DVS,

No pruning advice I give you would be relevant, sorry. Would you please tell what mulch you are using. It looks classy!

Moses

Hello Moses.

The mulch you find classy is your typical red mulch, faded 1 yr from use and exposure.

DVS,

Well, I'll be! How did you keep it from decomposing? It is humus by summer's end here.

Moses

Moses,

The mulch does vanish from rains and insects. Overall, you are seeing about 4" of mulch in the area of the roses.

Every other year it requires a topping at the least.

The plant in the photo looks like its already been pruned, no?

no. The plant pictured was only deadheaded after each bloom expired.

Concur with Jim Mat: you should prune today at 9:15 am. Oops! Too late! So prune them anytime this weekend during daylight hours. If you prune at 9:15 pm under lights, you will be the talk of the neighborhood. Maybe they already call you "the crazy gardener" but if they don't, let's not earn that designation prematurely. When you have dozens of roses, then you can be called crazy. Seriously, they look like young roses and there isn't much to prune off. I'd just shorten the laterals a bit.

I got new pruners for Christmas and can't wait to break them out!! I think it's Valentine's Day for us in Tennessee . I'm finally going to do some shaping after letting roses grow into themselves after being new.

Have fun pruning dvs!

I started pruning my roses this month although in FL we are supposed to prune after valentine's day . I started early because this year I have been getting a lot of cane die back . I am pruning them slowly in pairs .

I was in the garden this morning and did it. Those roses are pruned! This was all very confusing to me with the very cold temps of late. I guess the roses are looking forward to an early spring but today was the 1st in 6 days without freezing evening temps forecasted.

Honestly, I felt guilty chopping some of those 6' tall roses in half but I remembered the harsh treatment they endured at one time last spring. They bounced right bank with lots of vigor.

I tried looking for a bud pointing away from the center of the plant to cut above it. But I think the roses will teach me it probably doesn't matter.

Two new potted roses were planted too. Perfume delight and double delight. The perfume delight stock and cane are very large whereas the one for double delight is dainty. #1 grade vs #1.5 grade. It'll be interesting for me to see how potted roses will fare, and especially with grade difference too. This will be another lesson for me.

Now on to the front yard for the anticipated landscaping job, part 1.

BTW, the appearance of leaf buds doesn't always mean it is time to prune. In warmer winters, I can have leaf buds in February. I typically have a few inches of new growth by the time I prune in late March/early April.