Rose pruning guide
Roses are not only among the most popular – and beautiful – of all garden plants, they are also the most forgiving. They are also extraordinarily tough. Make a brutal blunder while pruning them at any time of the year and they not only recover, but may bloom even better than ever.
Pruning miniature roses
Pruning is simple. Cut them back removing about 2/3 of the top growth. You can even use hedge clippers and finish off by snipping out any dead material.
Pruning ground cover roses
Ground cover roses are also called landscaping roses. Many of this form, such as the flower carpet rose, bloom almost all year round. All are grown on their roots, so suckering can’t occur. Prune ruthlessly, so that a cluster of rough-cut stubble like stems remain. It may look drastic, but they will bounce back. Brilliant displays of massed blooms start again in early Spring and if dead headed, will flower through Summer into Autumn.
Pruning bush roses
Bush roses are also known as hybrid tea, floribunda and patio roses. When pruning, cut out all suckers below the ground – slice them directly off the roots. Completely prune out any old branches above the graft, including any dead, weak or twiggy material and any crossing branches. Don’t remove the old looking vigorous long branches without sideshoots that are soft green and almost leafless – these are called water-shoots and produce excellent blooms. Prune the rose fairly hard to form a strong balanced framework.
Pruning weeping standard roses
Weeping roses are mostly rambler-roses grafted on top of a 2m tall standard. Select the oldest branches, follow them to the point from where they spring at the graft, and cut them off. Remove about 1/4 of the stems each year and leave the rest unpruned. There should be a number of long, evenly spaced drooping canes left around the standard. If the tips of the stems hit the ground, cut the ends so they swing free.
Pruning standard roses
Follow the basic pruning steps as for a Bush Rose, maintaining a rounded framework and only prune the head of the rose – not below the graft.
Pruning climbing roses
Choose the main stems that will form the climbing framework and remove several older branches each year to make way for new growth. Cut these back as low down as possible. Cut back all other stems that are growing off the main stem to 2–3 buds and where possible, tie branches down so they are horizontal to encourage more flowers. Repeat-flowering climbers can be pruned in Winter, but Spring only flower forms should only be pruned after they have flowered.
Information source: Gardening Australia
