“A B C, it’s as easy as 1 2 3, as simple as Do Re Mi, A B C, 1 2 3.”

Of course they weren’t referring to pruning roses, but The Jackson 5 almost could have been when they sang the catchy refrain to their song, “A B C.”

Pruning roses really is that easy. Want to see?

The A-B-C’s

Why prune? It revitalizes our roses. We remove weak growth and crossing canes, which opens up the plant to light and air. We leave strong healthy canes, which improves the plant’s appearance and supports the growth of larger blooms and clusters of blooms. Cutting out the previous year’s diseased and pest-infested leaves and blooms improves the plant’s health and minimizes fungal pathogens in the coming year. In San Diego, we prune our roses from mid-December to mid-February.

Make each cut at about one-quarter inch above a leaf with five leaflets.

(Bill Ornelas)

Pruning requires the right tools. You need a good, sharp pair of bypass pruners; two quality brands are Felco and Corona. Gauntlet gloves protect your hands and forearms; my favorites are Gold Leaf Tough Touch and Bionic Rose Gloves. Other essentials are a sharp pair of long-handled loppers and a small folding pruning saw.

Pruning your rose is a definite plus, but beware the point of no return. Roses do not need to be pruned, but pruning will greatly improve your roses’ appearance and performance in the coming year. Just one caveat: Don’t prune a grafted rose below the bud union (the base of the grafted rose). If you do this, it’s game over for the rose.

The 1-2-3’s

Is the cane a “keeper”? Start by examining the rose closely from the bottom up. Cut out canes that are dead, spindly or damaged. Remove canes that cross in the center of the bush, either entirely back to the bud union, or back to the major cane from which they originated. Crossing canes can become intertwined and obstruct quality blooms and basal breaks. In addition, cane wounds caused by the thorns on crossing canes allow fungal pathogens to enter the cane, which can open up the plant to cane disease. When canes are crowded close to each other, the larger cane is a keeper, and the less desirable cane should be removed.

There is a bud eye above each set of leaflets on a rose stem. Choosing an outward-facing bud eye prompts the rose to grow in that outward direction and away from its center, which facilitates air circulation and lessens the risk of disease.

(Rita Perwich)

Next, identify the youngest and strongest canes. These canes are always ‘keepers’ because they are more productive than old canes. We can distinguish young canes because they are usually green and smooth. An older cane is generally craggy, rougher in texture and grayish brown in color. If an old cane has healthy looking, productive secondary canes emanating from it higher up the bush, it is a keeper. If it does not, remove it but don’t leave a stub. Saw it out so it is flush with the bud union. This opens up room at the bud union for new fresh canes known as basal breaks. I generally keep all productive keeper canes. Some rosarians will remove some keeper canes if a rose has 5 to 7 or more canes.

A sucker is a shoot that comes not from the bud union but from the rootstock of a grafted rose. Its foliage and flowers and growth habit will look different from the grafted rose. The sucker is not a cane or stem you want to keep. You must dig it out.

Hard, moderate or light pruning? In San Diego, we do not need to hard prune as they do in colder areas. As a general rule, we don’t prune below knee height.

A principle to keep in mind as we prune is the thicker the stem diameter, the larger the bloom or cluster of blooms. All parts of the bush that are too small or weak to hold up the new growth must be removed.

Generally, we prune moderately, taking about one-third off the height of our hybrid teas, one-quarter off the height on our floribundas, polyanthas, shrub roses and David Austin roses. Many rosarians take the top third off miniature and miniflora roses with hedge shears and then open up the centers by cutting out twiggy growth with their pruners.

Strip off all the remaining leaves when you finish pruning so the rose starts the new year free of the disease and insects that may still be lingering on its old leaves.

(Rita Perwich)

Climbing roses are pruned very differently from other roses. The main canes are not pruned unless they are dead or damaged. Climbers bloom off lateral shoots. New, flexible canes are trained and tied horizontally to prompt lateral growth. The laterals are pruned so that only two or three bud eyes remain. Some landscape shrub roses and David Austin roses grow like climbers and can be pruned like climbers.

Newly planted and struggling roses should merely be cleaned up and not pruned. Old garden roses (OGRs) are only lightly pruned to control their size and remove unproductive, damaged and dead canes. Once-blooming OGRs are generally pruned when their bloom cycle is complete.

Keep the center of the bush open. Prune at an outward-facing bud eye. There is a bud eye above each set of leaflets on a rose stem. Having figured out approximately how much to cut off, make each cut at about one-quarter inch above a leaf with five leaflets. Choosing an outward-facing bud eye prompts the rose to grow in that outward direction and away from its center, which facilitates air circulation and lessens disease risk.

The ‘Do-Re-Mi’s’

Clean pith is key: When you cut a cane, the pith should be creamy white. If it isn’t, keep cutting farther down the cane until it is.

Get rid of the old: Strip off all the remaining leaves so the rose starts the new year free of the disease and insects that may still be lingering on its old leaves. Dispose of all clippings, leaves and petals around the base of the plant to get rid of dormant spores of fungi and over-wintering pests.

Consulting rosarians at the workshop in Balboa Park will demonstrate the different pruning techniques for climbing roses and hybrid teas. The climbing rose is trained on the fence and the hybrid tea rose is on its left.

(Rita Perwich)

Spray: In the past, rosarians were advised to spray dormant oil after pruning. This is no longer the current advice. Periods of warmer weather in January and early February have been prompting new growth. Dormant sprays contain chemicals at concentrations that may damage these young buds. I choose not to spray, but if you want to spray, use a horticultural oil or insecticidal soap and time spraying immediately after pruning and before any bud eyes develop. Soaps and oils smother overwintering scales and insect eggs and are least harmful to beneficial insects.

That’s it! Pruning roses is easy-peasy when you know how.

Perwich is a member of the San Diego Rose Society, a consulting rosarian and a master gardener with UC Cooperative Extension.