Roses

Learn how to prune and care for various types of roses

Pruning and Care Tips

All roses need at least six hours of direct sunlight daily and moist well-drained soil. Try not to wet the foliage when watering roses. Apply mulch to conserve moisture.

Feed during the growing season to encourage blooms with a fertilizer blend specifically for roses (Rose-Tone by Espoma). Stop feeding roses at the end of August so as not to encourage new growth too late in the Fall.

Stop pruning at the end of August. Do all major rose pruning when roses are dormant (no leaves) – in late Winter or early Spring. Prune off all weak, diseased, and dead stems. Shape for appearance.

  • Grow approx. 3’ – 4’ wide and tall
  • Plant 4’ apart for good air circulation
  • “Self-cleaning” but they can be deadheaded (remove spent flowers) and trimmed to maintain appearance until the end of August.
  • Grow approx. 1 ½’ – 2 ½’ wide and tall
  • After the first flush of blooms in Spring, deadhead the flowers and cut back the stems by about ⅓ of their length.
  • Continue to deadhead during the season and shape as needed until the end of August
  • Hybrid Tea grow approx. 4’ – 6’ tall
  • Grandiflora grow 2 ½’ – 3 ½’ tall
  • Both can be trimmed back to about 18”
  • Remove spent flowers during the season until the end of August
  • Grows approx. 3’ – 4’ wide and tall
  • Continue to deadhead during the season and shape as needed until the end of August