Roses grow particularly well in Canberra, our climate provides bright sunshine and low humidity perfect for flowering and disease resistance. That just means a winter oil spray and application of a good quality fertiliser after pruning and you can sit back and enjoy the new growth, abundant blooms and perfume over spring and summer. I prefer a good handful of organic fertiliser for each rose.
Well it is now time to prune them. If you are confused about how to cut them and by how much don't despair. These tips will make it easy.
Roses are tough and they respond very nicely from a good pruning, so pick up your pruning saw, loppers and secateurs.and get to it.
Depending on the type of rose the amount to cut off will be slightly different. A carpet rose could literally be pruned with hedge shears and I do use my .stihl hedge trimmers for this type of job.
There are some general rules to follow:
Always look for diseased and really old wood these should be removed, sometimes at ground level but back to healthy wood. For this part of the job you may need loppers or a pruning saw.
Cut back thin and spindly wood to the thickness of your little finger. and any wood that rubs and crosses over other wood cut it back to a bud that points in the direction you prefer new growth to be.
Climbing roses can be cut back approximately by a third, but should be encouraged to be shaped for some horizontal growth, so that you maximise the number of flowers.
Hybrid tea roses can be pruned back by at least half the size of the bush. Prune to keep the central part of the bush open to allow air movement.
Pick up all cuttings and dispose of properly, apply an oil based spray and fertilise and the job is done. Don't forget to dead head and pick the roses as they come, this will promote more growth and flowers.
One last tip: Watch for the graft usually near the ground level for any water shoots that appear below the graft. These are not desired as they take energy away from the the rose you want to flower,
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