Pruning Hybrid Roses
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Overview:
As with all roses, regular routine pruning will help to keep them healthy and floriferous.
Failure to prune can result in untidy unhealthy poor flowering plants.
Hybrid roses fit into two categories namely Tea or Floribunda.
If you have a bush rose, and you are unsure of what type it is, then noting its flowering habit can often clarify the situation.
For example ;
- Hybrid Tea rose will have only one flower per stem and tend to flower up to three times per growing season.
- Floribunda types form clusters of flowers on each stem and repeatedly flowers during the growing season.
- Unknown types If you have not seen your plant in flower, treat it as a Hybrid Tea!
Timing:
Pruning should be done in spring after the plant shows the first signs of new growth.
In mild winters buds can sometimes break early, if this occurs, prune as soon as possible, leave some dormant buds in reserve for any that might get damaged by frost.
Method:
With both types cut out dead, diseased, rubbing and crossing stems.
Aim for a goblet shaped plant by cutting out the central stems.
This shape allows maximum air circulation within the shrub thus reducing the possiblity of mildew forming.
Stem to be Pruned
Stem after Pruning
Hybrid Tea
Floribunda
Hybrid tea:
- Shorten main shoots to back to approximately 100-150mm (4"-6") long or five or six buds from the base of the stem.
- Shorten less vigorous shoots to approximately 50-100mm (2"-4") long or three or four buds from the main stem.
- A method worth considering is to cut out all three year old wood, to leave only the young more vigorous growths.
Floribundas:
- Shorten main shoots to back to approximately 250-300mm (10"-12") long
- Shorten less vigorous shoots to approximately 50-100mm (2"-4") long from the base of the plant.
* In both cases ensure that you do not prune below the graft union.