""HOW DO YOU PRUNE ROSES IN ITALIAN GARDENS?" is a question that I hear a lot around Late Autumn, as this is the season when we generally consider pruning the roses in Britain and in many areas of the United States. However, when should you prune the roses in Italy?

The rose is a tough plant but it soon loses its vigor and will produce less and less of its beautiful flowers if we do not prune it each year. Roses soon become overgrown, woody and begin to fade if we do not take action with our secateurs (clippers). We should remove the older stems right down to the base and shorten the lateral shoots, in order to stimulate new growth and encourage flower production for the following years.

Most passionate gardeners are well aware of the basic requirements of the rose, however when we begin to garden in Italy the criteria for pruning roses changes slightly and can be quite bewildering for newcomers. The milder winters can cause the rose to begin growing earlier and a stimulating hard, autumn prune will make the rose send up new, tender, shoots from its base during the winter. The dramatic changes in air temperature that occur during the Italian winter can put those new shoots at risk thus risking the following summers flower spectacle- a risk not worth taking...!

By waiting to prune roses in most parts of Italy until the end of February to early March we will avoid the risk of our roses shooting too soon thus avoiding the coldest frosts of the bleak mid winter.
To help our rose plants recover from the prune, and to improve the soil structure, it is advisable to apply a 'Mulch' (a layer of organic material) around the base of the plant. This mulch can be provided by manure, rotted leaves or simple straw and will definitely make all the difference to the following years flower spectacle. When the rose begins throwing up its new, bright green shoots a fertilizer (preferably organic) should be applied to provide the nutrients necessary to sustain the new prolific growth.

Never give up on your rose until the final renovating prune has been tried, in order to save it, however bear in mind that the timing for the pruning of roses is slightly different in Italy.

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