Question
I live in central OK. I have 3 double knock outs that have grown too large, in spite of being trimmed by the 1/3 rule every year. How much should I prune them. I am getting conflicting info. The advice has always been "remove 1/3 of the height and 1/3 of the dead wood each year." This has bailed to keep them a reasonable size. Now I am seeing advice to trim them drastically, back to 2 feet from the  ground. This will leave only old wood. Will there be any buds to produce new growth?

These bushes badly need to be trimmed back, but I don't want to kill them.

Thanks

Jo

Answer
Hi Jo,

You may prune them back to 2 feet once it is the correct time to prune your roses in OK.  Pruning them to that height will not hurt them but will 'trigger' them to put up new canes to replace older canes as time goes by.  

When you do prune them this hard in the spring, cut above an 'eye' this is where the new growth will originate from for your spring blooms.  And do not worry if you do not get it exact- the plant knows what to do better than we do.

We prune nearly 5,000 rose plants each year to 2 feet and they always come back

The American Rose Society has some good articles on pruning.  www.ars.org  

If you need some more help, please send another question.

Thanks,

Jay