How to Prune Roses

Pruning is an important part of maintaining your rose plants. The basic principles of rose pruning are the same, but the timing of pruning, amount to remove and objectives are slightly different depending on type. Here's how to prune roses.

Materials

• Hand pruners (bypass pruners are best)
• Pruning saw
• Loppers
• Gloves
• Watering can
•  Miracle-Gro® Water Soluble Rose Plant Food

Why It's Important to Prune Roses

Pruning your rose plant correctly helps maintain the overall health of the plant while also keeping your rose plants looking their best. There are four basic reasons to prune roses:

• Remove dead and diseased branches (also called "canes")
• Rejuvenate the plant and encourage blooming
• Allow better airflow through the plant
• Control size and shape

Basics of Pruning Roses

Whether you're pruning roses to reduce the size, deadheading spent blooms, pruning to shape the shrub or pruning for airflow, you'll always cut the same way.

• Wear long sleeves and leather or rubber-coated gloves to protect your hands and arms while pruning. You can also wear rose gloves, which extend to the elbow.
• Using sharp hand pruners, loppers or a pruning saw (for large branches) to cut the branch.
• Unless you’re cutting a branch down to the ground, cut back to a leaf with five leaflets and an outward facing bud.
• Make the cut at a 45-degree angle about 1/4 inch above the bud, slanting away from the bud. An angled cut allows water to run off, rather than collecting in the cut end of the stem, which can encourage the spread of disease. 

When to Prune Roses

A good rule of thumb is to wait until the forsythias are blooming in your area (late winter for warmer climates to very early spring in cooler climates) to prune roses to reduce size, encourage spring growth and rejuvenate the shrub. Deadhead blooms during the growing season as the flowers fade to keep shrubs blooming longer. Prune to remove dead or diseased growth at any time. It's best to avoid major pruning from late summer through early winter so you don't encourage new growth as roses start to go dormant.

Climbing roses are a special group and are often pruned wrong. While "repeat blooming" climbing roses should be pruned in very early spring, old-fashioned and heirloom climbing roses usually bloom on old growth and should be pruned after they bloom. For all climbing roses, remove crossing or rubbing branches and cut back some of the oldest woody branches to the ground to allow healthy, young, vigorous stems to continue growing (usually not more than 6 stems). Cut side shoots back to 2-3 inches.

Pruning to Remove Dead and Diseased Growth

Pruning damaged or diseased growth is important to limit the spread of the disease and so insects don’t take up residence in the dead branches and multiply. Keep your rose plant healthier by pruning anytime you see dead or damaged branches, leaves or flowers. 

• You can spot dead branches easily because they can be gray, black or brown with no new growth or living buds. By contrast, healthy canes are green.
• Remove damaged, diseased or dead wood by cutting the affected branches all the way back to a main branch.

Pruning to Rejuvenate Growth

Some shrub roses and climbing roses benefit from "renewal pruning." This is the practice of removing 1/3 of the plant’s growth each year, starting with the oldest growth in the first year. 

• Cut back the oldest branches to the ground, leaving 2/3 of the branches in place.
• New growth will emerge and bloom profusely.
• During the following spring, remove another 1/3 of the oldest growth, evenly, from throughout the shrub.

Pruning to Promote Airflow

Prune to promote airflow at the same time you prune to reduce size.

• Remove branches that are crossing or rubbing up against each other, as well as those growing toward the center of the shrub.
• Always cut back to an outward-facing bud.
• You can remove up to 1/2 of the growth from within the center of the shrub to promote air movement.

Pruning to Reduce Size and Shape

Keep rose plants neat and tidy by pruning to reduce size and control their shape. Hybrid tea roses and shrub roses respond especially well to this type of pruning.

• Cut each branch back to an outward-facing bud.
• Roses can be cut back hard, but don’t remove more than 1/3 to 1/2 of the overall growth.
• Hybrid tea roses should have an open vase shape after they’ve been pruned. Shrub roses will be uniform but reduced in size.

Caring for Roses After Pruning

Here's a few extra tips to keep your roses healthy after pruning:

• Never cover cuts on roses with any type of tar or sap. This creates a humid environment that's hospitable to pests and diseases.
• Once the roses start growing, it’s time to feed. Use Miracle-Gro® Water Soluble Rose Plant Food to feed plants every 7 to 14 days during the growing season. Be sure to follow label directions.
• Stop feeding in late summer to allow your rose plants to prepare for winter dormancy. Late season growth is not hardy and can be damaged by cold weather.

With proper pruning, you're all set to help your rose plants thrive! For more tips and information on roses, check out our rose growing and care guide.