Dear Sirs,
I hope this email meets you well.
I live in Denmark but I found your webpage very useful.
My assumption is that Canadian and Danish weather may be comparable to a certain extent.
If you could consider answering my question, I would like to ask whether I should prune roses when frost is predictable but at the same time all my roses are already growing visibly. The buds have opened into small leaves already for most plants. Nevertheless, temperature will go below 0 Celsius in the following nights.
In your webpage you say to prune ” just before new growth begins and as the buds begin to swell.”
Could you recommend what to do ? Should i wait for warmer temperature or should i prune now?
Thanks in advance for your kind guidance.
Best regards
It’s not every day that we get inquiries from Denmark! We’re very pleased that you found us and are finding our site useful. Although the image that you sent to us was not very clear, it does appear that your rose has broken dormancy.
The following is an excerpt from Pruning Roses: A Toronto Master Gardeners Guide:
“Roses should be pruned in early spring at the end of the dormant season. In Toronto this is usually in April or May, just before new growth begins and as the buds begin to swell. Wait until the danger of a hard frost is past or newly pruned tips may be killed. Prune climbers and ramblers lightly after flowering.”
Here is a link to the guide:
You will need to determine whether there is still a danger of hard frost where you live. A hard frost occurs when the temperature drops below -2.22 Celsius. It will kill the top growth of most perennials and root crops. In Toronto the last frost date occurs between April 30th – May 4th.
Here is a link to more information regarding frost dates:
https://www.torontomastergardeners.ca/askagardener/first-frost/