If you want to grow beautiful, lush roses, proper rose pruning is essential. Roses have been highly hybridized and cross bred over the years so that they produce beautiful blooms, and this has effected their growth habits. To keep the bush size and shape appealing requires some human intervention.

Pruning roses isn’t as complicated or mysterious as people make it out to be. In fact, there are just a few basic rules. If you keep these in mind whenever you pick up your pruning shears, you’ll be rewarded with beautiful rose bushes that your friends and neighbors will envy.

1) When to Prune

Rose pruning should be done in the spring, just as the leaf buds begin to swell. It is very important that the pruning is done before the seasons active growth begins. Young roses should not be pruned at all. They need to reach a strong, mature size (2-3 years) before pruning is necessary.

2) How Much to Prune

To some extent, this depends on how large you want the plant to become. Rose height can get out of control without pruning. Assume a rose bush will grow 3-4 feet over the growing season and prune it down enough to allow for that much growth. You don’t want the bush to grow so high that you cannot see or enjoy the blooms at the top.

3) What to Prune

The first thing to do when you start pruning roses is to remove any dead, decayed, broken or damaged growth. Not only does this keep your bushes looking good, but it prevents pests and disease.

Make your cuts just above a strong leaf bud. Notice the direction that the leaf bud is growing. If left intact, that is the direction that the cane will grow in. You want to leave leaf buds that are growing in the desired direction.

Tiny, spindly canes will generally not amount to much of anything. Remove these so that the plant’s energy can be directed to the larger, stronger canes. Get rid of most of the old remaining leaves to promote new leaf growth.

4) Rose Pruning to Maintain Shape

It is a good idea to keep the center of the bush free of canes that are growing horizontally across it. This promotes good air circulation which helps avoid fungus infection. Another reason to avoid having too many canes crossing each other is that they will create a lot of leaves that shade lower branches and discourage blooms on the lower part of the plant. When pruning roses, you want to prevent bushes from growing into large tangled masses with small and inferior blooms.

Climbing roses only need to be pruned to control their overall size or when they are growing in the wrong direction.

Continue to shape your rose bushes as they grow. Changing them from wild and unruly to prim and proper is the art of rose pruning.

5) Prevent Disease

Always use clean, sharp pruning shears when pruning roses. Clean the shears after each use to remove any disease or fungus. After pruning, major cuts can be painted with a sealer to aid in healing and to help keep out insects and disease. Regular Elmer’s glue, diluted a bit, works just fine.

Finally, finish pruning roses by picking up all the dead stuff you’ve cut away. You don’t want to leave infected canes on the ground to spread disease and you don’t want to be surprised later when you step on an old thorny cane. Pull the weeds from around the rose bush and finish up by placing fresh mulch around the base of the rose bush.

Correct rose pruning and shaping makes for a lovelier bush and allows for appropriate air circulation which makes for a healthier plant with larger blooms. Proper rose pruning is easy, and it is the key to a happy, healthy rose garden. Enjoy your beautiful roses.

Want to find out more about garden plant care, then visit Cindy Robles’s site for the lastest garden design news trends and inspiration.

First consider what kind of rose-garden you will plan. Roses seem to enjoy being arranged in countless ways. Will the first show of bloom to burst into view, as one approaches your home, be on your pergola, or arbor, or rose-covered summer-house? If none of these furnishes appropriate setting, probably your banks or fences will be clothed or beautified. A variety of types is available, and choosing from these will become a delight.

Perhaps your fancy may picture prosperous beds, abounding in a wealth of bloom, to be seen across a sweep of level lawn, or from your favorite room in the house, or even hidden beyond the curve in your garden-walk.

The formal rose-garden, too, is important, especially on the larger place. There are excellent reasons why the rose-garden should have a domain all its own. These fastidious creatures that so well repay your thoughtful care may well be grouped and with greater resulting effectiveness. In no other case, perhaps, does careful planning pay so well as in the formal garden.

In these brief suggestions of rose-garden possibilities let us recall vividly the value of the rose in the landscape. Here again a knowledge of varieties is important. Landscape architects are recognizing more and more the noteworthy species which are valuable in mass-plantings for showy effects, for retaining embankments, for bordering driveways, or even for certain types of hedges.

Or you may wish most for a garden of roses from which to cut bouquets, so that “the glory of the garden” may be reflected in your home. Good taste will suggest the right roses-one for this vase, a bunch for that bowl, a spray for the guest-room, still others for the hallway or the dining-room table, then surely some for boutonnieres, and at times for “state occasions.” Surely anyone who has experienced the exquisite thrill welling up in the soul from the presence of choice roses well arranged will be eager to develop the skill needed to make the best use of nature’s garden-gifts.

Several available spaces for the rose-bed are usually to be found on the average home-grounds. I’ve had the good fortune to visit a number of rose-gardens that are famous-and others that deserve to be-and this may be said of nearly all: that they lie on the genial, sunny side of a generous group of trees or copse, but are open to the gentler breezes, and are not shut in or shaded.

Choose a place, therefore, or establish one, protected either by trees, a hedge, a wall, a building, or by some other wind-break. Even a hedge of roses, or climbers, upon a substantial trellis will avail, although a denser screen is more effective. Choose, too, a place where the sun will shine for not less than one-half of the day, preferably the morning. By this you will see that a space opening away to the south or southeast is to be preferred. We have noted equally successful rose-gardens entirely surrounded by hedges.

The activities of a landscape architect can range from the creation of public

On the odd occassion you may consider transplanting some of your roses. You could be just rearranging the the back garden or you may want the palnts to get more light. The reason you’re doing it doesn’t matter but the fact is, you really should learn a bit doing it.

