Handy Helpful Blog

When to Trim Roses

To ensure the growth and health of your roses, you should trim them during the right time. So, when should you prune your roses?

Winter

The safest time to prune your rose bushes is during winter because this is a dormant period. You ought to do this between December and towards the end of February. It is advisable to trim these flowers when the temperatures are above cold. This helps the bushes to heal without suffering from frost attacks. This means that the appropriate time to prune is in late winter. As spring approaches, the temperatures are conducive and warm for the bushes to heal and bring forth roses.

Summer

Although extensively shaping the rose bushes is safe during winter, light pruning is safe in summer. Roses blossom once a year, and if you skipped trimming in winter, you can do light pruning in summer when the bushes start blossoming.

Cuts made in the warm summer, when the bushes are developing, heal faster. In areas where there’s not much rain in summer, the cuts on the bushes remain dry after trimming in summer. This makes the bushes less attractive to pathogens, infestations, and diseases.

Deadheading

When flowers start to discolor around July or August, deadheading them can cause the flowers to rebloom rather than the bush producing flowers. It is advisable to deadhead the bushes once a week in early summer. You can reduce ¹/₃ of the bushes after the month of July to get your roses to blossom a second time.

How to Trim Your Rose Bushes

Punning roses should not scare you with the right tools; you’ll get the job done quickly. You will require thick gloves (gardening), long-sleeved jacket or shirt, bypass pruning shears. The gloves protect your hands, the shears overlay to make precise cuts.

Follow these tips to ensure your rose bushes thrive:

• Start from the bottom. Take account of the roses, noting the shape and health. Start from the ground and trim withered stems at the base then go towards the center. This allows air circulation.
• Trim broken, withered, and diseased wood. Observe old wood until you get to the green stem. Make a cut of 45 degrees and ensure that the white inside part is exposed. If the cut is not white, trim lower to a healthy part.
• Remove multi-branched twigs. Eliminate thin canes because if you let them grow, they will produce tiny, weak blooms.
• Get rid of sucker growth under the graft. Suckers can grow from the ground or vertically from rose bushes. Suckers have inferior or no flowers. Trim them from the stem where they sprout or the ground.
• Trim the new growth and shape the bushes as you desire. Your cuts ought to be at least 4 degrees.

The Best Time to Fertilize Your Roses

Just like other plants, roses require fertilizer; however, this does not have to be a complicated activity. Before applying your fertilizer, consider the weather patterns. If your area experiences warm days and suitable temperatures at night, you can use fertilizer and water your roses.

How to Fertilize the Roses

For your roses to thrive, you ought to know how to fertilize them correctly.

• Water the roses before and after fertilizing them. If your roses don’t get enough water, they will easily burn from nitrogen fertilizers. Ensure that the ground around the bushes is wet prior to fertilizing. Watering your plants before fertilizing directs nutrients to the roots.
• Begin in early spring and end in late fall or summer. Make the initial application 4 to 6 weeks before spring. Continue applying fertilizer throughout the summer. Stop when the first frost appears.

When to Plant Roses

Contrary to the assumptions of many folks, the months of February and March make excellent planting times for roses. Planting them early allows the roses to sprout roots, which gives them ample time to anchor in the soil before they start blooming.

How to Plant Roses

Before planting your roses, ensure that you have good drainage.

• Make a moderate but wide hole 15-18 inches down and 18-24 inches in width.
• Mix bone meal and set it aside for filling the hole after planting the rose.
• Take your cutting and get rid of flowers.
• Remove all the leaves except the 2 at the top of the stem.  This focuses all the energy to the growth of the roots.
• Cut at the bottom of the roses stem beneath the node.
• Put the soil in the hole and cover it with soil and bone meal.

When to Replace Roses

The best way to replace roses is to utilize a lot of compost. Many people assume that you should never replant rose in the same soil because they’ll wither and die. People used the conventional method of replacing roses by removing the old soil and bringing new, fresh soil.

How to Replace Roses

• Use garden compost or old manure to the soil.
• Ensure that you apply mycorrhizal fungi to your roses.
• Avoid chemical drenches, which are harmful to the soil.

Conclusion

Planting, pruning, fertilizing, and watering your roses are necessary for your roses to thrive. Caring for your rose bushes needs patience as they have thorns and bloom once a year. Although it can be challenging, caring for the roses enhances your home’s beauty. Knowing when to plant the roses gives them adequate time to anchor in the soil and to focus on root and stem growth.