Learn / Ask The Landscape Professional
I have had this rose bush since 2004 and now it seems to be getting spiny. Could you give me some advice about what to do with it? How do I go about pruning it? Should I cut it down to the ground for regrowth next spring? Margaret
Answer
Hi Margaret,
Thank you for your question and photo.
Leave the rose bush alone for this year. Next spring
(around mid-April), remove (cut off) all of the dead
stems down to the base of the plant. Then cut the
shrub back by 1/3. Do not use hedge shears. Cut
each stem with hand pruners. Make sure there is
open space in the middle of the shrub for good air
flow. Thin some of the stems in the center of the
shrub, if needed. Add some compost around the
base of the shrub and work into soil. Compost will
help hold water in the soil and add healthy microbes
to the soil that will help fertilize the shrub. If you don’t
have compost, fertilize with Rosetone Rose fertilizer
by Epsoma. It is a dry, organic, slow release fertilizer,
especially made for roses that will supply nutrients to
help the shrub to flower. Take a couple of handfuls
of fertilizer and spread around the base of the shrub,
(not near the stem) and work into the soil. Water deeply. Add 1-3 inches of mulch to keep the soil
cool, moist and weed free. Water well during the summer (approximately one - 5 gallon bucket of
water per week), especially if there is no rainfall.
After the first bloom in June, cut off the spent roses. Cutting off the spent roses deters the plant from
forming rose hips (fruit) and helps the plant to form more flowers for a second blooming. The second
flowering will occur at the end of August into September. After this bloom time, do not cut the spent
flowers. Let the hips form and leave them on the plant. Rose hips are a great source of high energy
food for birds during the winter months.
You will need to fertilize your rose once a month with Rosetone until the end of August. Roses, in
general, require lots of fertilizer to produce flowers throughout the entire growing season. Do not
fertilize after the beginning of September because that will promote new growth that could be killed
back by frost in October. Thank you for a great question and best of luck!
View As PDF
To view a PDF of this article, please
click here.
About Linda Lillie
Linda K. Lillie is the President of Sprigs & Twigs, Inc, the premier
landscape design and maintenance, tree care, lawn care, stonework, and carpentry
service provider in southeastern Connecticut since 1997. She is a graduate of
Connecticut College in Botany, a Connecticut Master Gardener and a national
award winning landscape designer for her landscape design and landscape installation work.
