"Perfect time for pruning is any day after the 21st June - Brian Wagner says - Rose plants are dormant in winter: no flowers, no leaves, just sticks in the ground. It’s exactly at this stage that we need to give them a good haircut.

Don’t be too afraid when you decide to prune your roses, and just follow these simple steps".

Bush Roses and Shrubs

1. Remove two thirds of each stem
2. Cut out any old and dead wood, if possible
3. In older bushes, create some space in the middle of the plant cutting out any central canes that look too close to each other or are spindly, and remove spent leaf matter from the middle of the plant
4. Prune the bush to shape.  Watch the Video.

Standard Roses

We call “Standard” a rose grafted on a straight stem, so it looks like a ball-shape on top of a stick that can be 60, 90 or 120cm high.

1. Remove one half – two third of the plant
2. Cut out any dead and old wood: it’s your new season’s wood that will produce flowers
3. Prune to the shape you like
4. Use a wire brush to remove old bark around the crown, to promote new growth.  Watch the Video.

Climbing Roses

The general pruning rule of thumb mentioned for bushes and standards can have serious consequences for a climber and the approach needs to be very different; it’s more about training and shaping the plant, than cutting and reducing its size.

1. Encourage the central canes to grow towards the trellis or the support you want to use
2. Cut out any dead or old wood, as well as spindly and crossing over canes 
3. Don’t touch the new growth, as this will give you flowers the following spring
4. Remember that the main canes form the structure of the plant and the lateral canes produce the blooms. So, the main canes should be trained from the base to the top, allowing the lateral canes to grow horizontally from the base
5. Space the lateral canes 30-40cm apart, and secure them on the support with a soft tie or any material that won’t cut into the rose cane
6. Look at the number of the main canes, decide which ones can be removed and leave as many as required to fill in the area (normally around 5 or 6)
7. Cut out the surplus lateral canes

For all kind of roses, always remember these two important tips:

• Do not prune roses on a wet or rainy day, as the cut area won’t have that protective layer of woody cells that normally form in dry conditions, and use a fungal spray after pruning.
• Be sure to clean up all the cut wood from beneath the rose you’ve just pruned, to avoid any potential disease during the growing season.

On www.wagnersrosenursery.com.au you’ll find some tutorial videos of Brian pruning his roses.

Planting

• Prepare your rose bed. The bed should be in a sunny position, free from competition from shrubs and trees. Enrich the soil with fertiliser and compost. Clay soil will need gypsum. Watch the video on how to prepare the soil for your new roses.
• Dig a hole, approximately 30cm x 30cm x 30cm. You could place a handful of organic fertiliser at the bottom of the hole. Make sure you have a buffer of soil between the roots and fertiliser to prevent root burn. 
• Leave your bare root rose in a bucket of water for 24 hours before planting.
• Put the rose in the hole, making sure the bud union (where the rose is grafted) is around 2-3cm above ground level. 
• Backfill with soil until the hole is half full. Add a bucket of water. Fill the rest of the hole with soil when the water has drained away and water again. 

Watch the video on how to plant a bare root rose.

Watering and Fertilising 

A baby rose needs more attention and to be fed more often, to get ready for spring time.

• Make sure your just planted bare root rose receives 20 liters of water 3 times a week.
• Do not fertilise it until the plant grows a canopy of leaves. When you have leaves on the plant, fertilise a little and often: sprinkle on and water. 
• Try to use different fertilisers. New roses are like children: they need a varied diet and lots of TLC in their first year.

(in the picture: Cote d'Azur, Delbard French rose)

Iceberg is one of the most popular floribunda roses in Australia, and for very good reasons. 

Iceberg roses are extremely reliable in all climate, and they continuously produce an abundance of rosette flowers throughout Spring, Summer and Autumn.

They are not fussy with soil type and can handle a bit of shade; they are disease resistant and as established plants can tolerate reduced watering. 

Bees and beneficial insects are attracted to their rapid and continuous flowering.

Iceberg roses are available in 4 beautiful colours: White (available also as a climbing rose), Blushing pink, Brilliant pink and Burgundy, so you are able to get the benefit of a hardy and reliable rose in the colour suitable for your landscape.

We are often asked if there's an evergreen rose, that doesn't lose any leaves during winter time.

The old fashioned Rosa Laevigata is a vigorous climber, and probably the best variety we grow looking green and nice even in winter time.

Rosa Laevigata flowers in spring time only, but its leaves grow all year round.

(in the picture: a young Rosa Laevigata growing on the fence of our rose farm and photographed just a few days ago)