Why You Should Prune Your Roses
There are two main reasons to prune roses. The first is to keep them from becoming huge, ungainly monsters. If you don't prune, it'll grow easily double the size that it usually will. The second reason to prune is to shape the rose, remove dead and weak growth, promote new growth, and harvest blooms for vases.
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How to Prune Roses
Wear leather gloves, long sleeves, and use sharp hand pruners.
For shrub roses and bushy floribundas cut back to the desired size a couple of times a year. For heirloom and species roses, prune after flowering in spring. Remove a few woody, older canes and open up the centers of dense, bushy plants to let light and air penetrate.
Big-flowered Hybrid Teas and Grandifloras:
Remove weak, dead, and diseased growth, as well as suckers growing from the base that have different looking leaves than those of the original plant. Shorten the main canes by one-third and up to one-half in spring.
Climbing Roses:
Remove old, woody canes at ground level to promote the growth of new, vigorous ones. Don't cut back healthy ones. Train these onto an arbor, trellis, or fence. If the climber is a repeat bloomer, shorten the lateral branches growing from the main canes to three buds after the first bloom in spring.
When to Prune?
Major pruning should be done in early spring, after the last frost in colder climates. You can also let the roses tell you — when they start to bud or leaf out, it’s time. Zones 3 and 4 in May. In zones 5, 6, and 7 - in March or April
Dead rose flowers can be cut back at any time in summer. After the first killing frost, trim longer stems to keep them from snapping in winter storms. Keep rose bushes from being top-heavy to protect them from being uprooted in strong winds.
Pruning is vital to the health of the rose bush, it helps prevent disease by removing areas that may harbor infestations and also encourages flowering. And don’t forget to feed your roses: Roses are “big eaters” and need proper nutrition, so feed them with a long-lasting fertilizer - or even better: ad lots of compost.
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