How to Prune your Roses
We wanted to share with you our own advice as to how to prune one of Britain’s most loved flowers, ensuring they look spectacular again when they bloom during the summer months.
A key question we hear time and time over is What are Okatsune Secateurs used for? One of the key tasks is for pruning roses! They can cut through any branches up to a 25mm thickness. Nevertheless, they are not loppers and should not be used for harder woody cuts.
We’d always recommend using our Okatsune Secateurs, if you haven’t invested in a pair yet pop them on your list of ‘must have gardening tools’, they are such a great tool for the majority of the pruning tasks in your garden. Our 103’s are a great all-rounder, however a pair of 101 ‘s are more compact for a smaller hand whilst still offering the same great quality. The bypass secateur blades unlike anvil secateurs work together to ensure a clean, sharp cut. They are lovely and lightweight meaning longer pruning sessions are made easy! Especially if you’ve an abundance of roses to prune.
So, you’ve got your secateurs now for the important bit:
1. Remove dead, damaged or diseased wood, and always remember to cut to an outward facing bud, this encourages outward growth ensuring that the bush is shaped evenly ensuring a perfect flowering Rose during the summertime.
2. Don’t’ be scared to remove any main stems that are starting to lose their vitality doing this will only encourage further growth.
3. And lastly whilst admiring all your hard work remember to remove any thin or twiggy stems that are unlikely to provide any further growth or fresh buds to your rose bush.
The work may be done now comes the question…
How can I maintain the quality of my blades?
Always make sure to wipe the blades clean with a cloth. If you’ve any sticky sap on them after pruning, this can be removed using a few drops of olive oil and crucially make sure to dry them thoroughly to ensure there is no rust build up on your blades. It’s also a good idea to pop a small drop of oil on to the blades after cleaning; camellia oil or olive oil is ideal and isn’t too greasy, it helps with any corrosion and keeps the moving parts working perfectly. Always keep your Okatsune Secateurs stored in a dry, well-ventilated area in a sheath or blade cover to further protect the blades
Doing this after each use will only ensure their longevity.
Don’t forget...
You can also keep the Japanese Izumo Yasugi steel blades sharp by regularly using one of our Okatsune Whetstones. Keeping the blades super sharp means, they will give the best performance and ensure little strain to the hands and plants.
We hope our handy tips and advice help you get those all important jobs done in the garden.
Happy pruning!
