This is the beautiful ‘Silver Anniversary’ standard rose I received for my 21st birthday a couple of years ago. I was finally able to plant it last year when we moved to this garden, and you could see it wriggling its toes with delight at being out of a pot and in the soil.
But now that rose bush needs a bit of care. Its buds are pink and swelling, ready for the summer. Before they burst out into leaf, I need to give the stems a good strong chop.
I know the word ‘pruning’ strikes fear into the heart of most gardeners, so I’m going to keep this simple. Your rose bush will be fine, and the blooms will be bigger and healthier if you get those secateurs out right away.
1. Cut out any dead or diseased wood.
2. Remove any branches which criss-cross each other, to open up the bush into a tea-cup shape.
3. Reduce the healthy, strong stems by about a quarter. Do this by making a sharp, slanting cut into the stem, just above a bud. The cut should slope away from the bud so that rainwater doesn’t run into it, and must be neat. Remember that every cut you make is a wound that needs to heal, so if you’re using blunt secateurs tht cause frayed cuts, you’re opening up the plant for disease to enter.
4. Give the bush a jolly good pat on the back by mulching it with well-rotted manure. Make sure you don’t mulch too closely to the trunk though, as this can cause fatal fungal diseases.
5. That’s it. Breathe a sigh of relief. Pruning doesn’t need to be scary.
