Criticism from a master gardener changed how I prune my roses

I took a pruning class at the local garden center in Austin last spring... the instructor, this older lady named Carol, stopped me halfway through and said I was being too timid with my cuts. She explained that leaving those weak little branches just wastes the plant's energy. Now I get bold and cut back to strong outward facing buds, and my bushes have never bloomed better. Has anyone else gotten feedback that totally shifted their approach to a specific plant?

3 comments

3 Comments

lunaf677d ago

Man, I was the same way. I used to think being gentle with my cuts was being careful but it just made everything leggy and sad. Finally tried cutting back hard on my knockout roses last year and they actually got bushy instead of looking like stick figures.

elizabeths517d ago

Yeah @lunaf67, cutting mine back to 12 inches last spring made them bloom like crazy!

carter.casey7d ago

Stick figures" is exactly what I called mine! I felt like a plant murderer the first time I hacked mine back but now I'm like, chop chop baby, grow or go home lol.