When I got home this evening there was still a bit of light so I decided to start the pruning process for my rose bushes.

I typically have three stages in my pruning process. See Winter Pruning and Winter Pruning II. This evening I only completed the first stage.

In the first stage of pruning I cut back the longest canes and get the bush down to a manageable volume.

Here is my Mr. Lincoln rose bush which I planted earlier this year. You can see that it had a lot of growth this year. See Mister Lincoln Rose II for what it looked like when I planted it earlier this year.

Here are some of my other rose bushes. You can see that they were very tall this year. You can also see that there are some blooms still remaining on the bushes.

Here is a closeup of one of the nice yellow blooms on my St. Patrick rose bush.

I picked four of the nicest blooms and put them in a vase and they are now sitting on top of a bookshelf.

The first stage does not require you to easily see what you are doing which was good since it was getting dark. I was able to finish the first stage, but will need to pick up all the cuttings tomorrow when I can see what I am doing.

Next up is the second stage where I do the detail pruning. In this stage I cut out all the dead wood and also thin out the base of the rose bush.

Stage three will be done in late January where I further prune the rose once it starts to grow leaves.

Steven