Valentine’s Day brings roses to mind, and for us gardeners, that’s a good thing — because this holiday serves as a reminder that it’s time to prune many of the roses we grow here in Louisiana.
Pruning between late January and mid-February is one of the most important things you can do to ensure a splendid display of rose blooms this spring. It triggers a growth response and encourages new leaf and branch development. (LSU AgCenter horticulturists recommend doing the same thing in late summer to promote fall flowering.) A winter pruning also is the perfect occasion for reining in overgrown shrubs.
Everblooming roses such as hybrid tea, grandiflora, floribunda, miniature and shrub roses all benefit from being pruned around Valentine’s Day. You’ll want to leave once-blooming varieties like old garden roses as well as climbing cultivars alone for now, though. These roses should be pruned after flowering wraps up in early summer, and only if needed. Climbers do occasionally need to be tamed or have their growth redirected.
The goal for winter rose pruning is to reduce both the height and width of the plant by about one-third. If you’re dealing with large shrubs, you can safely cut away up to two-thirds of the plant’s height and width to reach a more manageable size.
Clean, sharp bypass pruners are crucial for this job. Sanitize them with a 10% bleach or rubbing alcohol solution before starting to prevent spreading diseases to other plants. And be mindful that dull blades will not make clean cuts — leading to frustration for you and making it harder for the plant to heal.
When trimming the plant, make each cut right above a node, or the joint on a stem where a leaf once was or you see a new bud forming. Ideally, cut above a node that faces outward to help steer the new growth that will emerge away from the center of the plant.
You’ll also want to take this opportunity to look for dead wood, which can harbor harmful diseases and insects. Use loppers to completely remove any dead canes, cutting all the way back to the point of origin on the plant. This can improve airflow, offering extra protection against pests.
Feel free to prune any thin, less vigorous canes, too. Just make sure you leave at least six to eight healthy canes with a diameter at least the size of your finger.
Once you’ve finished pruning your roses, it’s a good idea to follow up with an application of fertilizer and a fresh layer of mulch. And go ahead and sanitize your pruners and loppers again so they’re ready for next time.
