April in the Rose Garden
- Test soil pH; adjust if necessary
- Plant container roses
- Plant bare-root roses
- Transplant roses
- Remove winter protection no earlier than April 10th (with good weather forcasts thru April 15th). After removing winter protection:
- Prune roses
- Hybrid Teas - prune back to live wood, cutting about 1/4 inch above an outward growing bud and about 10 to 12 inches above the ground.
- Shrub Roses - remove dead, diseased, and damaged wood and prune lightly to shape.
- Climbing Roses - remove dead, diseased, and damaged wood and any old canes that will not add much to summer bloom
- Fertilize after pruning with a high-nitrogen fertilizer to give plants a boost
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