Which pruning measures should you take in spring and which ones make sense in autumn? We take a closer look at the question and explain in which cases pruning is necessary in October. Cutting roses, made easy!
Is a radical pruning in autumn necessary or unnecessary?
Roses generally need more time than other plants to recover from severe pruning. Anyone who cuts their plants in autumn also risks them sprouting again. However, the young shoots are very sensitive to frost and will die after the first frost. They make the whole plant more susceptible to frost damage and disease. It is therefore not advisable to cut back radically in autumn.
Even if the plant survives the radical pruning and gets through the winter well: many rose varieties bearOctober and November fruits. The rose hips, even if they are inedible for humans, provide food for birds and small garden animals in the cold season.
However, if pruning is necessary (for example as a final measure in the fight against pests), then wait until the first night frost. Temperatures at night should fall below -3° Celsius. This will ensure that the rose plants will not sprout again after pruning.
To protect the freshly cut roses from frost, you should then pile up a 15 to 20 cm thick layer of soil on the roots and lay out a 10 cm thick layer of mulch. It should ideally also cover the finishing area. She will protect the shoots from wind and snow.
Pruning faded roses: Autumn is the right time
While heavy pruning in autumn is rather unnecessary, other caring pruning measures make sense. This includes, among other things, cutting off the dead flowers. This is not only recommended for purely aesthetic reasons, but is actually an important care and protection measure. Wilted flowers are an entry point for bacteria and fungi and make the rose more susceptible to disease. In addition, cutting off the spent flowers can extend the flowering period and promote flower formation. Some types of roses can continue to bloom in October with proper care.
Cutting roses: Now the bush roses are thinned out
Thinning out the rose plants in autumn can prove to be particularly useful. For example, if the root area is difficult to access or if there are ailing leaves and shoots, then caring pruning is necessary. For rose varieties with an upright habit, shortening the shoots and removing a third of the leaves can prevent damage from snow loads and strong winds in winter.
How to cut the shrub roses in autumn: Only remove the shoots that get in the way and make access to the root area difficult. Shoots growing inwards are also cut off close to the ground. It doesn't matter whether you remove old or young shoots. The shrub roses will sprout again next year. They form flowers on this year's wood and can therefore easily tolerate heavy pruning in spring and light pruning in autumn.
Cut the standard roses in autumn and overwinter
Standard roses need frost protection and are wrapped with special translucent fleece. To make this happen without any problems, you can first shorten them and shape the shoots into the desired shape. Proceed as follows: Shorten all shoots by a maximum of 30%. Pruning is best done on a cloudy autumn day. But it shouldn't rain during the day, because the tall trees can't tolerate wetness well.
Shorten climbing roses so that they do not break in strong winds
Climbing roses can also benefit from pruning in autumn. Only individual shoots that are too long are shortened. These could break in strong winds and therefore have to be shortened by a third. Climbing roses need a little more time to recover from pruning. This should therefore take place on a sunny day.
Cutting roses: Remove diseased shoots from potted plants
The potted plants also tolerate caring pruning. In particular, diseased plant parts are cut off before the flowering bushes are allowed to go into winter quarters. Like all potted plants, the small rose varieties are very sensitive to frost. Therefore you should, in differenceto other rose plants, cut back as early as possible in autumn. The beginning of October, right after the end of the flowering period, is the right time.
Overwintering roses in the bed: First remove all leaves
Even if you don't want to prune your roses in the fall, you should remove the leaves before overwintering. It is also important to collect and dispose of all cut plant parts before overwintering. Otherwise, fungal diseases can spread in the bed. To protect the roses in the bed from frost, you can tie fir branches around the bush and on the shoots. Only then wrap the plants with fleece and tie the fleece loosely at the bottom over the grafting area (in the best case scenario, this should be covered with mulch).
