How to prune roses in the spring

In the spring, the steps to wake roses from dormancy and get them into a healthy growing season will depend on your region and the variety you have. In areas without frost, roses can stay evergreen and will thrive with moderate pruning and extra fertilizer.
However, most people still do four things to get hybrid roses to resprout and prepare for summer blooms. Roses are notoriously difficult to grow, but this is not the case. Sometimes even if we forget about them, most roses will continue to grow and bloom. However, taking appropriate measures early can ensure that they will not encounter too many problems during their growth period.

How to prune roses in the spring

Remove winter protection for roses

In most cold-weather growing areas, hybrid roses are generally protected from the cold of winter. In early spring, it is time to remove the protection that was put on the roses in the previous fall. You should do this when you are sure that there will be no new freeze-thaw cycles that will stop the growth of the young rose branches. It’s not just the freezing weather that kills roses, but repeated freezing and thawing that wreaks havoc on the plant’s tissues.
In some colder growing zones, it’s common to cover the entire rose bush with a cardboard box or bags of dry leaves or straw. Remove the boxes and covering material in the spring, around the time tulips and daffodils begin to bloom. Rake away any soil or mulch used to protect the graft. Exposing the grafted joint will allow you to see the young shoots growing from underneath. After this point, native cuttings from non-grafted plants will not produce the flowers you want.
In extremely cold growing zones, hybrid roses are typically wintered by pruning the stems, digging trenches, burying the entire rose, and covering it with a layer of soil. If this is your wintering method, now’s the time to rake away the mulch, dig out the roses, and stand them up. Pack the roots tightly with soil to support the main body, but make sure to expose the seams.

How to prune roses in the spring

Pruning of Roses

You may have pruned your roses as part of the winterization process, but if you omitted this step in the fall, early spring is the best time to check on your roses and do some necessary pruning.
Even if you did some pruning in the fall, the tips of the canes may have died back a bit and require additional pruning. Pruning before the leaf buds open will cause the rose bush to put all its energy into new growth.
Using sharp pruning shears, cut each cane into short sections until all dead wood is removed and green growing wood is reached. How much old growth you remove will depend on the severity of the winter, but your roses may recover even if you reduce almost to the level of root transplants.
Warm climates: Spring pruning in warm climates can begin in January. In areas where winters don’t necessarily freeze but there are still long periods of cold weather, we can prune according to the type of roses grown. Another technique that can be tried in warm areas is to remove all leaves from the rose bush during spring pruning. This will put the rose into a short dormant period, allowing it to start again this season. Be sure to rake away all debris from the rose bed.
Cold climates: Roses grown in areas with cold winters should not be pruned until around April, otherwise the canes may suffer more winter damage. Once the leaf buds begin to swell (usually when the forsythia begins to bloom), it is safe to prune the roses.

How to prune roses in the spring

Fertilizing rose bushes

Like most plants, roses need to have adequate nutrients after they begin to thrive in the spring. You can give them their first fertilization when you prune them. There are several high-quality rose fertilizers available on the market, but general-purpose fertilizers are also sufficient. Slow-release fertilizers are used less frequently than water-soluble fertilizers. People also like to sprinkle their roses with a handful (about a quarter cup) of Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate heptahydrate, also known as sulfur bitter, bitter salts, Epsom salts). Whether the extra dose of magnesium is really good for the plant has not been proven, but many experienced people believe that this is possible.

How to prune roses in the spring

If you prefer to mix your own rose fertilizer, you can balance the following ingredients:

1 cup cottonseed meal
1 cup bone meal or superphosphate
1/2 cup blood meal

1/4 cup Epsom salts

How to prune roses in the spring

Pest and Disease Control

Unfortunately, roses are often prone to fungal diseases. Hopefully, you have chosen disease-resistant roses that are suitable for your region, but it is difficult to prevent all fungal diseases on roses. Even for organically grown roses, preventative spraying should be considered in the spring. Lime sulfur is a good choice for spring spraying. It will usually kill any fungal spores that may have overwintered, such as black spot. An additional spray of horticultural oil will help to smother any insect eggs and larvae.
These spring rose care tasks should get your roses off to a good, healthy start for the season. In addition to pruning, fertilizing, and spraying, make sure your roses are well watered and check on them regularly to see if there are any problems.

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