# @txextension on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/C3X-aXLsS2N
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/65665994-txextension-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/22722fe38b.jpg
- **Posted:** 2024-02-15T16:20:05.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service (@txextension) — https://gondola.cc/txextension

## Caption

It's time to prune your roses! Valentine’s Day serves as a good reminder to gardeners across the state that it is time to think about pruning their roses.

February is typically the month to give your rosebushes the attention they need to have the most bountiful blooms down the road. Texans should consider their weather and keep an eye open for bud breaks that can vary across the state. When you start to see the buds, you need to prune them as soon as possible.

Wait too long, and your plant will have to waste resources on growth that you will just cut off. Leaving too many buds will also result in shoots that aren’t as strong.

Another key item to keep in mind when it comes to pruning your roses is wine.

“If you imagine the shape of a wineglass, that is the shape you want to prune your roses,” Larry Stein, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service horticulture specialist, said.

He explained that you should use an “open center system” when pruning roses. This means the center of your rose plants should be open like a wine bowl, with the branches in the middle of the plant pruned away.

“Your trunk is like the wineglass stem, and then you want to have your branches shaped into an open bowl,” he explained. “You’ll want just about three or four key branches to prune back to.”

Another pruning should follow later in the year, Stein said, but this first one should be the most extreme so you can stimulate vigorous growth. New shoots are what bear the flowers, so don’t be afraid to be heavy-handed with the pruners.

“Typically, the harder you prune roses, the better they do,” Stein said. “What you are doing is stimulating vegetative growth, which is where you will have flowers. It is not uncommon to have a lot of brown wood in the top of the rosebush; don’t be afraid to cut back branches, and they can even be taken all the way to the ground.”

The full garden guide for February can be found on #AgriLifeToday or by visiting the link in our bio.

--

aggie.horticulture | #TexasGardener #GardeningTips

## Stats

- **Views:** 0
- **Likes:** 23
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 0

## Tags

agrilifetoday, texasgardener, gardeningtips

---
Copyright (c) Gondola