My roses are crap!! How do you prune and when so that next year they will be as nice as my neighbors?

Question

We have several rose bushes...we live at 5300ft above sea level and came here from the desert, so I've never had roses before. I cut the dead bulbs off as they go bad, but last fall never 'pruned' any of the bushes as I've heard you should. This year we had about 1/3 the return of roses and actually one whole bush never bloomed...and it's our largest one? I went and bought a really rich mulch and turned the soil beneath each bush about 3 weeks ago before adding the fresh soil hoping that the nutrients might help...it did somewhat, but all the people up here have roses and they have sooooo many more than us on each bush....tons...and they are soooooo big too. How do I get my rose bushes to produce like that for next year...and when and how is the best way to prune??? Thanks all!

Answer 1

I have had a few rose bushes for only 3 years and I've learned a lot in that time. While they're growing, I give them plenty of water and they also get Miracle Grow every three weeks.

You definitely should read up on annual pruning, and see if you can find out when the best time to do this in your area. It isn't difficult, but it takes courage because you have to remove so much at one time. The main thing is that you want the new branches to grow outward, so cut above an outward-facing bud or shoot. I had one gardener who would cut all the branches down to about 2 inches. then when new branches started, he would just cut off the ones that were not growing towards the outside.

I agree that talking to neighbors is a good idea. They will have different methods. Don't get overwhelmed if you get contradictory information -- that happens a lot with gardening. Like, some people say cut off a lot of stem when removing a dead bloom, and others say cut off a little. Both methods have their advantages.

Answer 2

I learned lasst year that it's best to prune back to the first set of 5 leaves. Also, from a gardening guru, that one of the best fertilzers you can give your roses is lots of water. And you can add a bit of epsom salts to the water, which is not a fertilizer, but more of a tonic, helping the bush to take up nutrients.

And I agree with the person who said ask your neighbours; they'll be flattered, Just say "your roses are so beautiful. I'm a novice, can you help me?" They'll be thrilled.

Answer 3

This website http://www.rose.myzury.com/14/pruning-roses-secrets/ has a detailed article on how to prune roses.

Answer 4

here is an idea... try asking your neighbor, or their gardeners how they do it. Wow, you might make a friend or two also. hey maybe you could start a neighborhood gardening committee.