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Pruning the Less Common Classes of Roses
Now is also a good time to prune the less common classes of roses. The wild species and forms from them, shrub roses, hybrid musks, and so on can be included here.
As with all pruning, first remove any dead, diseased, or weak wood. Also think about old wood removal, too dense growth or excessively twiggy growth.
You can dead head(trim back) old flower tip shoots. Cut them back to healthy buds lower down on the small branch.
Look at the form of the bush. Direct your pruning cuts to enhance the natural form of the plant (especially if this is a species or shrub type rose.
Use SHARP pruning tools and you can also easily sterilize between cuts or definitely between plants by dipping your pruning tools into a mix of bleach and water between each cut as you prune.
The goal you seek is to keep plenty of wood which stores the nutrients within the plant(and the roots do as well), and to create a nicely shaped plant by following its natural growth form. (If your plant is young and you do not yet know its mature form, consult a knowledgeable source.
Do not be afraid to prune, plants are forgiving and the more you prune, the more experience you will get and become knowledgeable in time.
Tea and China classes need almost no drastic pruning. As a matter of fact, if pruned too hard, you can kill them. They grow from nearly all buds all over the plant, and bloom prufusely. Nodding flowers are thier hallmark, as well as pastel shades in the Teas, and cherry pinks in the Chinas. In warm winter climates, they are almost continuous bloomers.
Noisettes and Hybrid Musks are nice shrubby type classes, the noisettes being more vining and a bit more graceful in many varieties. frangrance which acrries on the breeze is characteristic of these, although not all have fragrance.
The hybrid musk group is recommended by rosarians to beginners since they actually will be fine without any pruning, but a little will give better floral results.
During the latter bloom period for many roses, one can leave spent flowers to form rose hips(heps) which are colorful and decorative in fall and winter.
Rose Pruning
The winter season is one of the best times for rose pruning. You can clearly see the stems and the overall structure of the plant. Dead wood should be removed first. Then progress on to old twiggy branches, remove them if growth seems too dense. If branches seem crowded, you can thin them or cut one back more than the other. Use these recommendations generally for all the rose groups.(species, shrub, hybrid mush, climbers, hybrid teas, floribundas, english, etc.)
The rose group is a very large one. Rose fanciers have grouped the various similar types into several groups for clarification and easier identification. The groups most gardeners know best are the Hybrid Tea, Floribunda, and the more recent English roses. Keen gardeners find the species and selections of great ornamental interest in the garden. The entire characteristics of the plant are taken into consideration, rather than just the flowers.
In this segment, I will discuss the basic proceedure of rose pruning for the more familiar groups.
Most gardeners know the hybrid tea roses as florist or garden roses. These give a pointed tall bud and cover a vast array of colors as well as unusual forms. More severe pruning is done with these to give a more vigorous flush of growth and bloom display. The plants vary somewhat depending on the variety, some grow smaller and others can be very large bushes. If you prune conservatively, you will have a larger plant after pruning, and that translates into more flowers.
The same pruning is for floribundas, but since these tend to be smaller plants, your pruning chore is much less in most cases with this group.
English roses cover a broader spectrum of floral form, bloom display (some are large and displayed singly, some are cluster bloomers, etc.) and the size of the plant will vary as well.
With all these groups the basic idea to create good light and air circulation in the center of the plant applies. you cut them back at least one third, some people severly cut them back to perhaps 18″, 2 ft. This heavy pruning will give vigorous new growth, but fewer flowers.
I prefer to cut back 1/2 at the most. You can always take growth off, but you cannot put it back once cut!
This allows growth to be vigorous, and also to conserve food reserves within the plant.
The old basic rule of thumb was to leave an open center, or a bowl shaped plant. Stems on the outside of the bush, and clear and open in the center.
Try not to leave stumps. Clean all debris from the immediate plant area. Disease spores can live in dead wood, and old leaves on the ground, so removal and good sanitation is an excellent way of helping to prevent disease and insect attacks.
In making your cuts, use sharp pruning tools and cut at about a 45 degree angle over the bud and about 1/4″ or so above the bud that you wish growth to take.
On most rose stems, you cut to an outward facing bud, away from the center of the bush. This will result in new growth in teh direction of the outside of the plant, thus keeping the center open.
Now is also a good time to spray you plants if needed. The basic framework of the plant is exposed and can be easily sprayed if needed.
Do any weeding at the base of the plant now as well.
When all this has been done, you can mulch the plant with an organic mulch material like compost fir bark. You can also apply mulch in the spring after growth commences. Mulch will help to conserve water in the soil and keep the roots protected from drought and keep weed seedlings from germinating easily. Keep the base of the plant free of deep mulch. You can apply 2-3″ over the root area otherwise.
When you cut flowers, think of it as conservative pruning as well. Cut back the stem to an outward facing leaf/bud on stems about pencil thick.
Most comercially propagated roses are budded on an understock with the desired variety on top. There is a scar/bulge to show this effort on most roses. (unless produced on their own roots)If your plant develops two kinds of foliage, it may be the understock and this has to be cut out. If these stems sprout from the roots, pull them out as a cut will only increase the resultant growth and need to be cut out again.
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