![]() ![]() If you prefer a hand pruner specifically for cutting roses, he suggests, look for one with a “cut and hold” feature that makes it easiest to retrieve stems once you’ve cut them.” I keep mine on me all the time so it’s handy for cutting flowers and for quick maintenance too. “They’re quite small, and fit easily in a pocket. His personal favorite is Felco’s #6 bypass pruner, a first choice of many florists, with a small cutting head that reaches easily into dense bushes. For cutting flowers and light deadheading, he uses a small hand pruner-or secateur, as they’re known in England. Higher quality tools have sharper cutting edges that stay sharp longer, and often worn parts and blades can be replaced. Their ability to take up plenty of water is the key to keeping them fresh.” Good cutting tools, he insists, are not a place to skimp. “The idea is to cut the stems neatly without compressing their water uptake channels. “For cutting single roses or clusters of blooms, choose better-quality garden scissors or, better yet, hand pruners with sharp blades,” says Marriott. According to Michael Marriott, technical director of David Austin Roses of Albrighton, UK, there are several ways to lengthen the vase life of cut flowers, especially roses, beginning with how you cut them. Now, it’s up to you to help them stay fresh longer, as they make the trip from bush to the vase. You grew them: that’s part of their allure. ![]() Photo: David Austin Roses Tips for Keeping Cut Garden Rosesįresh no-cut roses are fresher than the ones you cut from your own garden. With permission from David Austin Roses, here is the article about Michael. I enjoyed them and so asked permission to share one of them with you. Michael recently was interviewed for a series of articles on cutting garden roses to bring them in the house. Michael’s rose-growing philosophy is similar to mine, and we’ve always enjoyed comparing notes and discussing roses-mainly why we shouldn’t fuss over them so much. Michael Marriott is the technical manager and senior rosarian for David Austin Roses, which is a fancy title for simply saying he knows a lot about roses! I first met Michael around 10 years ago, and we’ve stayed in steady touch ever since. ![]() There are a couple of simple things you can do. When they are also fragrant, so much the better! A cutting garden of roses is wonderful to draw from for floral arrangements, but you’ll want to know how to keep your cut rose blooms looking fresh for as long as possible. Be it a single bloom in a vase, an arrangement, or blooms floating in bowls on the table, roses brighten up any room. One of the joys of growing roses is bringing them in the house. ![]()
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