Pruning Roses in Summer

Southwest Yard & Garden

by Dr. Curtis Smith

Archived column from August 2007 with intro by Dr. Marisa Thompson

This beautiful rose bush at the NMSU Agricultural Science Center Learning Garden is full of buds, but a few of the stems have gotten leggy and can be pruned back now to encourage new buds to bloom before the season’s end. First frost is expected in mid-October. Photo credits Marisa Thompson.

STAY TUNED for photos of the buds on the above stems in the coming weeks to see how many of the buds open indoors! 

This time of year, we receive many questions about whether or not it's safe to prune landscape plants. I found this column written by former NMSU Extension Horticulture Specialist Dr. Curtis Smith in August 2007 by searching the NMSU Southwest Yard & Garden archives at https://aces.nmsu.edu/ces/yard/search.html. For more details, try searching "pruning roses." And to access a column from last August addressing the same question for trees, search "prune landscape trees now" (or click HERE). For hands-on learning, reach out to a local rose society or garden club to see what activities they may have planned in a rose garden near you. The AlbuquerqueRose Society offers "Deadheading Tuesdays" in the beautiful Albuquerque Rose Garden at Tony Hillerman Library until mid-September and other activities throughout the year.

                                                -          Dr. Marisa Thompson

  

Question: My roses have grown well this summer. In fact, they have grown too well. Some branches have grown enough to be a nuisance to people walking on the sidewalk. I don't want them to scratch people, but I also don't want to hurt the roses. Is it safe to prune these long branches in the summer?

-          Kay K., Albuquerque

Answer: Yes, you can prune the offending branches even in the summer. It is true that the best time to prune many plants is during their dormant season, but to protect public safety (and your friends as they approach your home), you should remove the branches now. This holds true for tree branches blocking the view of traffic or interfering with people walking on public sidewalks.

In the case of your roses, you can prune the branches back just enough to clear the sidewalk, but when the branches begin to grow again, you will still have a problem. It is better to cut the branches back enough to prevent issues from any additional growth that develops this year. However, remember that by carefully selecting the pruning site, you can direct growth away from the sidewalk and may not need to cut as much as you thought. If you choose to cut back to a bud on the side of the rose branch away from the sidewalk, or in a position such that it will grow parallel to the sidewalk, you can minimize the size of the branch you cut. It is best if summer pruning is not as severe as dormant season pruning.

You may be able to avoid this problem in the future if you remember that cutting rose blossoms for indoor use, or removing the old blossoms as they fade (dead-heading), is a great opportunity for summer pruning. The branches growing too close to the sidewalk can be the source of those coveted long-stemmed roses for indoor use. When dead-heading, consider the direction in which new growth will develop and cut back to a bud that will grow in a direction that does not interfere with sidewalk traffic. You should normally choose to prune so that growth develops in a non-crowded direction to avoid damage as branches cross and rub against each other. This should remain a consideration, but the direction of new growth relative to the sidewalk should also be considered.

So, prune your roses as needed now and enjoy the new flowers that will develop in the late summer and fall.

 

This long stem could have been pruned lower when deadheading, but I wanted to wait for the other buds to open completely. Date: July 16, 2021. Photo credit Marisa Thompson.

 

For more gardening information, visit the NMSU Extension Urban Horticulture page at http://desertblooms.nmsu.edu/ and the NMSU Horticulture Publications page at http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_h/. Find your local Cooperative Extension Office at https://aces.nmsu.edu/county/.

Curtis Smith, Ph.D., is the former Extension Horticulture Specialist for New Mexico State University and continues to teach and inspire. https://www.southwestgardensmith.com/.

Marisa Y. Thompson, Ph.D., is the Extension Urban Horticulture Specialist in the Department of Extension Plant Sciences and is based at the New Mexico State University Agricultural Science Center at Los Lunas.