Most of us prune roses in late January to early February. There is always a chance that if you prune too early we may have couple of weeks of balmy weather that spurs new growth that is then frosted back with another cold spell. It is still possible even if pruned the end of January, but less likely. Al

I think Californians really need to think about how, when and why they prune roses here.

Nobody should be surprised about the way roses act well here -- even without the copious watering, the fertilizing, the winter (or any!) pruning .

We've simply gone along with what the Eastern rose gardeners tell us, via magazine and books from back there. It's even too bad that the American Rose Society, through its Master Rosarian program, perpetuates these regional processes throughout the whole country.

Fact is, roses are simply shrubs; hybrid shrubs with the bulk of their genetics from Rosa chinensis, a subtropical evergreen rose species.

Being such, it really doesn't "need" pruning in the winter time. It's actually best to prune it during the growing season, much as one would do with any evergreen repeat-blooming shrub, keeping it at a size and shape we want, mostly by cutting off bloomed-out stems. As long as we cut back cleanly to some husky wood, the rose responds positively all year long. If we do this, we have minimal pruning -- and sometimes NO pruning -- to do in the winter.

We're trapped into thinking that we need to prune roses hard (to short stubs near the ground) because that's what they do back in cold country where they think it's going to save the rose tops from cold freezes. Even that's a myth.

More than that, we're trapped into thinking that we need to cut off the water, let rose hips form, put on crushed ice and all kinds of silly tricks to get our roses to go into "dormancy". They won't, they can't, they're Rosa chinensis genes.

Beyond winter chores, we're trapped into thinking we need to fertilize roses often and heavily. Some old cutlivars maybe. The newer ones much less. When planted in heavy soil, which contains good nutrients, roses are very happy. When planted in sandy soil, roses sulk. And amending is a myth, too.

We've been convinced that roses need gobs of water. Roses in heavy soil, when trained with good soakings deeply and infrequently (once every 3-4 weeks in summer), become extraordinarily drought-tolerant. When planted in sand or put on a co-dependent drip system, they become sissies.

And there are hundreds of rose cultivars that are disease-free and have self-cleaning blossoms so maintenance is lowered even more.

Problem is, too many gardeners plant old problem-ridden cultivars, plant them in sandy soil, waste their time with amendments, use drip systems and over-fertilize and then tell everyone how problematic roses are. Surprised?

Joe

Hear Hear!
I too am so sick of all the gardening advice, especially on tomatoes, coming from East Coast garden experts, acting like their conditions are "normal" and if we see something different, we don't know what we are talking about. (For example, tomatoes "can't" produce fruit above 90 degrees. Except I get tomatoes all summer long. And then they try to argue with me!)

We need more West Coast gardening experts!

Carla in Sac

Well said Joe! I hardly, if ever, fertilize my roses, and I prune whenever I feel like trimming the rose bushes. Can you imagine what would happen if I did feed? This r. Zephirine Drouhin would swallow my home, LOL!
{{gwi:504683}}

If you have an area that you want to look "natural" roses will take no pruning, no spraying, no fertilizer and bloom for years. I have some that the only care they get is summer water and are over ten years old. However many of us want a garden to look like a gardener is in residence and prefer a rose to be shaped to fit the space, with the minimum of rust or black spot. For that reason we are willing to prune annually at least, dormant spray (yes I know they are "really" dormant just "without foliage")and fertilize if necessary. If we did not ENJOY garden chores we would not bother having a garden. Al

gardenguru, I know roses don't need to be pruned down to stubs here, but don't they benefit from having the centers opened up? Every winter I help a neighbor who has a big rose garden, and most of the work is clearing out the centers of all the twiggy stuff (less than a pencil width), pruning out unproductive canes, and tending to structure.

Local rosarians still give their seasonal talks on "how to prune roses" and focus on the same kinds of things.

I think it'd be better to keep the centers open year-round, but the neighbor has a mow-n-blow crew that doesn't understand English that well, so when they're given instructions it's a risk, as the neighbor has learned from experience.

Yes, always good to "open up the inside" of any shrub, especially those prone to diseases aggravated by poor air circulation. And all of it -- the "twiggy stuff (less than a pencil width), pruning out unproductive canes, and tending to structure..." -- can and should be done during the spring and summer, just as one would do with any other shrub. While you're pruning off the spent flower stems, do the rest. No need to wait for winter.

That your neighbor's blow-and-go guys don't do what they should be doing during the summer doesn't make for an argument one way or another. That's a whole 'nother soap box.

Joe

Oh Eloise, won't you please have a garden tour this year when your Zeffy is in bloom?

I just find it is easier to prune the roses all at once in January. I pull off all of the leaves on the hybrid teas so that the Spring foliage looks fresh and clean. It is also easier to see the skinny and dead canes when you don't have dense foliage in the way. Mine get too tall, and I hate to cut them back in the Spring or Summer because I so enjoy the flowers and the symmetrical shape. I don't care if they look scalped in January and February.

I don't actually "prune" the Icebergs at all, though. We shear them with electric pruners several times a year to keep them in a nice shape and to promote another bloom cycle.

I have never fertilized my roses. This is not a political statement on my part, it's the lack of a strong work ethic and a dearth of money. They do get a very thin layer of compost once or twice a year, though.