Show #10/3910. An Olmsted Landscape As Beautiful Today As It Was 120 Years Ago

Pruning And Deadheading Roses

Parker and Eric discuss pruning roses. Some of the rose bushes are becoming a little branchy and need some balancing and some could use deadheading. Parker walks us through some of those steps. The gardener for this area is trying to keep these bushes about 4 feet tall, that's the height they're looking for. So, the longer canes with no buds on top need to be balanced out. Parker will go down inside the silhouette of the plant and look for a leaf that points in the direction he would like the rose to come in. He makes a cut and 2 or 3 new shoots will grow where the old one was. Those 2 or 3 shoots will help balance the plant out.

As far as deadheading - Pruning stimulates growth so when making a cut, remember you'll get shoots coming from that area. So look for a leaf oriented the way you want them to grow, the new shoot will grow in that area. Go down inside the plant and try to make the cut inside the silhouette of the plant.

The take home message is - roses are easy, don't be intimidated by them, buy a selection that is disease and insect resistant, then don't sweat the big stuff. Parker is convinced that one could use shears on these plants, they're not difficult.