EFFECT OF DIFFERENT PRUNING DATES ON GROWTH AND FLOWERING OF Rosa centifolia.

Flower production is generally correlated with pruning of flowering plants. The present research work aimed to explore the ideal date of pruning which produce plants with excellent growth and flowering characteristics of Rosa centifolia during winter months where most scented flowers are disappear and marketing is lucrative. Pruning experiment was carried out on most important rose flower specie Rosa centifolia at Faisalabad during 2010-2012. The experiment was laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with five different pruning dates during winter months i.e. second week of December, end of December, second week of January, end of January and second week of February. Plants that were pruned during the end of December dominate all growth parameters (plant height, number and length of branches, days to first bud emergence and number of buds plant -1) and flowering characteristics (number, diameter and weight of flowers) that were studied in this experiment. Overall plant growth was also the best in plants when pruned at the end of December. It seems all dates of pruning during winter improve plant growth and development but end of December proved best pruning time in Rosa centifolia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]