Knowing the proper way to prune is an important part of rose gardening. Pruning incorrectly can cause damage to your roses while proper pruning can increase the health of your plants. A bit of knowledge is required to learn correct pruning, but once you get some practice it’s almost second nature.

A quality pair of pruners is necessary. You’ll want to have a sharpener on hand at all times as well. Clipping your rose canes with dull pruners prevents you from achieving a clean, crisp cut across the cane. A clean cut will enable your rose heal quickly. Dull pruners will also most likely cause the cane to split when it’s cut. This prevents the rose plant from healing properly and invites disease.

You should always make an effort to remove dead wood from your roses. Besides looking unattractive, dead wood can harbor disease and fungi. Simply prune off any dead wood back to where it’s still green with a white center. If the cane is brown, with a brown center, you know it’s no longer alive.

Knowing where to prune on the rose cane is also important. Your cut should resemble a 45 degree angle. This allows water and sap to drain off the pruning cut. Locate a bud on the cane that is facing away from center of the rose plant. You always want to encourage growth away from the center of the rose. This will assist with developing an open shape to the rose plant that allows for air circulation. You should then make your 45 degree angle cut with the upper part of the cut directly above the bud and the lower side of the cute opposite and level with the bud.

If there is any growth on your roses that you don’t feel is able to support further growth it should be removed. Small tiny canes that won’t be able to support blooms or side growth should be removed. This will leave energy and space for stronger more productive canes. Suckers should always be removed as well. Suckers are growth that comes up from below the crown or bud union. These are best removed by pruning them off as close to the actual rose plant as you’re able. Suckers not only look unattractive, but if left can also cause the grafted portion to weaken as the root sends up its own growth.

Pruning your roses can be easy as long as your follow basic guidelines and always attempt to open up your rose plant by favoring outside eyes or buds. These tips will give you healthy vigorous plants that have excellent air circulation and a better disease resistance. Once you get the hang of proper pruning techniques, you’ll be pruning your roses faster than you ever imagined.