Roses are one of the most popular garden flowers because they are timeless flowers and come in hundreds of shapes, sizes and colors.
But they also have a reputation for being finicky, difficult to grow, and difficult to supplement for beginners and seasoned gardeners alike.
However, with the right care and maintenance, every home gardener can make a rose bush flourish.
One of the most important care tips to keep roses blooming is pruning. Pruning roses is essential for their overall health, vitality and appearance.
However, it is vital that gardeners prune their roses at the right time, depending on the variety, or it may result in the heart not blooming.
Lindsey Chastain, gardener and founder of The Waddle and Cluck, a blog about all things home and household, claims that “September is the perfect time to prune climbing roses.”
To do this, remove any dead or weak canes and cut back long climbing shoots to six feet.
Lindsey noted, “This helps stimulate the development of basal shoots that will produce the best flowers next year.”
Be sure to leave healthy stems with broad bases intact and disinfect pruning shears between cuts to prevent the spread of disease.
Lindsey also shared a few other plants that can benefit from pruning this month, including perennials. He said: “One important pruning job is to cut perennials that have finished flowering for the season.
“Use pruning shears to trim plants like catnip, bee balm, and coral bells to about a third of their height. This will tidy them up for the winter and prevent self-seeding. Just be careful not to cut perennials that bloom well into the fall.”
Another pruning chore in September is trimming shrubs and bushes such as spirea, potentilla and other spring flowers.
Remove about a quarter to a third of the oldest branches all the way to the ground to “encourage new growth.”
Make cuts just above strong, healthy buds or side shoots. When overgrown bushes are thinned properly, air can circulate better and they are exposed to sunlight.
