How and when do I prune my rose bushes? And do I have to bury them? I live in central Minnesota?

Answer 1

Hi Dan, I'm not sure what you mean by bury them. But I can tell you how and when to prune.

General pruning: Normally after the flower has died off then you will want to prune the cane it was on. You do this by cutting at an angle right above a set of five leaves that are pointing outward. This will encourage new growth of both the bush and roses. You can also prune off any dead or dying canes because these will steal energy from your plant.

Autumn pruning: In Autumn right after the last frost (you can wait until Jan. or Feb) you can prune your bush down to 2-3 feet. I like to prune at an angle right above a node. A node is a little, slightly red, somewhat pointy bump sticking off the side of the cane. Make sure you pick a node that is pointing outward because that is the direction a new branch will start. Autumn promotes a much fuller bush for next season.

As for the burying, can you clarify what you mean by that?

If you are asking if you need to put them in the ground then I would say yes. I can't imagine a potted rose surviving a Minnesota winter. As long as your roses are doing well then it would be best to wait until Autumn to place it in the ground because it will suffer less shock. Make sure you mulch it heavily for the winter.

Good luck

Answer 2

Well it would have helped to know what type of rose bush it is. A tea style don't like much pruning and you can even kill it if you over do it. All the others can handle light pruning all season and will actually flower more if you remove the spent flowers. You make angle cuts about one eight of an inch from a leaf growth. You only want to remove less than a foot growth at a time to encourage new growth. When fall nears stop removing the spent flowers so the bush knows it is time to go dormant. You might want to add some peat moss around the base at the first snow...leave it alone until the spring and remove the peat moss and prune off some old growth and any damaged canes.

Answer 3

If you mean by burying them covering the graft with soil, I wouldn't do this. I have seen this advocated before but roses in my own garden where this occured accidentally became stunted compared to those where the graft was uncovered and an inch of stem underneath the graft showing above the soil. Roses should be pruned by approx a 1/3 in early spring and mid summer, but light regular pruning keeps constant small flowerings happening. They are very hardy but you can kill them if you 'butcher them".