A pair of sharp hand pruners is as essential to rose care as water and fertilizer. Pruning opens the plant up to good circulation and helps keep it healthy. Here Disney gardening specialist Mark Maynes shows how to prune correctly. Before you begin cutting, spray your pruners with disinfectant or denatured alcohol so you don't inadvertently spread any disease; respray before moving to the next rose bush. A mixture of one part household bleach to nine parts water also makes an effective sanitizing solution. To keep your roses blooming beautifully, remove spent flowers by cutting no more than a quarter-inch above the joint of the second set of mature leaves (usually at least five leaflets) below the spent flower (figure A). Cut at a 45-degree angle to help prevent water or moisture from settling in the open wound. If the spent bloom is part of a cluster of still-fresh flowers, remove only the faded one. Also remove dead foliage, weak canes and broken stems. Work toward giving the bush an open, bowllike shape (figure B) so that you can easily access the center with your hand. An open center allows for good air circulation into the heart of the bush. Remove debris and leaf litter from the base of the plant. Spores from diseased fallen leaves can splash back onto the plant. Modern roses -- hybrid teas, floribundas, polyanthas, grandifloras and miniatures -- need a hard cut once a year. The timing of this hard pruning -- when one-third to one-half of the bush is removed -- depends on the part of the country you live in. In the South most gardeners prune at the end of winter, often waiting until the danger of frost has passed; in the North some gardeners prune just before winter sets in. On the West Coast many gardeners prune in January. Check with your local county extension agent or rose society to find out the best time to prune in your area. Climbers and shrub roses don't need to be cut back severely; simply prune your climber to conform to its support in order to keep it growing tall. Allow your shrub rose to take its natural shape, removing only dead or diseased canes, or occasionally pruning no more than one-third of old canes in order to rejuvenate an older bush.
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