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When to prune roses in spring


How to Prune Roses

By

Marie Iannotti

Marie Iannotti

Marie Iannotti is a life-long gardener and a veteran Master Gardener with nearly three decades of experience. She's also an author of three gardening books, a plant photographer, public speaker, and a former Cornell Cooperative Extension Horticulture Educator. Marie's garden writing has been featured in newspapers and magazines nationwide and she has been interviewed for Martha Stewart Radio, National Public Radio, and numerous articles.

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Updated on 09/13/22

Reviewed by

Julie Thompson-Adolf

Reviewed by Julie Thompson-Adolf

Julie Thompson-Adolf is a master gardener and author. She has 13+ years of experience with year-round organic gardening; seed starting and saving; growing heirloom plants, perennials, and annuals; and sustainable and urban farming.

Learn more about The Spruce's Review Board

The Spruce / Adrienne Legault  

In This Article

Project Overview

Pruning roses can be intimidating to gardeners since cutting back beautiful growth seems counterintuitive and can be downright painful if the plant is unruly. But, the practice actually creates a vital plant, as pruning encourages new growth, removes old, dead wood, helps shape the plant, and reduces the chances of fungal disease by opening the rose plant up to airflow.

While becoming an accomplished rose pruner takes time and practice, don't let that deter you; skilled gardeners agree that it's very hard to kill a rose bush and most mistakes will grow out quickly. Plus, it is better to make mistakes in the learning process than to let your roses grow rampant, creating a big mess in your garden down the road.

Watch Now: Tips and Tricks for Pruning Roses

When to Prune Roses

In most regions, roses should be pruned between late winter and early spring before blooms start to show. Timing your pruning is determined by the class of the rose plant and the hardiness zone in which it grows. Watch the leaf buds on your rose plant. When they begin to swell and take on a pink or reddish hue, it's time to prune. Timing it right is critical, as it's best to prune the plant before the buds break open and right after hard frosts have ended in your region. However, certain roses are finicky about pruning time and prefer to be cut back before breaking dormancy.

Warning

Make sure before completing this project that you have thick gardening gloves that cover your arms, canvas pants or jeans, and a long-sleeved shirt or canvas jacket. Thorn pricks from rose stems can cause a variety of bacterial and fungal infections, one of which (sporotrichosis) carries the common name "rose-picker's disease. " These infections can be surprisingly serious, so it is best to avoid thorn injury by wearing protective clothing.

Where to Prune Roses

The most obvious areas to prune on rose bushes are the dead, woody remains of flowering stalks. These dead canes may have snapped under the weight of snow or simply succumbed to a harsh winter. The less obvious canes to prune include those that are spindly or have shoots that extend well beyond your desired growing region. The ultimate goal is to maintain a "V" formation, or vase shape, between several, evenly spaced major canes that sprout from the ground.

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Before Getting Started

The proper pruning specifications vary depending on the type and classification of your rose bush. Make sure you understand the particularities of your rose's variety before you prune.

Roses that Bloom Once on New Wood

Modern roses like hybrid tea, grandiflora, and floribundas bloom best on the current season's growth. Prune hard in the spring (1/2 to 2/3 of the plant's height) and remove all old woody stems. Create an open vase shape with the remaining canes by removing the center stems and any crossing branches. Leave three to five healthy canes evenly spaced around the plant, cut at various lengths, to encourage continuous blooming.

Roses that Bloom Once on Old Wood

Ramblers like the "Malvern Hills" and "Snow Goose" rose 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 canes if you wish. They quickly regrow, so don't worry, as you won't lose any flowers the following season.

Repeat Bloomers

Shrub rose bushes, like the Knock Out varieties and 'The Fairy', are repeat bloomers, flowering on mature—but not old—woody stems. Leave them unpruned to increase vigor in the first two years, and then remove 1/3 of the oldest canes, in addition to any dead, diseased, or dying canes.

Climbers, like the 'William Baffin' rose, may repeat bloom, as well. Prune this bush early to remove winter damage and deadwood. Then, prune again after flowering to shape the bush and keep its size in check. Remove old and weakened long canes, as needed.

