After a furious finale at the end of the season, the beauty of our roses fades noticeably in autumn. In view of withered rose blossoms, every year gardeners disagree about pruning before winter. Proponents see compelling benefits for the health and vitality of their royal flowering shrubs. Opponents consider the pruning to be long out of date. This guide removes all doubts about how to properly handle your roses after they have bloomed. How to do it right.
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Autumn rose pruning is prophylaxis
In the near-natural garden, hobby gardeners have strictly refrained from using pesticides. As a result, other strategies are in focus for combating and preventing stubborn rose diseases. Cutting roses in autumn is one of them. Regardless of whether a rose bush is already struggling with pathogenic agents or not. With the targeted use of the rose shears, acute infections can be contained and threatened diseases prevented. The main motive for this procedure are the dying flowers, leaves and shoots, which in wet and cold weather offer a welcome target for rot, fungi and pests.
time
In most regions, roses bloom well into December. As long as the flowers are in all their glory, there is no need for pruning. Only when all the flowers have wilted are the secateurs pulled out. Ideally, you should choose an appointment with frost-free, dry weather. At temperatures below – 2 degrees Celsius, pruning does more harm than good.
Preparatory work
Roses are not poisonous. The sometimes razor-sharp, strong thorns should not be underestimated. Even the smallest cracks on the skin can become painfully infected. Therefore, wear thorn-resistant gloves with long cuffs even for moderate autumn cuts. If you are dealing with rose bushes as high as a man, we also recommend protective goggles.
Hardly any rose is spared from typical diseases such as soot or rose rust. In order not to accidentally transfer the pathogens from one rose to the next, please disinfect the scissors at the beginning and at the end of the cut on each individual plant. Also make sure that the blades are freshly sharpened. The bark should be cut as smoothly as possible and not squashed.
Instructions for the cut
A pruning of faded roses in autumn is primarily aimed at removing parts of plants that are at risk of rot. In comparison to the central shape and maintenance cut in spring, a slimmed-down cut is used. How to do it right:
- Cut off all rose branches by a third
- Make the cut a short distance from a rose eye
- Hold the scissors at a slight angle, angled away from the leaf knot
Roses are one of the plants that give us little trouble recognizing their eyes. Take a look at the bark and you will see small bumps there. Below are the facilities for a fresh shoot. It is important to note that you make the cut at a distance of 0.5 to a maximum of 2.0 cm from the rose eye. If the cut is made too far away, unwanted dead wood forms, which dries back to the correct point of cut. These short dead wood segments are a nesting box for pathogenic agents of all kinds.
Note the juice balance
A look at the juice scales clears up any remaining uncertainties about the correct cut. If you are familiar with this basic physical principle, neither the maintenance cut in autumn nor the main cut in spring can fail. A central shoot with a more or less pronounced system of side branches rises from a network of main roots and fine roots. These side shoots have dense leaves and form the beautiful rose blossoms. The roots consistently strive to transport nutrients and water to where most of the sunlight hits.
An uneven cut leaves a dominant main shoot, which is covered in abundance by the roots. All other branches have to be content with the rest, take care of themselves and only have sparse flowers. If, on the other hand, all rose branches are at almost the same height, the juice scales are made. As a result, nutrients and water benefit all parts of the plant for harmonious growth.
Thinning rounds off the autumn cut
The final stage in the autumn pruning of your roses targets deadwood and other unwanted shoots. How to do it correctly:
- Cut off dead rose shoots close to the ground
- Thin out twigs that are directed into the interior of the bush
- Remove the weaker branches from branches that are too close together
Do you have any concerns as to whether a rose branch should actually be considered deadwood? Then subject the drive to a vitality test. Scrape off a small piece of the bark. If brown, putrid or dried-up tissue appears underneath, the twig can give way. Green, plump tissue signals that the sap of life is still flowing here. At least until the main cut in spring, the branch should be given the opportunity to regenerate.
Tip: If you thin out an aged rose bush in autumn, cuts with the diameter of a 2 euro coin can occur. Such wood injuries cannot heal over the winter. Therefore, coat the wound edges thinly with a wound paste to protect the sensitive cambium wood under the bark from frost damage.
Do not cut off the rose hips
Near-natural rose varieties inspire in autumn with wonderful fruit decorations. The large, red rose hips are not just a winter feast for the eyes. In addition, they are a much sought-after source of food for birds during the harsh winter season. In the organically managed ornamental garden, hobby gardeners therefore leave the rose hips on their roses until the main cut in spring. Wild roses with their simple, unfilled peel flowers are also among the shrubs with an abundance of fruit.
Tear off wild shoots
When your roses stop growing in autumn, life is still pulsating in the wilderness. You should therefore continue to check your rose bushes for wild shoots after the autumn pruning. These emerge vertically from the substrate with significantly smaller leaves. Since these branches rob the precious part of its juice and strength, they are consequently removed. The best way to tackle this floral evil is by the roots. To do this, tear off each game shoot from the base with a brave jerk. A cut with the scissors leaves small pieces of tissue from which the stubborn branches sprout again.
Conclusion
In the near-natural rose garden, the main pruning in spring is supplemented by a further pruning in autumn. You can cut back faded roses by a third to prevent diseases and counteract rampant infections. At the same time, dead branches are thinned out and wild shoots are torn off with one jolt. Only the decorative and valuable rose hips are spared from the rose shears in autumn.
