If the thought of pruning a rose leaves you cold, help is at hand. Here are our tips to make the job fly by. The first question is – why prune? Flowers appear on canes, which grow from the base of the plant. After flowering stems weaken and eventually die. Pruning gets rids of old stems and encourages new flower-bearing canes. So that’s why we do it.
Have no fear - it is better to prune too much rather than too little! It is important not to be apprehensive about this aspect of rose growing. Roses are tough, forgiving plants and grow best with savage cut backs!
Before you begin, invest in some quality secateurs, soft leather gloves up to your elbows, and antiseptic solution to dip the blades after each cut.
How far to prune a shrub rose
Cut 60% off the top of the bush, and remove all old, weak and dead stems back to the stump. Imagine the bush is a vase and remove all growth in the centre of the vase. Cut back stems to a height that suits you, anything from 30 – 60cm works well. Cut weak roses back less severely than vigorous roses.
Pruning FAQ
Here are answers to the questions we are most often asked.
What happens if I don’t prune?
Nothing serious. The rose will keep growing, though it will flower less, and they will be on spindly weak stems.
What happens if I prune too late?
Nothing serious but too late and you will have to prune off new shoots, which wastes the plant’s energy and sets the rose back a little for spring flowering.
When should I prune my climbing rose?
Don’t prune climbing roses for a few years after planting. Allow them to get into a rhythm of flowering and observe this pattern. Then prune back the laterals, (these are the small side-stems that flower) to a solid framework after flowering. Every few years you can remove the oldest cane at the base and allow a new water shoot to replace it. Remove wayward growth at any time.
How do I make a pruning cut?
Just cut 1cm above a bud or node on a 45-degree angle. Pruning to an outward-facing bud is also helpful as it opens up the centre of the rose and allows the air in which minimises fungal problems.
What do I do with a water shoot?
A water shoot is the new structure of your rosebush that should be encouraged. Every few years remove the oldest, thickest, most unproductive stem, right down at the base, so your rose is being continually renewed.
What do I do when I see a sucker?
A sucker comes from below the graft union: it is the understock shooting. If you allow it to grow it will take vigour from your rose and eventually you will lose the grafted variety on top as the rootstock has more vigour. So when you see shoots from below
the graft prune them out.
Should I feed the same day I winter prune?
No, we suggest waiting for six weeks, until the soil has warmed and your rose is coming into new growth. However we like to condition the soil around our roses with seaweed granules (Maxicrop, Seamungus and Eco-seaweed).
My roses never stop flowering, so when do I prune?
Bite the bullet in late July-August, even if it means pruning off some flower heads.
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