Equipment / Tools

Materials

The Spruce / Adrienne Legault 

  1. Begin Pruning From the Ground Up

    In the spring, take inventory of your rose bush, noting its overall health and shape. Then go low, pruning off dead canes at the base and opening up the center of the plant to allow light and air circulation.

    The Spruce / Adrienne Legault  

  2. Remove Broken, Dead, and Diseased Wood

    Follow old wood down the cane to a location that looks healthy (or green). Cut it at a 45-degree angle, taking care to expose the white flesh inside. If the flesh is not white, cut lower until you reach healthy flesh.

    The Spruce / Adrienne Legault  

  3. Remove Twiggy Canes

    Remove canes that are thinner than a pencil. These canes will grow gangly and produce very few blossoms.

    The Spruce / Adrienne Legault 

  4. Remove Sucker Growth Below the Graft

    A sucker is any new vertical growth that extends from the main canes. Suckers can also pop out of the ground. Suckers will contain no flowers at all or flowers that are inferior to those growing from grafted branches (canes that have fused together). Trim these at the ground or below the spot where the main branches fuse.

    The Spruce / Adrienne Legault  

  5. Prune New Growth

    Prune new growth to shape the plant to your desired look. Make clean cuts at a 45-degree angle, about 1/4 inch above a bud that is facing toward the outside of the plant.

    The Spruce / Adrienne Legault  

  6. Seal Cuts With White Glue (Optional)

    If cane borers are a problem in your area, seal any major cuts with white glue.

    James Solomon / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 3.0 US

Rose Pruning Tips

How to Prepare for Rose Bloom Season

When to Prune Roses

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Q: Last year, we moved into a home with some beautiful rose bushes on the property, but I know very little about how to care for roses. Should they be pruned regularly and if so, when?

Roses have a reputation for being finicky to grow, but regular pruning is necessary to keep them healthy. Pruning will help your plants produce more blooms throughout the season, lessen the chance for diseases to occur, and give you a healthier plant all around.

Although it might seem intimidating to make the first cut, the task is straightforward once you understand the process and when you should do it. Roses only need significant pruning once a year and sometimes a light pruning prior to winter. However, knowing when to prune a rose will depend on its bloom time. If you prune at the wrong time, you will get few to no blooms for the season.

RELATED: 8 Pretty Plants That Stink!

Do a major pruning in the early spring.

In general, most pruning takes place in early spring before the new growth buds swell (bud eyes). However, if you live in a warm climate, that might happen in late winter. Many gardeners time their pruning based on when forsythia shrubs begin to bloom in their area. It’s best to time your pruning based on the variety of rose plants and your hardiness zone. Some types do better if pruned before breaking dormancy.

It’s always best to follow the growing and maintenance recommendations of your specific variety of roses. There are more than 300 species in the Rosa genus and several thousand varieties available. However, roses are often classified into types or categories: old garden roses, wild (species) roses, and modern roses.

Old garden roses and wild roses typically bloom once, and you should prune them in the summer after their bloom cycle has finished. The same goes for most climbing varieties. However, modern shrub roses are bred for multiple blooms and usually do best with spring pruning. Do the research and identify your variety first before you make any cuts.

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Cut off dead flowers in the summertime.

Deadheading refers to the removal of spent blossoms. This step ensures that your plant will continue to produce more flowers instead of going to seed, and keeps the overall plant looking tidy. To deadhead, cut off the spent bloom just below where the base of the flower joins the stem.

As the season progresses, you can deadhead further in larger sections. Cut the stem above a 5-leaflet or 7-leaflet branch stem once the cluster of flowers is spent. Deadhead as needed throughout the flowering season to encourage more growth. In the spring or late winter, you can prune to address the overall shape of the rose or dead branches before the next growing season.

Prune all once-blooming types in the early summer.

