HOW TO  PRUNE ROSES

Pruning roses is one task novice rose growers attempt with a great deal of apprehension, hopefully some of that apprehension can be dispelled with this guide on how to prune roses. 

A proper comprehension of the principles that underlie the pruning of roses is essential before the practice can be successfully accomplished, but once this is obtained the difficulties that at first seemed insuperable vanish like mists in the morning sunshine. The two chief object of pruning roses may be said to be the removal of superfluous and useless growths, and the proper treatment and regulation of those that are essential to the production of flowers. If a rose bush were left un pruned for al number of years, most of the fresh shoots would develop | towards the top of the plant, with the result that the rose would grow taller and become weaker each season. More over, the bush would be full of small, weak, flowerless growths, which, while useless in themselves, hinder the progress and lessen the value of those that are worthy. A principle the beginner has to learn early is that the result of cutting back a shoot is the development of other and stronger growths:  thus, in order to make a weak plant strong, the shoots are cut hard back; conversely, a rose that has vigorous stems needs less severe pruning.  Instructions on pruning roses can only be general, since the amount of cutting back that is necessary depends upon the condition of the individual plant.

 The first thing to do is to remove all the small, weak growths that obviously will never bear a bloom; they prevent the free access of air and sunshine that is  so beneficial to all parts of the stems, and absorb some  the plant's energy that would be so much better directed to perfecting the stems that are capable of blooming.

The preservation of an “open centre” is a strong article of faith of the expert grower, and this is ensured by cutting out those shoots that, instead of growing towards the outside of the bush, develop across other shoots and towards the centre, thus blocking up the middle of the bush. Having carried out these pre­liminary skirmishes, as it were, the beginner may apply

himself to the second part of the pruning, which is concerned with cutting back the growths that remain after all useless ones have been removed.

Those who grow roses for exhibition are obliged to prune every shoot hard — to within one or two buds of the base — so that the growths that develop will be vigorous, and bear the finest possible blooms. The number of flowers obtained is not a question to be con­sidered; in fact, the grower for exhibition is often satisfied with one or two prize blooms from each plant.