Roses can easily “double” in numbers come spring if one very simple task is followed now, according to a gardener on social media.
TikTok gardener Tom (@tommybeevoice) claims the tip encourages climbing roses to “flower like crazy” in a video that racked up more than 3,500 likes.
He explained to his followers that training roses with a very tight bend restricts sap flow and causes loads of buds to form.
When asked by one of his viewers to post a separate tutorial, he took hold of a vertical climbing shoot and bent it at a sharp angle, adding that he would then “tie it to a nail or fence, with a piece of twine” which takes less than a minute to do.
Training roses with this technique not only increases the number of flowers but also stops them from growing in clusters at the top of the trellis.
Gardening expert Shirley Bovshow previously endorsed the trick when she appeared on the Eden Maker YouTube channel to discuss growing more flowers in a rose plant.
“I’m going to show you guys a special technique for training your roses in a bent way that is going to force it to multiply in flowers instead of a climber that just has flowers on the top,” she told her viewers.
Braving the thorns, the expert took on the large shoot and pulled the tip down to the soil before pinning it down with a landscape pin.
According to Shirley, bending the shoots not only slows down the circulation of sap but also promotes new flowering shoots by exposing the nodes.
She said: “If you peg and do this to your climbing rose, you’re going to have at least double the amount of rose flowers.”
When should I bend my rose shoots? Because gardeners should stop deadheading their roses in September, the months after present the perfect opportunity to start bending bare shoots.
Using a sharp pruner, follow the spent bloom down the stem to a set of five leaves, and cut the flower stem back to just above it.
Master gardener Erin Schanen, creator of The Impatient Gardener, told Martha Stewart: “Ideally, you want this set of five leaves to be having outward so you encourage outward growth, and allow for good airflow for the plant.
“You won’t get more flowers at that point, but you’ll be able to enjoy the colourful hips.”
