When is the right time to prune roses? Pruning techniques for one of the top ten famous flowers

The rose is called the queen of flowers, also known as Yueyuehong, Yueyuehua, Changchun flower, four-season flower, and Shengchun. It blooms in all four seasons, generally red, or pink, occasionally white and yellow.So when is the right time to prune roses? How to prune? What are the techniques?

When is the right time to prune roses?

1. Late August or early September is the time for autumn pruning of roses. Pruning at this time makes good use of their roughly 45-day growth period to produce beautiful flowers in early October.

2. Roses need frequent pruning. This is especially true for potted roses, because space is limited and nutrients are not very plentiful, and pruning can reduce unnecessary nutrient consumption while also making the plant shape more graceful and keeping it blooming continuously. Otherwise, not only is flowering capacity weakened, but disease resistance is also reduced. As for winter pruning, which is a relatively heavy pruning, you must be patient and start pruning only after the roses have dropped their leaves, so that they will bloom better the following year.

How to prune roses? What are the techniques?

The pruning of roses varies with the variety, growth habit, and the soil and climate conditions of each region, so pruning methods also differ. But there are also some common pruning techniques, such as dead branches, old branches, diseased branches, damaged branches, crossing branches, overlapping branches, overly dense inner branches, and root suckers, all of which should be cut out completely; when pruning, generally keep the outward-facing buds so that the plant shape spreads out evenly. The pruning periods are usually divided into two types: dormant-season pruning and growing-season pruning.

1. Dormant-season pruning: during the winter dormant period, roses should be heavily pruned, which can rejuvenate old plants, produce abundant flowers with large blooms, and give a well-formed plant shape. This is generally done in early spring before the new buds sprout. This pruning should be based on the variety and growth habit to decide whether to prune heavily, moderately, or lightly. Generally, each plant keeps only 3-5 branches, and each branch keeps only 2-3 buds.

2. Growing-season pruning: rose growing-season pruning includes bud thinning, bud removal, and removal of spent flowers.

① Bud thinning: spring is the period when roses sprout densely, so bud thinning must be done promptly. Remove thin and weak inner buds, overlapping, crossing, and other inappropriate clustered buds from the base, keeping only 2-3 healthy buds per branch. Bud thinning can continue from spring all the way to the winter dormant period, and can be done at any time as needed.

② Bud removal: bud removal varies by variety. For hybrid fragrant roses and others that flower on a single stem, the side buds can be removed, keeping only the one central main bud. This allows nutrients to be concentrated in the main bud, making the flower large and full. For clustered-flower and grandiflora types that bear multiple flowers on one stem, in order to achieve the effect of many flowers blooming at the same time, the main bud and overly dense small buds can be removed, so that the flowering period is concentrated and the flower size is uniform. For miniature roses, do not remove the flower buds; let them grow naturally. For newly planted young plants that are just beginning to grow, when the first small flower buds form in early spring, the buds should be removed to let them accumulate nutrients and promote the development of new branches. This allows the seedlings to grow faster and lays the foundation for forming a low-branching tree shape.

③ Removing spent flowers: after the flowers fade, the spent flowers must be cut off immediately. Generally, count downward from the flower and cut about 0.5 cm above the second five-leaflet compound leaf, removing the upper shoot tip and spent flower, and keeping the axillary bud of the second five-leaflet compound leaf so that it can send out a new branch again. But be careful not to cut off too long a flower stalk. This is because cutting away too many branches and leaves is not good for the plant's growth.