Roses are a beautiful addition to any garden, and if properly cared for, they will last for many years. However, it is essential that you understand what pruning entails before attempting to tackle your roses. The key to rose pruning is understanding what you are doing, why you are doing it and when to do it. In this article we will provide some basic information on how and when to prune roses in South Africa.
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How to prune roses?
Pruning is not an exact science, it is a skill that takes time to master. This is why we are often asked if there are any rules when pruning roses. Our answer: no! Pruning can be anything you want it to be!
However, there are some things we feel you should consider before taking the plunge into rose pruning:
- You need to understand what you’re doing and why you’re doing it
- You need to know your tools and how they work best for the job at hand (and possibly more than one tool)
- You need to know where your cut should occur on a plant so that healing occurs properly (see diagram below)
The main objectives of pruning are to
- Pruning your roses is a crucial part of maintaining their health and vigour. Without proper pruning, your plants can become overgrown and unhealthy, with weak stems that are unable to support large flowers.
- Pruning helps improve the quality and size of flowers by removing old wood that may be limiting the plant’s ability to produce new growth. Old stems should be cut back far enough away from the base so that no more than one-third of its length remains attached at ground level. This will encourage new growth from either side which will eventually grow into strong branches capable of supporting larger blooms and more flowers per bush than before – without wasting any energy on old wood!
- If you’ve noticed damage caused by pests or disease taking place within a particular section of your rosebush (or if there are dead branches), then it should be removed as soon as possible because these sources can spread throughout an entire plant if left unchecked for too long! Remember: cutting away diseased material reduces spread while simultaneously allowing healthy areas around it room expand outward into vacant space created after removal; this process will result in longer life cycles overall since less energy goes towards repairing damaged areas instead focusing instead on producing nice looking flowers right where they belong… which brings us right back around again!