First of all, identify the correct variety or cultivar you have. Once-blooming types include heritage/old garden roses and wild roses that only bloom once a season. The blooms form on the previous year’s canes. If you prune these varieties in the spring, you remove most or all of the flower buds. Prune once-blooming types right after blooming in early summer.

Once-blooming roses also benefit from deadheading and can be pruned in the same manner as described in the deadheading section above. However, don’t jump the gun on the hard prune. It’s best to wait until the plant has completely bloomed out before making any cuts.

RELATED: Managing 3 Common Problems Faced by Roses

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Trim longer stems right after the first frost in the fall.

Pruning roses in the fall is a hot topic for some gardeners. There’s one school of thought that says you should never do so or you will stimulate growth, only to have it die off when the cold weather arrives. Others say the fall season is the perfect time to prune any dead, broken, or diseased branches.

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Again, it depends on the specific rose variety you are growing and your climate. For the most part, you can prune away dead, damaged, and diseased stems any time of the year. In the hottest climates, you can encourage a second burst of blooming with a summer prune. Check with local plant experts for timing.

Otherwise, make any cuts on healthy branches late enough in the fall season to avoid causing the plant to send out tender shoots that can’t survive in winter. After the first frost is typically a safe time to prune the stems before the plant heads into dormancy, but it depends on the climate in your area.

Prepare your rose for winter.

Keep up with deadheading as long as your plant continues to produce blooms, but stop about 8 to 10 weeks before your first frost date. This step will help any new growth harden off naturally before winter. Leaving some flowers can encourage development of rose hips, the red balls beneath the flowers that hold the seeds. Let them be; they offer added interest to your fall and winter garden and provide food for birds over the winter.

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If your roses are still pretty tall at this point, cut them back to 4 or 5 feet high and then thin out any broken branches to help reduce wind damage in late fall and winter.

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Pruning roses in spring - tips for beginner growers (with video)

In the new season, work in the flower garden begins with the removal of shelter and spring pruning of shrubs and flowers. Particular attention should be paid to roses, because without careful care they will not be able to please you with spectacular flowering, or even die altogether.

An important role is played by sanitary pruning of plants to a healthy (green) tissue. Cut roses of all kinds in spring. At this time, it is necessary to remove all old, dry, weak and frozen shoots so that the plant does not waste its strength on them, but seeks to grow new ones, on which buds will soon form. Also, during spring pruning, roses are given the desired shape, shoots are cut to stimulate flowering, and young shoots are removed near the base of the bush.

Rose pruning dates in spring may vary from year to year, as winter leaves at different times. Here you need to focus on the weather conditions and the condition of the plants. Roses are pruned when the weather is warm, the buds swell, but the shoots have not yet started to grow. As a rule, this happens in March-April.

Plants are recommended to be cut on a sunny day with a sharp pruner, the blades of which are previously disinfected in a raspberry solution of potassium permanganate. Sections are made just above the kidney (about 5-7 mm) at an angle of 45 degrees, and after trimming they are treated with garden pitch. In addition, before the leaves bloom, it is advisable to spray the bushes with copper sulfate.

Pruning climbing roses in spring

Pruning climbing roses in spring to form a bush. Although plants from this group may not be cut at all, in this case, after 2-3 years, it will be difficult to approach and cover the overgrown bush for the winter. Therefore, in the spring, after removing the shelter and sanitary pruning, the climbing rose bush is thinned out, all the branches that thicken it are removed and they try to shape it so that the shoots grow horizontally.

If you are new to rose growing and are afraid of ruining the bush when pruning, watch the video, which describes the entire procedure in detail.

Pruning rose bushes in spring

In order for the rose bush to have an attractive shape, all old shoots are cut "into a ring", leaving no "stump". An adult plant should consist of 3-5 strong shoots, which shorten to 3-4 buds. In this case, the height of the bush is usually 10-20 cm. Shoots that interfere with each other are also cut out. At the same time, of the two such branches, the younger one (which has a lighter bark) and well located is left.

