How to Prune Roses Easily

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By Melanie Grimes
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Roses need pruning through their growing season

Roses need pruning all year. They need winterizing pruning in the fall, and clean up pruning in June after they flower. Roses need to be “dead headed” whenever a blossom is spent, so that the energy of the plant goes into growing new branches and flowers and not into developing rose hips.

You might want to wear gloves to protect yourself from thorns.

Roses contain a great deal of energy in their roots, and every spring revitalize and grow new stalks. You can trim a rose by at least one third every winter.

Trim the rose into a V-shape to keep it open, as roses like air flow.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Pruning shears
Roses
Gardening gloves

Step 1

The bud union is the base of the plant, where stalks are grafted onto root stock.

The first place to prune is the bud union. All hybrid tea roses are created by grafting stalks onto a stronger root stock. Prune any old stalks and leave the young fresh growth. Be careful not to damage any new growth that may at first look like a small, red bud.
Step 2

Prune a rose back at least one third each winter

Roses contain a great deal of energy in their roots, and every spring revitalize and grow new stalks. You can trim a rose by at least one third every winter.
Step 3

Climbing rose

Antique roses or floribunda roses may not have a bud union. In this case, trim stalks as needed to keep the plant open. Climbing roses also need to be pruned from the base as well.
Step 4

Rose with dead wood

Remove all dead wood. Roses do not like to carry dead wood, as it drains their energy for growth.
Step 5

Using a rose pruning shear

Cut roses just above an outside leaf of bud that faces to the outside of the plant. That way the growth of the plant will be outward, not inward.
Step 6

Pruning roses

After the flower dies, cut the rose below the first leaves that form in groups of five. The first row of leaves can be only three. Cut on the outside of the branch, so the new bud will create a branch growing to the outside.
Step 7

Pruning a rose after it flowers

Remove all deadheads and spent flowers, so the rose doesn't spend energy creating a rose hip.
Step 8

Climbing rose on a trellis

Roses like to grow around supports, like an arbor, trellis or cage, especially climbing roses. You may find a bird's nest tangled in the branches.
Step 9

Enjoy your rose garden.

Comments

Surfthetide said

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on 6/17/2009 Very useful information. Loved your photos. 5*'s and an R

poshadornment said

on 6/13/2009 Well written, informative article with great photos.

evgnspaces said

on 6/12/2009 Generally light pruning is best in warmer climates and heavy pruning is more for roses that are left alone for 1 year or more. It is pleasant and easy to trim and smell the roses every day.