Help the development of the site, sharing the article with friends!
Lushly blooming climbing roses on a trellis or a delicate rose arch as a garden entrance can be a real eye-catcher. For this, however, the roses should have grown well, with strong flowering shoots. Without care and patience, but above all without regular, well-considered pruning, you will hardly achieve this goal, even if it may sound contradictory to you at first.
Pruning climbing roses
Why do I need to prune my climbing roses?
By pruning your climbing rose thoughtfully and carefully, you prevent the plant from being bare from below. Your rose will always get new shoots that are capable of blooming, while the old wood will have neither leaves nor buds after a few years. At the same time, the rose is strengthened, because weak shoots only produce a few flowers and weak roses are susceptible to various diseases and pests, such as rose rust.
Orange colored roses
Rejuvenate
You rejuvenate your rose by pruning it and encourage it to bloom profusely. Both once-blooming and multi-blooming roses are pruned, but not quite the same way or at different times.
cut time
When is the best time to cut?
The best time to prune depends on the type of climbing rose. Does it only bloom once a year or more often? Sometimes it's not easy to see that. Even roses that have bloomed once can bloom for many weeks and set new buds again. However, the new buds do not appear on the shoots that have already faded. Another criterion for differentiation is shoot growth. Roses, once blooming, put a lot of energy into this growth, they grow quite quickly and form new shoots for a long time. A multi-blooming climbing rose, on the other hand, uses a lot of energy for the formation of buds and flowers. It is therefore rather slow-growing and often remains smaller.
Cut roses with a sharp tool
Once blooming climbing rose
Once a climbing rose has bloomed, it is best to prune it immediately after it has bloomed or in early autumn. These include, for example, rambler roses, which are particularly popular in English cottages. They tend to have small, airy, delicate flowers and tend to climb particularly strongly.
Repeat flowering climbing rose
In the case of climbing roses that bloom several times, pruning is recommended in spring, around the time when the forsythia are in bloom. Now you can easily recognize any winter damage, such as frozen or stunted shoots. These should definitely be removed. On the one hand they are not a pretty sight, on the other hand they offer germs and fungi an ideal entry point. In the spring, the rose eyes, on which young shoots are forming, are already clearly visible. So you know exactly where you should cut best.
pruning
What is the point of pruning after flowering?
If you have a multi-blooming rose, you will need to cut off the dead flower to allow new buds to form. However, do not prune the shoots. Only cut off the withered parts directly under the flower or above the first leaves.
Repeat flowering climbing rose
Once a climbing rose has bloomed, you can now prune the old shoots on which the rose has already bloomed. She is already putting the buds on the young shoots for the next year. If they are cut back in spring, they may not see old shoots so well, so pruning in late summer or early fall is recommended.
tool
The right tool for the rose cut
There are different types of secateurs, called anvil shears and bypass shears. Bypass shears have two blades that slide past each other when cutting. This means that the wood to be cut is only slightly squeezed. This requires a little more force than the anvil scissors. With this type of secateurs, there is only one cutting blade that presses the clippings onto a surface called the anvil, severing the clippings in the process. Bypass pruners are best for relatively fresh greens, while older and harder wood is fine to cut with anvil pruners.
secateurs
Rose Scissors
Bypass scissors are recommended as rose scissors, because roses have quite sensitive shoots. For this reason, your pruning shears should always be sharp. If necessary, sharpen the scissors again before use. This will prevent damage to the plant. Small cuts can allow germs to get in. In addition, such germs are often transmitted through unclean scissors or the like. Rust on the tool can also damage your rose. Therefore, clean and dry your pruning shears after each use. Oil the scissors from time to time, this prolongs their lifespan.
Long shoots
Can I cut off the long shoots in autumn?
If your climbing rose has produced very long shoots over the summer, then it makes sense that you should simply cut them back. However, it is better if you wait until spring for climbing roses that bloom several times. Simply tie the long shoots to the framework or trellis. That way they won't be demolished in the next autumn storm. This will keep any winter damage to a minimum. Then, in spring, prune your climbing roses as usual.
rose arch
Do I have to pay attention to something special when pruning the rose arch?
Of course, you would like your climbing rose to grow around the entire arch very soon and therefore prune your rose as little or as late as possible. However, you should not wait too long with this, otherwise your rose will bloom at the top of the rose arch, but no longer below or on the sides.
First tie the young shoots to the bow. If dry or diseased shoots appear, then pruning is essential, for example to prevent or at least reduce the spread of fungal infestation. Once your climbing roses have reached a height of about two meters, you should start pruning them back according to the type of roses you have.
The right cut - step by step:
- Clean and possibly sharpen the tool
- Cut off old shoots that may already be bare
- Cut thin and weak shoots as close to the base as possible
- Shorten very densely growing side shoots to 3 or 4 eyes
- Never cut off young shoots from roses that have bloomed once
Trim roses
balding
What do I do if my climbing roses are already bare?
If you don't cut back your climbing rose for a long time, it will soon have hard, woody branches without leaves or flowers, and it will become bare. On the other hand, only a radical pruning helps as a rejuvenation cure. Cut old dry shoots close to the ground. Since not every rose survives this treatment well, only cut off about a third of the corresponding branches at first. If your climbing rose shoots well afterwards, prune the remaining shoots the following year. If it doesn't sprout, cover up the bald spots with other plants, for example shrub roses that match or contrast in color.
editing error
What happens if I cut wrong?
If you cut back your climbing roses once they have bloomed too much in spring, these climbing roses will bloom little or not at all in the coming summer. In fact, these varieties already lay their buds in the previous year and do not bloom on the new spring shoots. If you do not know what species your climbing rose belongs to, do not cut back in the first spring. Instead, take a look at which shoots your rose is blooming on. Cut off the wilted flowers and wait to see if the rose will bud again afterwards. So they know what kind of climbing rose you have and can find out how to cut it back next year.
Only cut roses with protective clothing because of their sharp thorns
If you cut back a shoot too close to a side shoot or an eye, the corresponding shoot may dry up. What remains is an unsightly dry stump. Here you can only improve by cutting back again over the next eye or shoot, but this time about five millimeters above.