10 Rules for Trimming Roses

Jump to 12:34 to watch actual pruning!
Today is the perfect day to do spring trimming of roses in my area: roses start to wake up from dormancy, but the leaves are not out yet. I am focusing on clarifying some confusing google answers on spring rose trimming. I am doing the trimming of David Austin shrub rose in the second part of the video. Enjoy!
0:00 Misleading Google answers to rose questions
1:39 Do we really need to prune roses every year?
6:33 How much to prune roses?
11:20 When is too late to prune roses in spring?
12:35 Pruning shrub rose "Lady of Shalott"
12:49 Rule #1 Pruning Equipment: clean and sharp. Protective gloves
14:03 Rule #2 Start pruning from the ground up
17:45 Rule #3 If it is too old, it has to go
17:54 Rule #4 Anything in the way - has to go
19:50 Rule #5 Make a decision about height
20:31 Rule #6 Make a cut on 45% angle on outside facing bud.My opinion
23:31 Rule #7 Applying sealer to freshly cut stems. My opinion
27:25 Rule #8 Trim to pleasing shape
27:52 Rule #9 Clean all the leaves off the plant
28:16 Rule #10 Throw everything into the garbage
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[@deewinston5651]

I am learning so much from you Olga. Thank you so much. I am so very soon for your loss. Praying for you and your family in Ukraine. God bless you.❤️✝️🙏

[@user-pk5pj3wr5x]

thank you i love watching you with your roses!

[@camirichardson7485]

It does look so much better without the "twiggish, stickish stuff"! Ha! Ha! Ha! You're cute, Olga! I get a hoot out of you. You certainly are preparing your garden to look absolutely beautiful! I'm looking forward to seeing it in bloom!

[@OlgaCarmody]

Haha!! My hubby says that sometimes my english tongue has its own life.

[@John-wr6yo]

I am patiently waiting for 4 emily Bronte , 1 lady of shallot,and one crown princess margareta to arrive for early spring planting.

[@OlgaCarmody]

Yeess, planting time will be soon!

[@adalineblythe9653]

Emily Brontë is definitely a favorite for me. 😊

[@AcornHillHomestead]

I never used to disinfect my equipment and I have been a gardeners for 30 some years. Last year I decided to get with the program and do it. Now I carry a spray bottle of alcohol and a rag in the garden. It helps. Never had much of an issues but we never know. I did get rose borers at times so now I am prepared. We burn all diseased plants. We live rural and have many acres of woods. Thank you again!

[@OlgaCarmody]

Thank you! Yes, I had rose bores as well. Pesky things, destroying my climbing canes. Have a lovely day!

[@joecarangi9132]

Lovely pruning video, and you touched on all the pruning discussion topics and made very reasonable points. I tend not to pay attention to the buds, myself, but that’s just because once pruning is done the rose will push out even more new buds and I’ll be trimming out growth the following spring anyway. There are also people who go the extra step and punch out inward facing buds, but I can’t imagine doing all that work to 100 rose bushes, especially if new buds might come out anyway. It all comes down to the individual gardener and the individual garden, I think. But knowing all the guidance and ways to manage roses then doing what works for you is always better than not knowing any rules and sort of winging it without any direction.

[@OlgaCarmody]

Agree, different gardeners do stuff in a different way in their gardens. Enjoy spring, we had such a lovely day today! I spent all day outside!

[@kathleenwilliamson174]

Thank you Olga! Look how much the one closest to the house has improved since last year. Guys, if you haven't seen last year's pruning of Olga's Lady of Shalott, you should. It's a great representation of pruning then and now, and the progress.

[@OlgaCarmody]

Thank you, Kathleen! I love pruning, have 21 roses to go through...Happy gardening!

[@julia_graedener]

Dear Olga, I just discovered your channel. You have such a sweet and so professional way in explaining how to treat your roses!! I just planted a rose and it just doesn't want to get any leaves. I'm thinking about spraying some horsetailflower/water mix on it and hope that will help. Greetings from Germany!!

