Pruning Roses
Pruning Roses
The best time to prune roses is during winter months. Use the time without leaves to get a better look at the shrub shape to determine where to thin and where to make hard pruning cuts. Read on for our tips to prune your roses successfully.
BASIC PRUNING:
- Remove dead and damaged canes. Dead canes should be removed back to the crown.
- Starting from the base and working your way up, remove all weak and spindly growth.
- Remove any suckers away from the trunk or root of the shrub.
- Always cut about one quarter inch above an outside facing bud. There are two schools of thought about an angled cut vs. a flat cut. We suggest that either is okay.
HYBRID TEA, GRANDIFLORA & FLORIBUNDA:
Maintain three to six strong, healthy, and uniformly spaced canes. Remove overlapping interior growth to allow good air circulation and light saturation. Prune annually.
SHRUB AND ENGLISH:
Maintain six to eight strong canes. Prune lightly during the first two years. As shrubs mature, remove twiggy old growth. Cut back the rose removing about one third of the shrub.
TREE ROSE:
Prune all canes above the graft to eight to twelve inches, or about half their length.
MINIATURE & CARPET ROSES:
Prune to maintain shape only.
CLIMBING ROSE:
- Don’t prune for the first two years (unless removing dead or diseased canes).
- Climbers: Prune flowering laterals to three-to-six inches or three-to-four buds.
- Ramblers: Remove two-year-old canes to their origin after flowering. Shape the head symmetrically. Pinch off shoots from trunk.
