The dark art of rose pruning is beginning to take place as the plants start their journey into new growth. If you’re based in the more southernly part of the country, February is the best time for this task, whilst those further north are advised to wait until March. If you get the shakes at the thought of pruning your roses incorrectly, fear not, we’re here to instill bravery!

Roses are beautiful and generally easy-going shrubs which reward us with beauty in their colour and scent. There are shrub roses, hybrid teas, floribundas, climbing roses, and ones which ramble.

They grow well in heavy soil and need little more than a good mulch, a liquid feed from time to time, and a prune to keep them in shape and blooming strongly.

It is the pruning, however, which sends gardeners into a panic: when to prune, what to prune, and how much to prune.

Before we start, reassure yourself that roses are tough and it is unlikely that you will kill your favourite rose by pruning badly, or even by not pruning at all. Roses, though, will always respond to a proper prune.

The Pruning Basics

The first thing to remember with all rose types is the 3 Ds. With sharp secateurs, prune out dead, diseased, and damaged wood as those parts are no longer productive. That will all be easy to spot.

Then you should aim to create an open shape so there are no branches rubbing or crossing with each other as this can damage bark and introduce disease. This shape ensures good airflow for the growing season so each stem has its own space to display its blooms.

Shrub Roses

Shrub roses generally have a rounded, open bush shape with strong growth and long-lasting flowers.

In addition to the 3 Ds, cut back any twiggy growth to the main stem and open up the centre by cutting out any excess stems to let in more air and light.

And here’s the scary bit: reduce stems and branches by up to a third on established shrubs, cutting back to just above an outward-facing bud to help the rose make strong, outwards growth. Make the cut sloping away from the bud so that water runs off and does not collect above the bud.

Hybrid Teas

The aim here is usually to encourage flowering on long, strong stems so the plant should remain stocky.

After the 3 Ds, remove growth in the middle of the rose bush to create an open, chalice shape before cutting back remaining shoots to 4 to 6 buds from the point where last year’s growth began.

Top Tip: If you live in a frost-prone area and you are out pruning early, try not to cut back so severely so that if new growth is damaged by frost, there will still be buds to prune back to.

Floribunda Roses

These are pruned in the same way as hybrid teas except that the stem should be left a little longer, so with more buds, in order to form the clusters of flowers.

Climbing Roses

If your rose is climbing up a wall, pergola, or other structures, you will be trying to encourage an even shape so that all the flowers are visible.

Again, after following the 3 Ds method, cut back any stems which are growing away from the wall or structure and cannot be easily tied in. If there appears to be too many stems on the climbing rose for the space, leave the strongest stems to train in and prune out the weakest ones.

If you did not cut back flowered shoots last year after flowering, cut them back now to a few buds from the main stem.

If you are trying to train the rose to spread, you can bend down strong, new upright stems and tie them in horizontally as far as you can manage to encourage flowering growths to sprout from them.

Rambling Roses

Ramblers, although more vigorous than climbers, tend to have one glorious show a year of smaller, often single flowers.

They can become unproductive after time so after removing the dead, diseased, and damaged wood, cut out a few of the older shoots right to the base to encourage new shoots. If your rose is rambling up through trees or other structures, you will be trying to encourage spaced out, strong shoots from the base so each has room to grow on without getting tangled.

You have to be brave and take out the top third of the plant to encourage branching and more flowering.

If you want to keep restricting the overall size of a rambling rose, cut back flowered shoots in summer by two-thirds.

After Pruning

Pruned roses will appreciate a feed and a spring mulch. Clean your secateurs to avoid any spread of disease and reward yourself with a nice hot cuppa after all that bravery!