Content

• Steps
• Method 1 of 4: Pruning roses correctly
• Method 2 of 4: Basic Spring Pruning
• Method 3 of 4: Late Spring and Summer Pruning
• Method 4 of 4: Fall Pruning
• Tips
• What do you need

Knockout roses are a relatively hassle-free variety of roses, but they need regular pruning to maintain their beauty and health. Prune them properly once in early spring, and then prune them as needed throughout the growing season to maintain their shape. Do the final pruning just before the dormant period, and your roses will grow and bloom well next year.

Steps

Method 1 of 4: Pruning roses correctly

1. 1 Take the bypass pruner. The bypass pruner cuts like a scissor, so it is preferable to the anvil pruner, which tends to crush the stems when cut. Clean, straight cuts are important for maintaining plant health.
   • If you do not have a pruner, you can use a hedge trimmer or a delimber. Whatever you use, make sure the tool is well sharpened and can be cut cleanly.
   • If you are pruning branches thicker than 1.3 cm, use a lopper instead of the pruner.
   • Disinfect the pruning shears with rubbing alcohol or chlorine bleach in water.
2. 2 Wear gloves to protect your hands. To effectively and safely prune knockout roses (as indeed any rosebushes), wear tight garden gloves up to the elbow. Gloves should be thick enough to protect the skin from the thorns.
   • Do not try to trim roses without protecting your hands. Regular gardening gloves up to the wrist are better than nothing.
3. 3 Disinfect the secateurs before starting. When pruning roses, also periodically dip the secateurs in a container of disinfectant solution. Any all-purpose detergent will do. Disinfecting the blades will prevent accidental transmission of diseases from one plant to another through the pruner.
   • Get in the habit of regularly disinfecting your pruning shears, whether you're pruning a lot or a little.
   • Alternatively, you can take a 70% solution of rubbing alcohol. You can also wipe the pruning shears blades with alcohol wipes, but in this case, be very careful not to injure yourself.
4. 4 Cut at a 45 degree angle. Cut the branch about half a centimeter above the outward-facing bud with the slope away from the bud. This stimulates the growth of new shoots outward and not inward of the bush. Stick to this technique regardless of the time of year and the length of the branches you cut.
   • An angled cut allows water to drain off the stem and reduces the chance of rot.
   • Cutting too close to the bud can damage it, but cutting too far from the bud will retain an unnecessary part of the old shoot and the plant will waste precious energy on it.

Method 2 of 4: Basic Spring Pruning

1. 1 Wait for the second or third growing season. Refrain from drastic pruning until the roses are near their "adult" size. This will ensure that the plant will survive the removal of large parts. An adult knockout rose bush (before pruning) has a height and diameter of about 1.2 m.
   • Mature roses need basic pruning in the spring, while young shrubs only need to be pruned slightly during the growing season to remove dead or dying shoots.
   • It can take 2-3 years between significant pruning. It all depends on how fast the bushes grow and how big or small you want them to be.
2. 2 Prune roses as soon as the buds wake up. Watch for bud formation on the shoots of the rose bush. When the buds are swollen, but have not yet blossomed, the roses are ready to be pruned.
   • Roses are usually pruned between the end of February and April - the colder the climate where you live, the later. At this time, they come out of their dormant state and prepare for a new growing season. Ref> https://plantcaretoday.com/pruning-knockout-roses.html/ref>
   • If the buds have already begun to bloom, you can still prune. If the winter was very warm, the kidneys may swell earlier. In this case, trim the shoot to the first dormant bud.
3. 3 Cut off the overlapping and intertwining shoots first. Prune one or both of these shoots to maintain a straight, upright bush structure. If the stems don't rub against each other, the plant will look neater and grow better.
   • Thin the shrub early in the growing season so that it grows neat and attractive.
   • Removing overlapping stems and shoots will also improve air circulation in the crown of the bush, making it less susceptible to fungal infections.
4. 4 Remove one third to half the height and width of the bush. Healthy shoots can be cut substantially without harming the plant. This way your roses will use less plant energy to grow and, as a result, bloom more luxuriantly. One-third of the shoot.
   • Please note that knockout roses will grow quickly after pruning. Therefore, they should be cut 30-60 cm shorter than you would like to see them in the end.
   • Don't overdo it with cropping. If you cut more than half of healthy, mature stems, the plant may exert too much force to regrow the lost foliage and stall growth.
5. 5 Prune the shrub to the desired height and width. Give the rose bush a slightly rounded, domed shape. Cut off any stems or shoots that stick out too far out of the foliage and disturb the shape of the bush.
   • To improve air circulation and prevent the spread of disease in hot weather, try cutting the bushes in a V shape, leaving a clear space in the middle.

