THE NECESSITY FOR PRUNING

Articles In This Section:

· WINTER PRUNING

· THE NECESSITY FOR PRUNING

· HEAVY OR LIGHT PRUNING

· WHEN TO PRUNE

· PRUNING BUSHES AND STANDARDS - Part 1

· PRUNING BUSHES AND STANDARDS - Part 2

· PRUNING FLORIBUNDAS AND POLYANTHAS

· PRUNING CLIMBERS

· PRUNING WICHURAIANA RAMBLERS

· PRUNING ROSE HEDGES

The advisability of pruning is obvious from the manner in which a rose grows. Unlike a tree, which goes on from year to year adding to its size, the rose grows by a process of replacement. Strong shoots flower well in their first, second, and possibly third years, but then become weaker at their uppermost parts. A strong shoot is sent out from a point lower down on each old shoot or from the base of the plant; this soon becomes the main channel for the flow of sap. The older branch starves. The new branch will be similarly dealt with by Nature in two or three years. Starved branches soon die. By pruning we try to anticipate this process by removing old wood and encouraging sap to flow into younger and stronger branches. Therein lies the answer to questions we are asked frequently -"Why do we need to prune?" or "What happens if we do not prune at all?" The plants would eventually become large masses of tangled branches, the innermost of which would mostly be dead or sickly, and the outermost would be young but spindly.