Can I prune my roses now?

It’s time to tell your roses -- knock it off! Stop blooming and get some rest.

In warm-winter climates (such as Southern California), roses will bloom through December and January, then straight into spring. Bushes never go fully dormant.

We’re experiencing something similar in Sacramento. Warm days in October and November triggered late bloom cycles. Barring a hard frost, I’m pretty sure I’ll have fresh roses for Christmas.

Instead of cutting more bouquets, I should be starting my winter pruning. (And yes, winter bouquets are a side benefit of tackling this chore.)

If roses are never or rarely pruned, bushes become thickets and overall unhealthy. They grow crazy, crisscrossed canes; poor air circulation around canes can lead to fungal disease outbreaks.

Stems sprout upon stems until any blooms are far out of reach. You can’t smell the roses if they’re blooming far over your head.

When roses refuse to stop flowering, prune them anyway. You’ll thank yourself next spring when your bushes produce bigger and more abundant blooms.

The best time to prune in Sacramento usually is between mid December and Valentine’s Day. Colder weather coaxes roses into dormancy during that period. Their spent blooms will develop into rose hips, the rose’s fruit. They’ll finally drop their leaves – and any remains of fungal infections.

Pruning fosters a healthier environment for roses. It revitalizes the bush and resets its biological clock. It improves air flow (which combats fungal disease such as powdery mildew, rust and black spot) and eliminates dead wood (which could be harboring pests). It allows the rose to be the best it can be.

Whether you’re a longtime rose grower or a novice with a few bushes, here are some helpful tips and reminders:

* Before you prune, take time to get your tools in order. Use “bypass” pruners or loppers; as you prune, one blade passes by the other to create a cleaner cut and not bruise the stem or branch. (The alternative is anvil pruners, which pinch the stems.)

* Sharpen your pruners and long-handled loppers before you start cutting. Sharp tools make clean cuts that heal quickly.

* Another must-have tool: Disinfectant. This can be Lysol spray (or similar) or wipes. Between each bush, spray or wipe your pruner and lopper blades. That quick dose of disinfectant can save lots of future grief; while pruning, it eliminates the inadvertent spread of disease from one bush to another.

* Prune taller. Instead of taking a bush to the ground (or nearly so), prune hybrid tea bushes to about waist high – 3 feet tall. You’ll have blooms sooner next spring because the bush doesn’t have to take weeks to regrow to its basic size.

* But do prune. If not pruned, the bush’s new growth will be on top of its old growth and tangled into a prickly mess. The bush can easily reach 8 to 10 feet tall – and probably become too big for its space.

* When pruning, remove ALL the remaining foliage on each bush. Those old leaves often carry fungal spores that will infect spring growth shortly after it appears.

* After pruning, rake up all the fallen leaves and other debris under the bush and remove it. Don’t compost it; it likely contains lots of fungal spores that you don’t want to recycle into your garden.

* Once they’re pruned, surround your roses with fresh mulch, 1 to 2 inches deep. Aged compost works well. So do small wood chips or dried tree leaves. Avoid mounding mulch over the graft where the bush’s budwood is attached to its rootstock. Otherwise, the rootstock is likely to sprout. That mulch also protects the bush’s tender roots from any frost danger.

* Put off fertilizing until late February. Right now, you want your roses to rest up for the bloom-filled year ahead.

* Get some expert advice and hands-on training at the Sierra Foothills Rose Society’s annual Winter Rose Care Workshop at the Orangevale Grange Auditorium, 5807 Walnut Ave., Orangevale. Set for 9 a.m. Jan. 11, this free event covers all aspects of rose pruning, then wraps up with lunch – a chili cookoff! No advance registration necessary and the public is welcome.