Shoots of roses are cut above the bud directed to the outside of the bush

Pruning of hybrid tea roses in spring

An adult hybrid tea rose is cut to a height of 20-25 cm from ground level, leaving 5-6 buds on the shoots. When planting, young seedlings are cut to a height of 15 cm, so that 2-4 buds remain on the shoots. Roses in this group bloom on current year's growth, so don't be afraid to completely cut branches over two years old and shorten young ones (this encourages flowering).

Spring pruning of floribunda roses

Spring pruning of floribunda roses should be more gentle than hybrid tea roses. After wintering, shoots older than 2-3 years are not completely cut out, but they are made short, and annual shoots are shortened by only 1/3 of the length.

Pruning ground cover roses in spring

These plants do not need shaping, so light thinning and sanitary pruning is enough for them in spring. At the same time, vertically growing processes are cut out. If the old shoots overwintered normally (they have green bark), then they are left untouched. But once every 5-6 years, ground cover roses are pruned heavily (side shoots are shortened to 2-4 buds), otherwise the old bush will stop blooming.

Pruning border roses in spring

Border roses are mostly sanitary pruned in spring

In adult bushes, the central shoots growing vertically are not cut off (unlike groundcover roses), and the side shoots are cut a little. In addition, in order for rose bushes to grow beautiful and proportional, in the first year in late spring and summer, all their shoots are pinched over 4 or 5 leaves and faded buds are removed in a timely manner.

Pruning park roses in spring

For several years, park roses bloom perfectly without shaping, because in these plants flowers bloom both on old stems and on growths of the current year. So, in the spring, only sanitary pruning is carried out. But in old bushes, you need to shorten all the shoots a little, otherwise the flowers will become small and few.

Pruning room roses in spring

Contrary to popular belief, indoor roses can bloom luxuriantly every year. But for this they need to be cut correctly

Experienced rose growers recommend pruning indoor roses not in spring, but in autumn. But if you did not have time to do this, then the queen of the flower garden, grown at home, is cut off in March-April, when her buds have not yet had time to bloom. At the same time, the following rules are observed:

Remember: when pruning roses of any kind, you must follow the general rules. They are presented in detail in the video "General principles of spring pruning of roses."

Roses are pruned not only in spring. How to care for plants in the rest of the year, learn from our articles.

Pruning roses in spring - what is important for a florist to know

Spring pruning of roses is an important stage of care, which determines how generously and willingly the bushes will lay buds and how intensively they bloom throughout the season. Is it time or not? Is it time for pruning? We answer questions.

Forsythia can serve as a signal to start work, opening its first tender buds with the onset of heat. At this time, the buds of many trees and shrubs are filled with vital juices and swell, but have not yet begun to grow. In Central Russia, this time comes in March-April, in the northern regions of the country - in April-May. But it is best to focus on the state of weather conditions on your site - after all, in different years, winter gives way to spring at different times.

Pruning is an obligatory stage of care for all varieties and types of roses - spray, standard, climbing, ground-blooded. No need to regret leaving more than expected - in this case, after 2-3 seasons you will get long-legged lanky bushes that have lost their beauty, shape and compactness. To form the correct skeleton on the plant, it is enough to leave 5-6 healthy strong shoots.

Pruning roses in spring - tools and conditions

Choose a nice sunny day for pruning. Check the weather forecast in advance. If strong wind and rain are expected, postpone the operation (additional stress in the next 2-3 days is undesirable).

Sections are made at a 45° angle 5-7 mm above the level of the kidney. Use a sharp secateurs, previously disinfected in a strong solution of potassium permanganate. First of all, we cut off dry, weak and damaged branches - this is a sanitary standard. Next, we act according to the situation and carry out a formative pruning. Be sure to look at the cut - it should be milky white and pointing down - that is, the kidney should "look" outward. If the core is brown-brown, cut even lower. A diseased branch will still not give a healthy shoot, but will only take away the vitality from the bush. As a result, after pruning, the rose should have several strong shoots, shortened to 3-5 buds. Once again we repeat: no need to regret! Roses form new shoots very quickly.

Features of forming pruning