Tree roses intoxicate the senses with furious blooms if you trim the crown every year. In contrast to the classic rose cut, the cut requires a modified approach. Read this guide to learn when and how to properly cut rose stems.
Tree roses are pruned in early spring
The best time is in spring
Experienced rose gardeners do not prune their standard roses according to the calendar. Depending on the region, the optimal time can be delayed by up to three weeks. Nature gives an unmistakable indication of when the time window for pruning opens. When the forsythias bloom, the ideal time to cut the queen of flowers has come. This includes the crowns of tree roses.
Cut standard roses like bed roses
Standard roses have a special position in terms of pruning care. This is a valuable variety of rose that is grafted onto a stem as a crown. The transition from the trunk to the noble crown, the so-called refinement point, becomes a floral "eye of the needle". The aim of pruning is to stimulate the grafting area to continuously shoot young rose branches. The procedure is similar to the cutting care of bed roses. How to do it right:
- In the first step, thin out dead, damaged and sickly shoots
- Cut back remaining crown branches to 3 to 5 eyes
- Set rose scissors 5 mm above a bud
- Hold the scissors at a slight angle so that rain and irrigation water run off quickly
- Basic rule: the weaker a shoot, the stronger the pruning
Starting with the fourth year of life, we recommend continuous regeneration. To do this, select the oldest skeletal shoot to cut off at the base on the astring. The measure stimulates the budding of young branches within the grafting area, of which you leave the strongest specimen as a successor in the following year. So that the crown of a standard rose does not become matted in the long term, you should limit the number of crown shoots to ensure that growth is flooded with light.
Clean crown in summer
If your standard rose is being grafted with a rose variety that blooms more often, another pruning is part of the care program in summer. When three quarters of the flowers have withered, set the stage for a second bloom. To do this, cut wilted flowers back to the next fully formed leaflet.
Due to the exposed position of a tree rose crown, isolated, withered blossoms are unpleasantly noticeable. Rose gardeners with a soft spot for a consistently well-groomed appearance cut out each faded rose blossom individually. The reward for the effort is a seamless transition from the first to the second Blossom Festival.
tips
A rule of thumb for pruning techniques is overridden on standard roses. The ideal pruning in the upper center of the crown does not begin with an outward-facing bud. To prevent an unsightly gap from forming in the crown, please deliberately choose a bud that points towards the inside of the crown, so that you can cut 5 millimeters apart at this point.