When should you trim rose bushes?

Answer 1

Cut them back in the spring.

Answer 2

Butterfly Bush is a "sub-shrub", sort of half way between a perennial and a shrub. It's wood is short lived and will sometimes not survive harsh winters. However it is quite root hardy and crown hardy. This plant fairs better when it is cut back severely. Treat them as you would modern roses. In late winter, before new growth has started, cut the plant back hard, to within 1 foot of the ground, then leave it be. By summer, it will be tall and blooming.

Answer 3

Whenever the rule of the 'd' words applies is the time when shrubs should be trimmed or pruned. Generally, that means one of two times. Often the timing is during dormancy. Specifically, many gardeners and professionals look to the late winter months of February or March for doing spring prep work.

But trimming in fact may be done outside of winter dormancy when any one of the following conditions applies:

1. The shrub is damaged, dangerous or diseased.

2. The shrub demands a particular schedule. For example, early spring bloomers such as forsythia shouldn't be trimmed during dormancy. Winter time pruning prevents springtime blooming, because it removes the buds. Early spring bloomers are said to bloom on old wood, because of flowering before spring growth. So such early spring bloomers need to have their trimming or pruning work done after the bloom, and not before.

3. The trimming never has been done, and the result is disastrous for plant health, growth and appearance.

Other than space or dead branch pruning there is a simple rule. In the Northern Hemisphere (you can work this out yourself) if the shrub flower before July prune it after it flowers, if it flowers after July prune it in the Spring.

Answer 4

Regarding when to prune, one rule's the timing of any blooms. If the bush blooms early, before spring growth, then the pruning's immediately after the bloom ends. Examples are alternate-leaf butterfly bush, azalea, beautybush, pyracantha, and weigela. Otherwise, the pruning's during the dormant season before spring growth. Examples are butterflybush, camellia, gardenia, glossy abelia, and nandina. The other rule's the immediate emergency pruning of any damaged, dangerous, dead, diseased or dying plant parts. Regarding how to prune, one way's to make an inward-sloping cut about 1/4" above a healthy, outward-facing bud. That's ka heading back. Another, less chancey, and more common way's to cut back to a side branch or main trunk. That's ka thinning. Yet another way's to cut the bush back to within 6-12" of the ground. That's ka renewal pruning. It can be done in one fell sweep. Or it can be spaced over three years, with 1/3 of the oldest stems removed yearly. It's not pruning that all plants can handle. Evergreens don't respond well. Broadleaves such as azalea, butterfly bush, camellia, glossy abelia, and nandina do.

Answer 5

Trim rose bushes in the early spring, after the snow and frost have gone. Cut off all the winter kill. If the branch is still green inside, it will produce growth, so don't cut it off. Don't forget to deadhead all season long. Never fertilize after the middle of the summer, as the new growth will not be frost-hardy.

Answer 6

After the bloom on old wood, before the bloom on new wood, and never during or immediately after moisture-related events which result in cutting into wet wood are general times for trimming bushes. Old wood designates bushes whose flowers appear before the season's first leaves whereas new wood refers to the bush's post-winter growth whereby leafing is completed before flowering. The above-mentioned rules have some variation depending upon the particular species and pursuant to special conditions -- damage, danger, death, decay, disease -- which demand immediate action no matter what the standard pruning schedule.

Answer 7

If they flower in the Spring prune immediately after flowering.If they flower after mid-summer prune in early Spring