Rose Pruning Guide

Why do we prune our roses?

Pruning is an essential part of growing healthy, beautiful roses. It helps to:

• Encourage the bush to produce new, healthy growth.
• Remove thin, unhealthy stems that do not produce good flowers.
• Eliminate old leaves that may harbour diseases, allowing healthy new foliage to develop.

When to Prune

• Old Garden Roses (OGRs) that flower only once in spring and early summer should be pruned lightly immediately after flowering, not during autumn or winter.
• Some parts of the country, especially the Berg areas, experience late frosts, sometimes until late August. In these areas, wait until the risk of frost has passed before pruning. In other regions, pruning can begin from mid-July to mid-August.
• If you prune too early, the bush may produce blind shoots, resulting in stems without flowers.
• A useful tip: Water your roses well the day before pruning. This softens the stems, making them easier to cut.
• Most importantly, ensure your secateurs are sharpened before you begin pruning.

Pruning Steps

• Keep a bucket containing a disinfectant solution, such as Jeyes Fluid or regular household bleach diluted with water, nearby. Dip your secateurs into the solution regularly to prevent the spread of disease.
• First, remove approximately one-third of the top growth.
• Then begin pruning from the bottom of the bush.
• Remove most of the previous season’s (or two- to three-season-old) wood by cutting just above the bud union, at ground level, or as close to the ground as possible while leaving a healthy young shoot intact. Older wood is easily recognised by its woody stems with grey prickles.

After Pruning

• Remove all remaining leaves.
• Clean up and discard all old leaves and pruning’s, as they may harbour diseases.
• This is the only time you should lightly cultivate around the base of the bush. Do not use a large spade.
• Spray the entire bush, as well as the surrounding area, with Oleum.
• Use a garden fork to make holes around the bush to aerate the soil and help compost penetrate more effectively.
• Apply compost and Atlantic Bio Ocean, which feeds both the rose bush and the soil. Water thoroughly afterwards.
• Apply approximately 50 g of Atlantic Bio Ocean per bush. Sprinkle it around the drip line of the bush, not directly onto the stem. This is also an excellent time to give all your garden beds a light application of Bio-Ocean to nourish the soil in preparation for spring.

Wait for the Leaves to Appear

• Once new leaves begin to grow, it is time to drench the bush with Koinor.
• To drench, mix the Koinor with water and pour the solution around the drip line of the bush—not onto the bush itself.
• Apply:
  • 1 litre of the mixture to small bushes.
  • 2 litres of the mixture to medium-sized bushes.
  • 3 litres of the mixture to large bushes.
• Irrigate within 24 hours.

Spring (September)

• In September, begin fertilising each bush with Atlantic Flower & Fruit. Apply 50 g per bush every month until April/May.
• In January, give all your garden beds another light application of Atlantic Bio Ocean.

Rose Terms

Blind Shoots
A stem that does not produce a flower bud.

Bud Union
The swollen junction on the stem where the graft bud has been joined to the rootstock. When planting a rose bush, ensure the bud union is buried below the soil surface and not exposed above the soil.

Prickles
The hard, pointed growths on the stem of a rose, commonly referred to as thorns.

Article written and supplied by The Midlands Rose Society.