How And When Should I Prune My Roses?

Do you have a variety of modern garden roses?

Do you have climbing roses in your garden?

Do you have rambling roses (ramblers) in your garden?

Do you have miniature roses in your garden?

Do you have shrub roses in your garden?

Shrub roses can be pruned during late winter when growth is just resuming. Deadheading is carried out in summer after flowering. Do you have shrub roses that have a single flush of flowers?

Do you have groundcover roses in your garden?

Do you have shrub-type groundcover roses?

Old roses do not need the hard pruning that can ruin their graceful shape and severely reduce their flowering. Preserve the informal habit of old garden roses by removing no more than one-third of each bush. Generally, remove only the oldest stems that are no longer productive. Most old garden roses bloom once in a season. Prune immediately after bloom to keep old roses under control and vigorous. Leave some of the bright red hips for fall and winter color.

Climbers are routinely pruned between December and February after the flowers have faded. 1) First remove dead, diseased or dying branches; 2) Then tie in any new shoots needed to fill supports; 3) Prune any flowered side shoots back by two-thirds of their length; 4) If the plant is heavily congested, cut out any really old branches from the base to promote new growth.

Ramblers must be pruned to remove winter damage and dead wood, and shaped to keep their size in check. Ramblers bloom only once and can be pruned right after flowering, all the way back to 2 to 3-inch-long canes if you wish. They quickly regrow so they won't lose any flowers the following season. Deadheading can be done whenever flowers have faded unless hips are a particular feature.

Pruning of miniature roses is usually limited to the shortening back of any weak growths, removal of dead or twiggy growth, and occasional pruning back of older growths to near soil level to encourage vigor from the base.

Prune in late summer once flowering is completed. Keep the plants free of dead, diseased and damaged wood, crossing or rubbing branches, or spindly growth.

Maintain a balanced framework of repeat-flowering shrub roses by reducing strong new growth in late winter by up to one-third. Shorten strong side shoots to two or three buds. Mature plants require a light renewal pruning each winter by cutting some of the older main stems back to the base.

These small shrubs need little or no routine pruning, but when they outgrow their situation, you should take following steps: 1) Hard prune any wayward upright growths to within their allotted space; 2) Reduce strong shoots by about one-third; 3) Shorten side shoots back to two or three buds 4) When they become too large and congested they can be renovated by pruning to near ground level, about 4 inches from the base in late winter.

Rambler groundcover roses can be pruned by 1) Shortening the side shoots in summer (after flowering) to prevent the rose from becoming too large; 2) If they do become too large and congested they can be renovated as for shrub type groundcover roses.

Hybrid teas, floribundas and grandifloras are pruned in the early spring just as the buds begin to swell. Prune hard if you want large blooms suitable for cut flowers. This will produce fewer total blooms. In the spring, cut out all but three to five of the healthiest, most vigorous canes. Prune these canes down to 15 to 18 inches from ground level.