Happy New Year folks! Now, go get those pruning shears!

Yep, that's right go get those pruning shears and get busy....if you have roses that is. So in honor of the Rose Bowl and the Tournament of Roses Parade here's a few tips on pruning roses.

I can't tell you who gave me this piece of advice when I first moved to the High Desert but someone gave me a tip that the best time to prune roses was right after the 1st of the year. Why? Well for one I was told that if pruned too early roses could possibly begin to leaf out too early which could lead to possible damage and inferior flower production due to the freezes we get here. Now how true this is I couldn't say. I can say I've never done it any other way. So I honestly don't know how true this really is. But I can also say this, in all my years of living in the desert and taking care of roses this way I have never had a problem with any rose bush I've ever grown. They have always produced healthy blooms in great abundance.

But it's more than just the timing when to prune, it's how to prune. Roses love to be pruned so you should never be afraid you are cutting them too much. In fact you can always tell when a rose bush is neglected because they just begin to look sickly and straggly. Oh and a brief side note: The only time I would say not to trim roses is in that dormant period of mid summer when roses are at rest, catching the breath for fall bloom. Do this trimming in late spring after the last bloom.

Make sure that the canes to be pruned are cut to about a foot above the bud union, which is the junction of the canes and the shank. Do this with all the "strong" canes. These canes are quite thick, robust and very healthy looking. They have a good color to them. Dark with a bright reddish hue. Make sure you cut out completely any "weak" canes which are usually quite thin and discolored. Make sure you always cut strong canes at a 45 degree angle about a have inch above all nodes. The node is that part of the cane that looks a little like your knuckle and usually will have an even darker reddish hue compared to the rest of the cane. You don't need to be nearly as precise when thinning undesirable growth.

Cut out all "cross-over" canes as well. Those are canes that cross-over the strong canes or grow towards the center of the plant. Also cut out all what are called "redundant canes". These are canes that are usually more thin and grow adjacent (parallel) to the strong canes. It really is this simple to prune roses. Oh, and don't forget the most important thing. Wear gloves! Make sure you wear good gloves preferably leather to avoid all those nasty pricks and scrapes you can get from pruning roses. Follow these simple steps and you too will be rewarded with healthy growth and abundant blooms in the spring.