead, scrape the top of the wood with a knife. If the wood is dead, brown or black will show underneath the scrape. Living wood looks greenish white under a scrape.

3. Spray your bypass shears with a mixture of 70 percent denatured alcohol and 30 percent water when removing diseased areas of the rose bush. You should also sterilize your pruning tool in between cuts. Cut entire canes off back to the main stem when removing a diseased cane.

4. Cut off any suckers or water sprouts off the plant. Suckers are vertically growing canes that grow from the root ball of your rose bush. Generally, suckers are produced when the rose bush is distressed; they steal important nutrients from the bush.

5. Spread white glue over the pruning cuts to seal the cuts from fungal diseases and pests. Use a small paintbrush to distribute the glue.

Tips & Warnings

• Cut off any canes that are smaller than the diameter of a pencil to allow the plant to focus its energies on stronger canes.

• Pick a time in the morning to prune your rose bush to reduce the risk of the plant getting a fungal disease in the moist nighttime air.

References

• University of Illinois: Pruning
• Marin Rose Society: Pruning Roses