The roses will get woodier and older over the years. Then it makes sense to have them professionally pruned. But how?
You can enjoy the lush bloom of your roses for many years and they will look healthy and strong.
But recently it seems to have come to an end. If you use rose clippers correctly now, you can give your old roses a new lease of life.
Reasons to prune old roses
If you let roses be roses and don’t prune them at all, they’ll eventually go bald — and there’ll be more of them than you ever imagined! This means that you will see lots of woody shoots at the bottom, but don’t worry, the flowers will appear on the new, upper shoots! Regular pruning is the key to ensuring that the whole plant blooms profusely again and provides its foliage and flowers from below. After replanting, each rose looks rejuvenated and ready to bloom!
Best time for pruning
Older roses can be pruned in spring ( from March to early April ) or, if necessary, in autumn.Spring pruning is generally recommended. Spring pruning gives old roses vigorous new growth. To support this, it is appropriate to supply fertiliser. Use a special rose fertiliser for this purpose or use home remedies such as coffee grounds.
Correct pruning order
Before you start, look for sharp and pre-cleaned garden shears or rose pruners.When pruning old roses, make sure the pruning tool is really sharp. Otherwise the shoots will be damaged and pathogens can get into poorly healing wounds.
Do the following:
Thoroughly remove diseased, frozen and dead shoots.
Shorten the trellis shoots up to the hips.
Shorten the remaining shoots by one-third to one-half.
Cover large wounds with a wound sealant (e.g. wood resin or beeswax).
Radical surgery and the possibility of new growth
Roses – even older specimens – can tolerate even radical pruning. If you cut off all the shoots of a rose just above the ground, there is a good chance that it will re-sprout. This is especially true of roses that have been rooted for years and have developed a wide and deep root system. So if your old rose is now almost old, you can also prune radically.
