Do I need to trim rose bushes in the winter? If so, when?

Answer 1

Village News Says:
Soon after New Year’s Day it is the season to trim roses back for the new growing season. Helen Whisnand is the chief of the rose gardens at the Fallbrook United Methodist Church. This week the Wednesday Men Group, among other chores, trimmed the roses. Roses should be trimmed back to about 18 inches, leaving the major briers. It is desirable to endeavor to create a center opening with the stems running in an outward direction, leaving the center for sunlight to benefit the branches. This early trimming will provide for early budding and blooming of the roses in the spring.

Back Yard Gardner Says:
PRUNING: Bush type roses should be pruned in the early spring when the leaf buds begin to swell, but before growth starts. Follow these basic principles:

Remove all wood killed or injured during the winter, cutting back to solid tissue.
Remove all weak, twiggy growth.
Shape plants by cutting strong canes back to -a uniform height, removing as little healthy wood as possible. Remove very old canes by cutting off at the ground level.
Cut ordinary hybrid varieties back to about 18 to 24 inches. Ramblers should be pruned after blooming by removing old unwanted canes at the base.

WINTER PROTECTION: It's not extreme cold that kills roses but rather the frequent alternate freezing and thawing that heaves the plant, thus breaking the roots. The winter sun and dry winds take moisture away from the canes and make winter injury more of a problem. Winter mulching with straw, peat moss, or other material is advisable in all but the extreme southern sections of the United States. This mulch regulates the soil temperature and tempers the effects of freezing and thawing. Pull soil up around each plant to a height of about 6 inches after the first frost, then after the ground is frozen r mulch.

Answer 2

Trimming Rose Bushes For Winter

Answer 3

BumbleBee is right on!

Wait until the spring. I do mine when the Forsythia blooms (in Southern Michigan), that gives you a visual indicator when the winter is really turning into spring. Choose the earliest flowering shrub or tree in your area.

Cut back the dead stuff first, then eliminate crossing branches and diseased branches. Lastly reduce the size overall to whatever is desired. Be sure to cut back any branches that are not at least the thickness of a pencil. Wimpy branches = Wimpy flowers.

Definitely seal those cuts. Rose borer is a terrible thing. I use regular old Elmer's Glue.

I also recommend ESPOMA 'rosetone' as a fertilizer. Follow the directions.

Good luck-
PS
There are geographical differences about when to prune your roses, but unless you live in the warmest part of the USA (zone 8 or 9) I think the info. that I and BumbleBee have given is pretty reliable.

Answer 4

One thing about roses - the more you prune them, the happier they are - particulary the Hybrid Teas, which I'm guessing you have.

I recommend a two-stage pruning, particularly for mature roses.

In the Fall, once they're dormant (often November) - trim the longest canes down to about 2-3 feet tall. This keeps winds from pushing the canes over and splitting. But it leaves long tips to prune off any winter burn.

In the Spring, prune more severely. Between 9 and 14 inches, depending on your preference. Remove any cane that is smaller than a typical pencil, and remove any canes that cross into the center or might rub against another cane. Seal the tips with old nail polish or (if you have it) tree-sealer. This will keep the borers out.

If you over-prune? Don't worry. It's good for them.

Answer 5

You said a (rose bust) so here you are.
You would do any hard pruning after the leaves start to fall,
Take off all the canes that are growing inward or across other branches. Cut above the next bud that is facing out ward.

You should tip prune the dead heads as and when a flower dies though out the year.
This will give you a better and bigger bloom.
Then to get the best out of your bush do the usual care, winter and spring.

Answer 6

They should be trimmed in the fall after their leaves brown off, trim them down to about 1 1/2 to 2 feet above ground level. Then they should probably be mounded with fertilizer (manure) to protect them from the winter. In the spring the manure will have degraded into the soil around them and new growth will come from the canes you left last fall.

Answer 7

Prune the roses back to about 9-12 inch canes after a couple of hard frosts this fall. Then just before freeze-up, take soil from another location and cover the canes completely with 8-10 inches of soil. Add to that a bag or two of leaves you raked up from your yard and you should be set until spring.

Answer 8

I quit trimming mine back in the fall and I don't cover them either. (I live in the midwest. Instead I wait and trim them back in the spring when the roses canes are starting to sprout. That way I am more able to tell which canes are dead and which ones are still green.

Answer 9

I prefer to trim in spring. During winter, the cold will burn the tips, but then when you trim early in spring it gets ready for growing much better and faster, all with fresh growth.

Answer 10

I usually trim mine back to about a foot high in the fall after they've quit blooming, but I've also trimmed them early in the spring before the new growth starts. I haven't noticed any difference between the two.