When to prune roses in the Hutt Valley
Clients sometimes ask me when the best time to prune roses in Lower Hutt and Upper Hutt is. The answer is when they are dormant. Dormant means that growth has stopped or at least slowed down. With roses that generally means when they have stopped flowering, lost their leaves and formed hips (those orange fruit-like growths where once were flowers). This happens as we move into winter and the colder weather. So prune in the cold months when plants are dormant. Historically that’s July/August. Do it on a dry day. Wet = fungal infections. The general rule of thumb is “if you wouldn’t hang out your washing, don’t do your pruning".”
However it’s got a bit complicated. The last couple of winters have been warmish. This year is the same (it was 18C in Lower Hutt today) and rose buds are swelling, and sometimes bursting, now!?!?! That means the roses may be about to push out new growth. We don’t want them pushing out new growth which might then be hammered by a frost - particularly on the Valley floor, in Upper Hutt and Wainuiomata.
So, what are we at Blue Duck Gardens doing? We’re pruning in mid July in frost-free areas and late July in frost prone areas i.e. we’re not risking our client’s roses by pruning too early. The trick is to judge it so you avoid the frost at all costs but not be so late as to hit the time when the roses are waking from their sleep.
At the same time as pruning we’re mulching (please see our earlier blogpost on feeding roses). We’ve started trialling composting and applying blood & bone a bit earlier than usual - in late July. Why? It coincides with rose pruning so is time efficient, and the nutrients are available to roots for early Spring growth. Our go-to for local compost is Zoodoo www.zoodoo.co.nz. They’re good products, well-priced, free delivery with minimum order numbers and Zoodoo is a charitable organisation.
For advice on how to prune there are numerous resources available online. We recommend the following from the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) on pruning bush roses and gardening guru Alan Titchmarsh with a general intro to rose pruning. And note, as Alan allies to, it’s pretty hard to kill a rose so don’t be shy about giving it a go. Maybe just don’t start with Grandma’s prize collection!
RHS. Pruning Bush roses https://youtu.be/Xs7AWdI0fdo?si=ZugarR23iNpAzQdM
Rose pruning intro https://youtu.be/mF6ThdvAA2s?si=P5OBXdM1shLRHEQI