If you’ve got a rose bush, you’ll probably know that deadheading (or removing the buds) from the plant can help to encourage better growth next spring.
The flowers are about to take a break over the winter, and lopping them off now can encourage better, healthier growth next year.
But after you’ve deadheaded your roses, you might want to consider another hack that some say “doubles” the number of blooms – simply bending the stems before hibernation could encourage better growth, experts say.
This is known as “training” the plants and is ideal for climbing roses.
In fact, some – like the Berkely Horticultural Nursery – feel that “training old [climbing] roses is often more important than pruning them.”
So, we thought we’d share why the trick works, and how exactly to do it.
Roses only grow on the ‘tip’ of stalks ― so the more tips, the more roses
The theory goes that creating tight bends along the stalks of your climbing roses forms new branches, thereby creating more opportunities for blooms to grow.
“The bending stimulates the formation of lateral branches or flowering spurs all along the canes, and greatly increases the number of blooms per season. If bushes are left to grow vertically, blossoms will be located only on the tips of the canes,” writes the Berkely Horticultural Nursery.
The practice also means your roses won’t grow in bunches at the top of your fence – instead, they’ll distribute the flowers evenly along your trellis or fence.
And September is the perfect time to do the task, as gardeners are advised to stop deadheading roses this month.
The bare stems are easier to manoeuvre, and the less-active plant is less likely to become shocked during its winter hibernation.
OK, so how do I do that?
After ensuring your plant is at least three years old (any younger and you could endanger it), gardeners are advised to select the strongest canes of their climbing roses before bending them.
Then, you can fasten the flowers onto the structure using twine. Another pro-approved technique involves plunging the tip of canes back down into the soil and then securing it there with a fastening peg.
You’re almost creating a fountain-like effect with your rose bush. And this will “double” the blooms, gardening expert Shirley Bovshow shared on the Home and Family Show on the Hallmark Channel.