Pruning your roses has to be one of the most necessary and the most bothersome and difficult tasks that goes with proper rose care. It requires a steady hand and the proper method to get the best possible roses that you can.

Pruning your roses is basically the task of removing any damaged or dead pieces, and teaching the new growth to grow in the ideal outward looking direction. That just means that you are teaching to grow facing the outside of the bush or shrub. This allows the roses the ideal amount of circulating air to flourish in.

The following is a list of the proper techniques to assist through the pruning operation.
* Hand shears are the best tool for pruning the smaller branches about 4 inches thick) Loppers are ideal for the branches that are thicker or the thickness of a pencil. This will make it easier.
* It is a good idea to soak your pruning shears in equal parts of water and bleach. This will help to protect your roses from diseases and insects.
* Pruning in the early spring, soon after the snow melts is best. Certainly you want to do it before any new growth appears. The best time would be when the buds are swollen, or red.
* It’s best to wear a heavy pair of rose gloves to protect your hands from scratches.
* You should get rid of the winter protection that you set up like mounded soil, cones and burlap.
* Your first pruning task is to cut out all the dead wood. (That would be the black wood that is black inside as well as out).
* Next, you need to cut out the thinner wood, which is the stems that are thinner than a pencil.
* It’s best to cut back all of the branches that cross or overlap one another as these may be diseased or will become so.
* Keep the remaining healthy branches. These are likely to be dark green. You will want to make your roses fluted or vases shaped, with an open center, and prevent them from touching or overlapping one another.
* Prune the healthy canes to be about one to four feet long, or whatever length that you prefer.
* Cut you roses properly so that they stay healthy. Cut so that the bud is facing outside of the bush and at a 45 degree angle that angles inward so that you can continue to encourage the outward growth.
* You should use bypass pruners that work like scissors and not the anvil types as the anvils crush the stems and make the roses more predisposed to diseases.

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