Question
Jay,

We have had a very warm winter here in GA and before we could do the pruning on our one year old rose gardens, some new growth has appeared.  Should we still prune as we normally would?  We have learned from various sources that cutting back the weaker canes and removing 1/3 to 1/2 of the growth of the stronger canes is how to proceed.  All of our roses are of the hybrid tea variety.

Thanks in advance,

Jim

Answer
Hi Jim.

This has been a crazy warm something.

I have new growth that is about one inch long on our roses as well.  I am going to prune approximately 1/3 down the canes  and come back and cut some more later to about 1/2 the original height 18- 24 inches for the hybrid teas.  This is to allow for any extreme cold that may suddenly drop in on us.  It will kill the top growth and still leave you with healthy canes to cut back to without having to cut so much off the plant.  

I would remove any canes smaller than a pencil thickness as they will not produce anything.  

I hope this gives you some direction.  If you need more information, please contact me.

Thanks,

Jay