Once you choose the new position for your roses, the first thing to do is get the spot ready. It’s important to do this first because the roors can dry out if left exposed for too long on a hot day. And, if your roses have a long way to travel then keep the roots damp during the trip

Some consider transplanting roses to be difficult however, if you get it right there will be no problems.

Always give your roses plenty of water the day before you dig them up to move to the new location. The secret to a successful transplant is water because a dehydrated plant will be less likely to take to its new location. When a plant is well watered, the roots will have time to adjust to the new position and the plant will not become as stressed.

However, losing some of the roots whilst transplanting cannot be avoided.

The roses roots tend to burrow deep in the ground–far past the point where most people will dig to remove the plant–keeping your plant hydrated greatly improves the success of a transplant. When you start digging up your plant, there’s no need to trim any healthy growth for it to remain unaffected during the ordeal, but when you have uncovered the root ball take as much as you can out of the ground.

Healthy portions of the plant are responsible for producing sugar so they must not be cut away. You can tell if the roots are struggling trying to support the plant by constanly checking to see if it’s drooping. If this starts to happen, cut off the bits that are drooping and keep your rose more water.

Preparing for Transplanting Roses

Once you dig the hole in the new spot, pour in three or so handfulls of bonemeal. Place the rose in the hole and make sure it’s planted higher in the ground than it originally was. Over time, when the soil settles, it will sink to its original depth. It needs to one ot two inches out of the ground and will star to settle in when it gets some water. Press the soil down around the base.

Many rose experts will tell you to forget about transplanting roses during their main growing season.

Roses are much easier to transplant when they’re not actually growing as this greatly reduces the risk of shock because they are dormant. Their dormant season is also after they have been pruned, meaning that the plant will be much easier to move and it will be smaller. If you prepare properly and offer the plant plenty of water, you can follow these simple steps and guarantee a trouble free transplant.

So, don’t be afraid of transplanting roses, with a little planning & care success is inevitable.

Peter Bourke is a passionate rose gardening expert… for more great information about care when transplanting roses run, do not walk to www.CaringForRosesSecrets.com.

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When purchasing roses you have an option of buying a potted rose or a bareroot rose. So which one is right for you? Here we will discuss bareroot roses and why this may be the best choice for your garden.

When you go shopping for a bareroot rose you will likely find it to be less impressive to look at. It typically comes bagged or boxed and when you look at it, it will appear pretty plain. You will likely see some roots and stems and some sort of moisture retaining material around the roots to keep them moist.

This appearance is nothing to be concerned about. The bareroot rose is a dormant plant so it is not likely to resemble the beautiful roses you may have been envisioning.

Buying a dormant rose has it’s advantages. The roots typically have not been tightly clustered together so they are likely to be in better condition than the roots of a potted rose. This means they will likely be ready to go directly into the ground.

Since you are purchasing a dormant plant, you will also be able to put it into the ground earlier in the planting season without much concern. You should be able to plant a bareroot rose as soon as the soil is soft enough for you to work with. Depending upon your region of the country, that will usually mean early to mid spring.

The cost of bareroot roses is also a plus. Typically you can purchase bareroot roses much cheaper than potted ones. The savings could mean you have the option of buying more plants for the same amount of money, enabling you to create a thicker, fuller looking hedge or boundary plant.

So, the next time you are at your favorite garden supply store, or shopping online, don’t shy away from the bareroot roses just because their appearance may leave something to be desired. There are benefits to these roses and with a little love and attention they will soon be growing strong and looking beautiful in your garden.

When not working in his garden, Max likes to spend his time studying mobility issues for the elderly. Areas such as electric motor scooters and chair lifts for stairs are of particular interest. Come visit and learn more…

When shopping for roses, you may notice that there are two different types to choose from. You will likely encounter “own root” roses and “grafted” roses. So what is the difference and which one is right for you?

Grafted roses are actually made up of two plants. It will have the stems and flowers of one plant and the root system of another. Horticulturists will typically create these hybrids to take advantage of a strong, weather tough root system of one plant and the beauty and delicateness of another.

You will usually be able to tell whether you have a grafted rose by looking for a bulge or knob low down on the stem of the plant. This is the location where the two type of plants were grafted together.

While the hardiness of the plant may be increased, there is the risk that suckers of the original plant will emerge during the growing process. Also, it is possible that harsh winter or other unfavorable condition will kill the top part of the plant, leaving you with only the underlying root structure of a different plant.

An “own root” rose, on the other hand, is all original. It is not combined with another plant. It is started as a cutting and will have its own root structure. The sellers of “own root” roses will typically brag on the label that the plant is “own root” and you will also not see any signs of grafting like you would on a grafted rose.

Should an own root rose suffer through a harsh winter, as long as the root system is not damaged, it will re-sprout as it’s original self, and not some mystery plant. You will also not suffer or experience suckers of a foreign looking plant.

You do lose the benefit of the hardy root structure with own root roses. This may lead to them being less hardy and possibly more susceptible to diseases.

So, which should you choose, grafted or own root roses? This mainly depends upon the conditions that the plants are going to be growing in.

If the environment is not likely to benefit from enhanced strength and disease fighting powers of a mysterious root system, then own root roses will likely be ideal. If, however, you are in an area where you will need the benefits of an enhanced root structure you’re likely going to find the grafted rose more suitable for your needs.

Max enjoys the beauty and enjoyment of planting and maintaining roses. When not working with roses, Max focuses his time on elder care mobility issues with an eye towards electric motor scooters and chair lifts for stairs. If you or a loved one has and issue with mobility, come visit and discover more information on these important mobility concerns.