Taking care of a rose bush?

Question

How do you prepare a rose bush for winter? I have never taken care of one before and not sure how far I have to cut it down to.

Answer 1

leave it be.  When spring comes, prune it just before it sends up stalks

Answer 2

cut back by halve for winter so that any strong winds don't rock the roots, then in the spring prune right back to about an inch above a bud.

Answer 3

Shorten back the branches by about a third,removing any unripe growth.Also remove any wood that is obviously dead,diseased or growing into the centre of the bush.Don't apply any more feed this season,active growth will shortly cease.

Cut to an outward pointing bud, don't hard prune now,this would encourage soft growth which will be frosted and liable to die back over winter.

Rake up all fallen leaves to prevent rose black spot remaining in the soil.Spray the bush with a proprietary insecticide/fungicide.Fork over the soil lightly and remove any weeds.Check for suckers originating from the rootstock,these are pale green thorny and have seven small leaves.

Remove any such suckers by carefully scraping away the soil and cutting away at the point of origin.

Apply a mulch of well rotted manure,compost or peat when the ground is damp and your roses should get away next spring!

Answer 4

Wait till it is cool enough to do anything to your rose bush.

Winter is a good time for pruning it back to make it grow in spring and summer.

Using a good sharp pair of secateurs which have been wiped with something like some methylated spirit to disinfect the blade - cut off pieces of your rose so that it is reduced in height by about one third

Make your cuts on an angle about a half inch or 1cm above an outward facing bud

Then look at your bush and see if there are any branches in the middle part that cross over each other - if so may be a good idea to cut remove them too - the idea is to make your bush so that you have 3-4 good healthy branches left. If your plant has what is called a water shoot - a nice healthy reddish coloured one with new growth - it is preferable to leave that one and remove an older one

When you have finished pruning - mix up some lime sulphur  (available at garden centres or plant nurseries) with some water and drench the plant to keep it  healthy. You can also buy a rose fertiliser to encourage your rose to make lots of nice rose blooms - fertilise according to information on the packet . Roses are shallow rooted and also need to be watered 1-2 times a week depending on weather conditions

In summer do light pruning of old flowers and tidy up the stems to encourage more growth and flowers and enjoy your roses

A good website for you with more information  

Answer 5

You can actually cut it all the way to the ground but I would just prune it. Cut 1" above the first 5 point leaf  and above a bud you want the height to be  and 24" is a good height. It will come back looking really good in the spring.