Sharpen Your Shears and Start Pruning

Correct place to prune a hybrid tea rose. All growth above this point continues to be smaller. Beautiful flowers won't bloom on such thin canes. With warm sunshine, water, and fertilizer, your rose bushes will be lush with healthy leaves and flowers.

Keep in mind the three reasons why we prune: 

1. To give the rosebush a rest. In our climate, roses don’t go dormant and will benefit from a
long winter’s rest. By reducing the size of the plant, we allow it to regain its strength at a
time when sunlight and warm temperatures are at a minimum. If there are still flowers and newly sprouted canes on the bush, cut them off. New growth will return in February.

2. To reduce disease and insect damage. It’s easier to clean up around the roses when they
are just a few canes. By removing all the leaves, dead and living, we can reduce the number
of insect eggs and fungal spores. It’s just basic sanitation. Therefore, on hybrid teas prune away everything that is smaller in diameter than a pencil. Remove all canes that are growing through the center of the bush. Keep the center as open as possible. Make your cuts at an angle always with bud eyes pointing to the outside.

3. To allow sunlight to reach the base of the plant. The warmth of the sun encourages new, strong canes to emerge from the bush. These new canes promise years of new flowers. The bud union should rest on the soil line.