the last of the garden plants to be pruned. Pruning stimulates new growth and if pruned too early, there is the risk of the new growth getting zapped by a late spring freeze. Roses have already or are beginning to leaf out and it is time to do some maintenance on the rose bushes.
Rose bushes that go unpruned become woody with few blooms and if there are blooms, they are likely on the tips of the canes. Bushes left to grow year after year without yearly maintenance become dense and unattractive. Dense growth makes it difficult to clearly see which canes need pruning. However, not all roses are pruned in the same manner.
Ramblers and climbers. Remove dead canes to keep tidy. Secure new shoots that have sprouted over the winter or spring growth by tying with jute or twine to posts, trellises, arbors or other support structures.
Hybrid tea shrub roses. The two-thirds rule is in play. Cut out one-third of canes by selecting first the oldest, most woody, and weakest canes to remove. Spindly, weak canes will always remain spindly and weak. The canes that are left should be the most vigorous. From the remaining canes remove one-third of the top growth, hence the two thirds rule. This is followed each season. Always take out dead and diseased wood. When choosing which canes to keep and which to take, keep the outermost and take the innermost. Roses need sunlight and air for optimum flowering; opening up the bush accomplishes this need. When removing canes make cuts flush to the crown. When cutting back by one-third, always make sloping cuts just above an outward facing bud. The new shoot that develops will be directed outwards resulting in a spreading form.
Knock Out roses (a registered trademark). Knock Out roses are becoming more and more popular. They can be found in box stores and nurseries. The attraction of the Knock Out rose is its ever-blooming characteristic. Flowers are smaller but plenteous. Prune by removing dead and diseased wood and some interior canes if very crowded. Their growth habit is bushy, naturally smaller, and thinner than hybrid teas; Knock Out roses are not pruned with the same detail. Reduce height of shrubs by one-half. To keep them blooming deadhead by cutting off spent flower heads throughout the growing season.
Ellen Peffley Harp, a retired professor of horticulture at Texas Tech University, writes about gardening for several Texas newspapers.
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