Roses require regular pruning, in most cases once per year, in order to grow healthy and develop to their fullest. Pruning accomplishes a few basic tasks for your roses: It helps guide your plant in which direction to grow, and by removing old, dead wood and diseased sections, you are encouraging the plant to put its energy toward growing vigorous, healthy canes.http://www.rosemagazine.com/pages/pruning.asp Ultimately, pruning will ensure the best possible blooms and long-term health for you plant.

So where do you start? Although it's a great idea to cut your rose plants down in the fall before the hazards of winter set in and stress your lanky plant, really rose pruning is usually best done in the early spring, provided your roses bloom on new wood. This is the case for most rose plants, but you should be certain before making your cuts, or you may lose this year's blooms.http://www.rose-gardening-made-easy.com/when-to-prune-roses.html The exact month of your pruning depends on the zone you live in. Watch for your plant to start budding with new growth, and as soon as all chance of frost has passed, then get out your pruning shears. Be sure not to wait too long after this point though, or you risk weakening the plant.

When the time is right, grab some thick gardening gloves, some sharp pruning shears, and get to work. These steps below will help guide you on how to prune roses the right way.

First, put on your thick gloves, and use your hands to sweep out all of the old debris and leaves that are surrounding your roses. This ensures that diseased materials and dormant bugs are being cleaned away.

Then, get out your sharp shears, and start cutting out any canes that are old and dead. They will usually be brown or gray, and may easily break and appear brittle if they're not too wet. If you see any green growth that's sprouting off of dead canes, remove those too.http://www.weekendgardener.net/how-to/prune-roses.htm Leave behind only green, healthy growth that is growing nicely out of a bud union.

When you make your cuts that completely remove a cane down to the ground, be sure to make a flush cut all the way down to the soil. Leaving a stub can invite diseases or pests.

When you are just removing part of a dead or diseased cane, make a clean cut just above a leaf bud. Check the plant tissue, if it's green and white and healthy-looking then you've cut far enough. If the tissue looks brown or gray, then you need to keep cutting until you reach healthier parts of the cane.

Suckers that grow off of your rose plant are not productive parts of the plant. They often grow in a stray pattern away from the plant and drain away valuable water and nutrients.

You can identify suckers by looking for canes that are growing from below soil level, and grow away from the plant. Their growth comes from below the bud union, where the healthy canes are all growing from.

You should not cut a sucker off though, or you will just be inviting it to vigorously regrow. Instead, you should (armed with your very thick gloves) break the sucker down and away from the plant.http://www.weekendgardener.net/how-to/prune-roses.htm

Most rose bushes should roughly have a vase shape to them when they are properly pruned. This shape is important because it leaves a rather open center area, which allows for ample room for cane growth, and provides maximum airflow--this is important to preventing fungus and some types of disease. Do your best to remove canes to achieve this shape, keeping in mind that not every rose bush can have a perfect vase shape.http://www.weekendgardener.net/how-to/prune-roses.htm Just do the best you can.

Another goal in shaping the plant, should be to remove any branches that crisscross each other. Canes that rub together can cause damage and scarring that could lead to plant weakening problems. Plus the crowded canes won't let in much sunlight or air.

Now take a look at the healthy rose canes that are left. At this point, if your rose bush is an established plant, you will want to trim down about 1/3 of its height.

This final step in somewhat controversial in the gardening world, but most rose gardeners agree that some type of sealing is required to protect cut rose canes from boring bugs and diseases. To seal them, check local gardening shops for commercial sealant, and apply it to the cut wounds per the package directions.

• Introduction
• Step 1: Understand Roses
• Step 2: When to Prune Roses
• Step 3: How to Prune Roses
• Conclusion