Method 3 of 4: Late Spring and Summer Pruning

1. 1 In the summer (and in warmer climates, starting in late spring), do corrective pruning. Corrective pruning from time to time stimulates the formation of new buds. As a result, you will observe a more spectacular flowering of the bush during the period when the day begins to wane.
   • Don't prune your roses heavily during the summer heat. Roses are already stressed by the high temperature, and losing a lot of healthy shoots will weaken them even more.
2. 2 Prune diseased and damaged shoots. Any parts of the plant showing signs of the disease must be removed immediately so that it does not spread further. Dead dry shoots attract pests, fungi and bacteria, which means they also need to get rid of them as soon as possible.
   • During the growing season, the main purpose of pruning is to keep the plant healthy. This is primarily the removal of those damaged parts of the plant that can become the source of the problem if they are not removed.
3. 3 Remove wilted and wilted flowers to extend the flowering period. Cut flowers that have faded or are about to bloom to make room and strength for new ones. Cut the stem over the 5-leaf leaf closest to the flower.
   • Typically, you will cut the stem about 15–20 cm below the flower head.
   • In extreme heat, cut flowers only to the first leaf, but not the longer part of the stem.
   • Removing wilted flowers is essential for the beauty and health of roses.
4. 4 Maintain the shape of the bush. If several new shoots start to grow faster than the rest and are much longer than the others, you can prune them to match the rest. Do this from all visible sides of the bush, otherwise it will look sloppy.
   • In addition to growing upward, there are shoots that grow in the lower part of the plant and are directed outward. This undergrowth also needs to be trimmed.

Method 4 of 4: Fall Pruning

1. 1 If desired, make a final cut before the first frost. Ideally, try to prune your roses in late summer or early fall when the weather is still warm. When it gets colder, the growth of new shoots will begin to stop, as the rose will prepare for a dormant period.
   • Stop pruning the rose in early fall at the latest. If you do this later, new shoots may die from the cold.
   • Roses will benefit from rest before the next growing season.
2. 2 Remove dead shoots. Just like in summer, take another close look at the bush for weak, diseased, or dead shoots and cut them back. Otherwise, by the beginning of winter, the disease can cover the entire rose bush.
   • At this time, it is recommended to remove as little of the total plant height as possible - as much as possible.
   • Try not to touch young shoots. If you accidentally stimulate their growth, they will die and the plant will weaken.
3. 3 Reduce the overall size of the bush. When the season is over, you can prune up to a third of the plant's height and width.Concentrate on excess shoots that don't fit the overall shape of the bush. If there are long stems sticking out on top or along the sides, on which no flowers form, cut them too.
   • If your rose has barely grown to the desired size during the growing season, limit yourself to light corrective pruning.
   • Autumn pruning is not decisive and many gardeners will prefer to skip it.

Tips

• If you have cut beautifully flowering branches, do not throw them away, but put them in a vase.
• Knockout roses can triple during the growing season. Consider this when deciding how tall and shaped your bush will be.
• Have a wheelbarrow handy to take out the trimmed shoots.

What do you need

• Bypass pruner
• Hedge clipper or delimber (optional)
• Elbow-length thick gardening gloves
• Disinfectant (for cleaning the secateurs)