Rose Pruning Time: Getting Ready to Prune Your Roses.

The rose pruning message is clear.

Professional rose growers in a warm area only start pruning roses in mid July (mid winter) in the southern hemisphere. "Pruning before July 15 will lead to early sprouting which exhausts the reserves of the bush", says Ludwig. "Remember, pruning is cosmetic. The main aim of pruning roses is to prevent the bushes from degenerating into a tangled mass of weak stems that bear poor quality blooms in summer.

When should you start pruning roses?

The last week of July is regarded as an ideal time for Johannesburg. However, pruning experts such as Ludwig Taschner, Keith Kirsten and Alan Buff all agree that how and when you prune a rose is not half as important as making sure that it's done. "Any pruning is better than no pruning", says Keith Kirsten.

Will you be pruning roses this winter July?

Consider these step-by-step tips:

• Make sure you secateurs are sharp and clean.
• Sterilise secateurs by soaking them in a diluted solution of Milton, Jik or Jeyes Fluid.
• Rinse the secateurs thoroughly in water and dry using a clean cloth.
• Gather together a suitable pair of protective gloves, a bottle of lime sulphur (plus a spray mist bottle or gun) and a optional pot of Steriseal or tree sealant.
• All products available from local garden centres.

The best way to prune roses

• Take a good look at your rose bush.
• Start by removing all the leaves and dead-heads from the rose bush
• Then remove all the dead roses and diseased rose stems. Cut these dead roses away at their lowest or base point.
• Remove spindly rose growth and weak growth that is unlikely to be able to support rose buds or clusters of rose blooms.
• With all bush roses and shrub roses, cut away all stems that cross the centre of the rose bush. Aim for a vase shaped bush that ends up with four or five strong stems around an open centre and avoid leaving stems that cross in the centre.
• Decide which four or five rose bush stems you wish to retain and cut these stems back to knee height (50-75cm). Rose grower, Ludwig Taschner says, "The height of cutting back still remains a personal choice. I have pruned our roses for many, many years at knee height with most satisfactory results. Pruning roses back to an 80cm and even a 1m height does not kill a rose nor does it have much of an influence on the quality of the blooms expected in spring".
• Traditional rose pruning methods suggest that you make the cut just above a dormant, outer facing rose bud. The rationale is that this will ensure that the new stems will grow out from the bush, not inwards towards the centre of the bush. Considering the results of chain saw pruning in Britain, this attention to detail is wonderful if you have the time, but not essential.
• How to cut? The latest theory is that a straight cut (as opposed to an angled cut) exposes the least amount of stem to the air and is unlikely to collect water (and therefore fungal diseases) as no rose stem is ever completely 90 degrees to the ground.

After pruning your rose bushes

• After you have pruned the bush, spray the entire plant and soil around it with lime sulphur (diluted 1 part lime sulphur to 10 parts water). Use a plastic spray mister.
• Some gardeners like to paint thick canes with a tree sealant such as Steriseal to avoid rose borer pests entering the new cuts. Researchers in plant pathology at the University of Natal maintain that sealing rose bushes is unnecessary especially in dry climates such as our own. Experiment yourself. The jury is out on whether it is effective or not.
• From August onwards, fertilise each bush by sprinkling a handful of the new Efekto Rose Fertiliser – the only dedicated fertiliser combination for roses - around the base of the bush. Spread a thick mulch around the roots and water thoroughly.