Home » Plants & Animals » Rose Gardening » SRW Tip#2: Pruning Roses

SRW Tip#2: Pruning Roses

© Mark Whitelaw

Pruning roses is necessary for three important reasons: If done correctly, it reduces the likelihood of diseases. If done correctly, it promotes blooms. And if done correctly, it keeps the rose from getting "in the way." As you've already noticed, "pruning correctly" is the essential phrase.

First Rule of Pruning Roses: Don't be afraid to prune! Even if you whack away too much, there's a better-than-even chance the rose will recover. In fact, I usually prune using the "Oops Method." That is, I prune until I say, "Oops! Too much!" Then I stop pruning. (Hey! It works for me! :-))

For repeat-blooming, non-climbing roses, we usually prune in late winter or very early spring. For those who live in warmer climates, this can be done as early as January. For those who live in colder climates, this may not be done until April. For the majority of us, though, we prune our roses between late February and early March. (Note: For those who live in the Southern Hemisphere, change the months appropriately.)

For once-blooming and most climbing roses, we always prune after their first (or only) full bloom flush in the spring or early summer. This can be as late as May or June for many rosarians. If you prune these roses before they bloom, you've pruned away most of this year's blossoms. For the most part, climbing roses bloom on "last year's wood."

For Hybrid Tea, shrubform roses: Prune away all dead canes and twiggy growth, and reduce the length of the canes depending on how cold your winters get and how much freeze damage you have experienced. For those who live in colder climates, this may mean reducing the cane's length to 12 to 15 inches (30 to 38 cm). For those who live in more temperate climates, reduce the canes by about one-third of their length. On mature roses, I like to bring the canes back to 28 to 32 inches (62 to 80 cm).

When you are finished, you should have three to five canes extending out from the "bud union" — that bulbous knob from which all the canes grow. Do not leave "Y's" (branching or forking) in your canes. (Think of an inverted milking stool.) If you have planted your bud unions below soil level or you have own-root roses, the canes should extend from around the center of the shrub's root crown.

For Hybrid Floribunda and Grandiflora shrubform roses: Prune as you would for Hybrid Tea roses. However, branching or forked canes are permitted.

The copyright of the article SRW Tip#2: Pruning Roses in Rose Gardening is owned by . Permission to republish SRW Tip#2: Pruning Roses in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.