• Prune modern hybrids and bush roses up to early March. Use sharp shears that will make clean cuts. Remove dead, dying, and weak canes. Leave 4 to 8 healthy canes, and remove approximately one-half of the top growth and height of the plant.
• Wait after the spring flowering period to prune climbing or once-blooming shrub roses.
• Earth-Kind® Roses are the easiest and lowest maintenance roses to adorn your garden. Such selections include Belinda’s Dream, a wonderful pink rose and the red Knock-Out Rose. More information about Texas A&M University’s Earth-Kind® Rose Program may be found at: http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/earthkind/roses/.
• When pruning shrubs, first prune out any dead or damaged branches; then thin out by removing about one-third of the canes or stems at ground level. Removing only the oldest canes; and lastly, shape the rest of the plant, but do not cut everything back to the same height.
  
  

David Rodriguez is the County Extension Agent-Horticulture with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service in Bexar County. For more information, call the Master Gardener “Hotline” (210) 467-6575 or visit our County Extension website at http://bexar-tx.tamu.edu.