Beginner's Guide to Reviving a Neglected Rose Garden: Pruning, Feeding, and Disease Management

Resources

• Maryland Rose Society Calendar: mgs.md.gov/mdrose/calendar.html
• Book: Ortho's All About Roses (~$15) — best beginner guide.

Immediate Hard Prune (Now)

1. Remove all dead canes.
2. Remove damaged canes (dark brown lesions).
3. Remove basal canes thinner than a pencil.
4. Cut entire bush back by half.

Seasonal Care

• Fertilize at leaf-out and mid-July. Stop after mid-July (harden off for winter).
• Deadhead (snap/cut spent blooms) — encourages more flowers.
• Spray fungicide preventively on varieties that got black spot last year. Insecticide only when bugs appear.

Why Prune?

Cutting forces new growth. Old wood = decline. Annual renewal = long-lived, healthy roses.