Is it ok to Prune Roses during winter?

You’ll be surprised to know that winter is the ideal time to prune Roses. Roses can be pruned twice a year. Once in summer and then in winter.

Usually summer pruning is easy, just a few centimetres below the flower, you prune them, which is called dead heading.

Pruning in winter is a different story altogether.

• -          The ideal time for serious rose pruning is between Jun & Jul. If you live in a colder part of Australia, then leave the pruning till end of July or early August.
• -          Clear off the dry leaves, focussing on the middle area of the plant where it’s bushy
• -          If you see a dry branch, prune it to the stem level, even though the dry branch is partly green
• -          If you want good new shoots in spring, get out your secateurs and prune back by about half of the plant. Start pruning from the top, always.
• -          Use a quality secateur and aim for a 40-45degree cut. This is to avoid any kind of collection, water, dust, etc, on top of the slitted area.
• -          Don’t fertilise immediately. Give it a good 3 -4 weeks after you have pruned
• -          It may a good idea not to consider the dead leaves and branches of rose for compost or just leave them under the cut plant. This will help reduce spread of any diseases. Chuck them straight into the bin
• -          Give a spray or two with some mild liquids, containing lime sulphur. This will help descale and reduce fungal growth that leads to diseases.