By Mark Nolen. This article is from the April 2007 issue of The Rosarian newsletter.

It is early March and it is time to think about getting busy in the garden. This past winter was very similar to the winter of 2006. January was warmer than usual and roses did not reach full dormancy. In January many of my rose bushes had buds beginning to swell and some started to push out new growth. In early February we had several nights of sub zero temperature. Sap in the stems and sub zero temperatures are a deadly combination that will cause plant cell walls to burst killing most, if not all, of the exposed plant tissue.

About two weeks ago, I stepped into the garden to see what damage had been wreaked by the harsh late winter weather. As I suspected, almost everything above the winter protection was severely damaged. Old man winter had just made our pruning choices a lot easier this spring. I knew that everything above the mulch on miniature, mini flora, floribunda, and hybrid tea type roses had to be removed because the stems were dead. I have some old garden and shrub roses, but I am going to take a wait and see approach on those plants. New growth will emerge below the die back on the stems, and you will know exactly where to cut the dead wood. Although, I do not have any climbers, you will also want to take a wait and see approach on them too. The rule of thumb is to do your pruning on climbers after the first bloom.

In the second week of March, when the weather permitted, I began lopping off the dead stems. I tried to use an electric hedge trimmer, but the stems were too large. After the rough pruning is over, it is a good time to pick up all of the dead rose leaves laying in the beds and the grass surrounding the beds. If there any leaves left on the plant, strip them off too. Garden cleanliness is your first line of defense against fungal development.

On the 20th of March we had a nice day, so I began loosening the mulch around the base of the rose bushes. I do not completely uncover the plants, but I loosen the mulch enough to get a little light and warmth down to where new shoots will begin to emerge. If you wait too long to uncover, the new stems will emerge without the benefit of light and result in poor stems especially if they have become several inches long. I usually don't start this slow uncovering process until I have consulted the long range weather forecast. If the prediction is cold weather you may want to wait until the temperatures begin to moderate before you start to uncover. Keep the mulch nearby; you can always recover the plants if temperatures dive below freezing.

Ready For Pruning - The dormant bush is leafless or nearly so. Note the number of stems and their varying thicknesses.

I usually wait until early April to start my final prune. A good rule of thumb around here is start pruning when the forsythia is in full bloom. After the rough prune, I expect that I will only have stems that are 8 to 10 inches in length. Start your final pruning by completely removing the mulch down to the bud union. This will enable you to see the pruning cuts you a making. The first thing to remove is all dead wood. Cut these stems off at the bud union. The second thing to remove is stems that are smaller than pencil size. Cut these off at the bud union or where they emanate from a larger stem.

Pruning Shears - Pruning shears of the scissor action type make the cleanest cuts. Hold them so the cutting blade is down.

Proper Cut - A proper cut slants at a 45-degree angle. The upper point is 1/8 to 1/4 of an inch above the growth eye. The lower point is slightly above level of the eye on the opposite side of the stem.

Next remove all crossing stems that go through the middle of the bush. If you are lucky enough to have 8 or more good stems left, you may want to remove a few to encourage strong growth in the remaining stems. Do your final cut on the stems that are left to good white wood in the center of the stem.

Remove Old Canes - Remove old canes that produced no strong growth, branches crossing through the bush's center and weak stems. Shorten remaining canes.

Pruning the Bud Union - Cuts to the bud union should be flush to it. Any stubs may die back into the union, creating an entry point for disease.

The last thing that I do before recovering the bud union is to spray the stems with a lime-sulfur spray. If there are no leaves on the stems you can use the spray at full strength. If leaves are present you will have to dilute the solution. The directions are on the bottle. Hi-Yield sells a pint bottle for about $6.00. Most garden centers carry this chemical. The lime-sulfur spray will kill all of the remaining fungal spores left on the stems and get you off to a good start on controlling black spot. I usually do not start my regular spray program until about a foot of new growth appears on the plant.

Mild Climate Pruning - In mild climates, healty growth should not be reduced by more than one-third. This is a moderate to light pruning.

Winter Climate Pruning - In areas where winter damage occurs, remove all dead and injured wood. THis may leave the bush only a half to a third of the size it was in the fall.

Another thing I like to do when I am finished pruning is apply a little granular 12-12-12 around each bush (about a 1/3 of cup). Use a little less for a smaller plant. It is also a good idea to sprinkle a little fertilizer around the rose bed to replace the nitrogen being used up in the decomposition of the mulch.

I hope this information will give you some ideas about spring pruning and clean up. These rules are not etched in stone. Use your imagination and try some new things. If they work, please let us know at one of our meetings or in an article for the newsletter next year.