[@elmaelmar2761]

Wow when in doubt cut it out!! The rose looks so much better!! I took a before and after so hopefully mine will look good like yours!!!💕💕

[@OlgaCarmody]

Hi Elma, I hope that your pruning will be a good one! Happy gardening!

[@lucart08]

This was sooo helpful! THANK YOU! I appreciate your willingness to show some of the challenges in your pruning. Very informative!

[@OlgaCarmody]

You are so welcome! Happy gardening!

[@CatholicSaintslayIncorrupt]

Thankyou❤

[@ffgundes]

Great info! Thanks! I wish you showed how you apply the glue as well...

[@OlgaCarmody]

Thank you! In my next video I am showing you how. Thanks for your request.

[@juliettelynne5861]

You REALLY know your stuff! Great video 👏

[@sandratracy5755]

I love your videos ! I’m learning so much!

[@OlgaCarmody]

So glad to hear it! Enjoy and happy gardening!

[@lukerobson4962]

Thankyou for taking the time to make this video.

[@OlgaCarmody]

Glad it was helpful!

[@debbiestott3651]

Great video

[@redrobotsoup]

Love the channel, Olga! You sharing your rose knowledge is so appreciated.

[@OlgaCarmody]

Awww, thank you for your donation! Very appreciated!

[@nerinat8371]

Beautiful job 😍

[@OlgaCarmody]

Thank you! 😊

[@charlenevallino1374]

I like how you explain with pros and cons. Thank you

[@OlgaCarmody]

You are welcome!

[@adalineblythe9653]

It’s always good to have my mind refreshed on subjects like this. Last summer I ended up trimming my rose, Bonica ,all the way back except for two or three stems because it had cane borers so bad. I decided after that that maybe I should invest in some pruning sealer... to bad I didn’t know the glue trick. I need to remember to use the sealer when I prune this spring.

[@OlgaCarmody]

Yes, glue trick is a quick rose hack, $1 and job is done. Happy gardening!

[@peoniesanddahliaz]

Hi Olga, @Olga Carmody I’m new to your lovely channel. Very happy I found it! Wealth of information. I’m enjoying your videos and the wonderful shots of your lovely roses. I trimmed my climbing roses already here in Michigan zone 6a. My question is - is it too early? Secondly, I trimmed off all the horizontal growth from last year and just kept mainly the main canes. Did I trim away all my blooms? 😢

[@OlgaCarmody]

Hi there! Welcome! I think that trimming in Michigan was a bit early. We usually aim at the time when buds are just ready to open with fresh new leaves (if you loose some new growth due to severe weather, trim it out during spring). And you did trim away all the blooms. Your roses will be blooming probably only at the top of long stems this year and will be busy creating lateral shoots again (or might bloom at the end of the season). But there is hope: not all is lost, your rose lives and will be growing actively this year, you didn't kill it. Good luck and I will see you at my channel during this growing season!

[@richbishop7896]

I'm in zone 5b and so it depends on what kind of winter we have that determines how far back the roses get cut back. I like to cut when the leaves are starting to come out. I use long handled loppers to cut back thick stems. I always cut back to an outward facing bud. I don't worry about the angle.

[@OlgaCarmody]

Thanks Rich, I really should use those loppers, instead of reaching all the way into the shrub. Enjoy your weekend!

[@KitchenGardenTours]

Thank you!! In my latest video I show the rose I am trying to train on a post…it’s very clear I am a beginner 😂

[@sonny5981]

Hello Olga! I follow your videos religiously especially when it comes to roses! Your channel is my favorite when it comes to anything and everything roses! I just planted a Don Juan climbing rose I have 2 one of them is doing really well while the other one isn’t. It looks like it hasn’t been watered which I water both the same amount, both get adequate light, but the sickly looking one is starting to get black stems! I’m a bit worried I might lose this rose and I want to do everything I can to save it. If you have any information I would appreciate it. Thank you again for your wonderful videos! It brings me joy every time I watch them.

