How to Prune a Climbing Rose Bush
Roses are beautiful additions to any garden, but they do require some attention and maintenance in order to have healthy, blooming plants. There are many varieties of rose plants to choose from and climbing roses are some of the most popular, especially in a confined space. Climbers require something to climb on, so they should be planted against a wall, fence or arbor purposely designed to support them. In order for roses to bloom to their fullest, they need to be pruned carefully to encourage new growth. However they should not be pruned, except to remove dead wood, for the first 2 to 3 years of growth. Different varieties may have different pruning requirements, but there are some basics that apply to all varieties. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Sharp garden shears
- Long handled loppers or shears
- Heavy leather or canvas gardening gloves
Instructions
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Prune climbing roses in late winter or early spring. Remove any dead or weak canes all the way to the ground with a sharp pair of gardening shears. Always wear gloves to avoid sharp thorns.
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Find any shoots, or laterals, and cut them back to about 2/3 their size. Make sure to leave at least 3 eyes, or nodes on each shoot. This is where new, healthy laterals will form.
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Take a step back every so often to observe the shape of your rose bush. If there are a lot of shoots extending out past the wall or support, prune them back. They will be too heavy to support themselves and will pull the rest of the plant down.
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Remove the dead flowers along with the short stem as the season progresses. Other blooms will probably be forming behind the first set on the stem.
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Prune laterals back from 5 to 15 inches after the last flowering of the season, in late summer or early fall. Check the plant thoroughly to make sure there are no more buds before doing this.
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Tips & Warnings
Climbing roses are not vines and cannot attach themselves to their support like ivy can. You will need to use plastic ties that can stretch as the branches grow to keep the rose in place.
Clean your shears with alcohol or disinfectant before moving on to the next plant. If a rose has any kind of fungal infection, it can be passed on to other plants in your garden.
