How to Prune Hybrid Tea Roses

Proper pruning ensures your hybrid tea roses stay healthy and vigorous, and guarantees they produce large flowers on long, strong stems. Here are the basics for pruning hybrid teas.

When to Prune

Winter, when roses are dormant, is the best time to prune roses. For much of the country, January and February are ideal months. Where winters are very cold and hybrid teas require winter protection, it's best to wait until late winter or early spring to prune. By then, you can prune without worrying about the threat of further cold damage to your plants.

Tools Of The Trade

Here's what you'll need to prune your roses (for younger plants, you may be able to get away without the saw or loppers):

• A sharp pair of by-pass pruners. They provide the cleanest cut.
• Pruning saw for older canes and dead wood.
• Long-handled loppers for larger canes.
• Thorn-resistant gloves. Ask at your local nursery or garden center.

Step-by-Step Pruning

Remove dead or damaged canes. Prune out shriveled or diseased branches.

Remove suckers. Prune out any canes that arise from below the bud union (the swollen area on the lower trunk). Cut them back as close to the main stem as possible.

Select flowering canes. Select the healthiest canes (they're nice and thick, and bright green) and remove everything else. These will be the canes that produce flowers this spring. Try to choose canes that are evenly spaced around the plant, leaving the center open for good air circulation (see the illustration below). With young plants, you can leave about 3 to 5 canes. Leave more with older roses. If an older cane has become thick, woody and unproductive, remove it completely, leaving a new cane to take its place.

Cut-back flowering canes to 12 to 24 inches high. Cut to an outward facing bud as shown in the illustration. In cold winter climates, you may have to cut back even further to remove all the cold damaged wood. In warm winter areas, remove any leaves left on the plant. This will help the plant go dormant and help prevent over-wintering pests from becoming a problem next summer.

Clean-up. Dispose of all pruning debris, making sure to rake up all leaves and stems. Good sanitation will help prevent diseases next summer. For further protection, apply a dormant spray (a combination of copper and horticultural oil). Your nurseryman can recommend an appropriate mixture.

Fertilize. In a few weeks, when the roses have started to grow, fertilize with a high nitrogen fertilizer. Or, if you want to fertilize and protect your roses from insects at the same time, use Bayer Advanced™ 2-in-1 Systemic Rose & Flower Care Granules.

Products Mentioned In This Article

2-in-1 Systemic Rose & Flower Care Granules