[@OlgaCarmody]

Hi Sonny, hm, if one plant is doing so good and another is dying, there has to be a reason. Did you check for stem borers? How about voles digging through that soil and destroying the roots of your rose? The possibility of root rot is a serious disease. Here is the useful link for you to read. agrilifelearn.tamu.edu/s/product/phytophthora-of-roses/01t4x000004Ofs1AAC They want you to sign in, but even the first page can give you good info about this disease.

[@sonny5981]

@@OlgaCarmody Thank you so much Olga! I'll go ahead and have a read!

[@alethea9778]

I’ve always heard waist high in fall and knee high in spring….guess it depends how tall you are! lol mine only fear my husband as he hates my roses or anything with thorns!

[@John-wr6yo]

I have started mixing alcohol in my hydrogen peroxide spray bottle for cleaning my pruners and shears. The solution foams the grime and film off of the shears while disinfecting.

[@OlgaCarmody]

Hi John, please tell me more. How much of alcohol do you add? Curious...

[@John-wr6yo]

@@OlgaCarmody just half and half in spray bottle. I dont think proportions have to be spot on . Because we are just cleaning and disinfecting shears. But the hydrogen peroxide makes for fast cleaning.

[@JesusismySavior316]

So I have David Austin shrub roses and out of ignorance I pruned them way to short. Have I ruined them?

[@OlgaCarmody]

You didn't ruin them, this year they will have somewhat unbalanced growth, but they will live...

[@yogigardener5219]

Hi olga I've just got into Rose's and was wondering what is the lifespan of Rose's please.

[@OlgaCarmody]

A great idea for a video, stay tuned!

[@yogigardener5219]

@@OlgaCarmody thank you

[@gunmetal2445]

Oooppsss...I let my rose leaves that have black spots/ or that dried up fall onto the soil at the rose plant base. Hope it doesn't spread any more disease. Although I've heard blackspot isn't really harmful. Any thoughts?

[@OlgaCarmody]

Well, if black spot is not very common and devastating to roses in your area, I wouldn't worry too much about leaves. Although your roses can be prone to other diseases, again depending on the site you live. In CT, where I live we have black spot a lot and I do need to keep a strict sanitation schedule. If humidity is high, black spot can completely defoliate your rose.

[@Sunshine-xt1vb]

Do you only plant own root roses? Also can you post the scone recipe? :)

[@OlgaCarmody]

I have a combo of own roots and grafted in my garden. I will be glad to post the recipe under the thank you video. Check it out soon!

[@ElfredJ]

Olga we are in the same USDA zone. I pruned today and I think 2 roses (not David Austin) may not have survived the winter. Is there a way to check for sure? My Carding Mill, Ladies of Shallot, and my New Dawn are very healthy though! Generous Gardener, Elizabeth, and 2 Eustacia Vye are being shipped soon 😀

[@OlgaCarmody]

The quick answer will be: wait and see what lives. But it is a great question and every one will benefit from a detaled video explanation. Stay tuned!

[@ElfredJ]

@@OlgaCarmody thank you! The branches I clipped off were brown and dry :( it is very disappointing because they were established for about 3 years. But the DA roses are full of green stems and red buds so all is not lost in the garden!

[@marliesfickweiler5308]

Hello I would like to ask a question about climbing roses here. And hope one of you might know the answer. Or maybe Olga has time to address the question in a next Q&A? I can't even formulate the question very clearly in Dutch, so I hope I can be understood a bit. The information about climbing roses often states how high the climbing rose will grow. For example 2.5 meters high. Do any of you know if this is the maximum height of a main cain? Or the total height? I just learned that you have to train the roses as horizontally as possible. but wonder if I can reach the top of the pergola if the main canes only get 2.5 meters. Or does it just grow to a maximum height of 2.5 meters no matter how often I let it go back and forth horizontally. I hope you understand my question Thanks for contributing ideas, Greetings from the Netherlands (where spring has really started now!!) Marlies

[@OlgaCarmody]

Hi Marlies, I just included your question into my next video. Stay tuned!

[@marliesfickweiler5308]

@@OlgaCarmody Thank you!! Looking forward to it!