Create a Yates account today!
Sign up to join the Yates Garden Club for monthly e-mails packed with seasonal inspiration, tips for success & exclusive promotions.
Plus if you’re a Garden Club member you can take part in the Yates Growing Community - a blog to share successes, get advice & win prizes in fun challenges along the way!
Enter the email address associated with your account, and we'll email you a new password.
Does the thought of pruning roses make your palms sweaty? This topic seems to cause a lot of angst, even among experienced gardeners, but it’s not really that difficult.
Here's how to do it. If you work through these steps, your roses will look blooming beautiful.
Roses respond really well to pruning, as they flower on the new growth that pruning stimulates. Pruning keeps them neat, attractively-shaped, healthy and sets them up for a magnificent flowering season. And the good news is, if you make a mistake it's no worse than a bad haircut - it will grow back!
July is the month when most roses are pruned. There are a few exceptions, including ramblers like thornless banksia roses or weeping standards, which should be pruned just after they flower in spring.
For all other roses, mid-winter is the time to remove dead, old or diseased wood, shorten healthy branches to promote new growth, and keep your roses a manageable size and shape.
If you'd like to know more about general pruning fundamentals, we also have a detailed introduction to pruning.
So, let’s get into it. Just like a good cook, it’s wise to gather ingredients and tools before you start.
If your cutting tools could use some TLC and a sharpen, here's how to do it.
Always cut just above an outward-facing bud, at a 45° angle.
Removing a dead woody stem from a rose.
Old English Rose
'Augusta Luise' hybrid tea rose
Rambling Rose
Share
Share this article on social media