How to Prune Zepherine Drouhine Roses

Short-blade secaturs are ideal for pruning Zephirine Drouhine and other climbing roses.

Rosa "Zephirine Drouhin" is a fragrant, vibrant pink climbing rose also known by the colloquial name, Charles Bonnet rose. As a repeat-blooming climbing rose, it will produce flowers in clusters throughout the growing season, typically until the first hard frost of fall, according to North Carolina State University. Pruning boosts the plants' health and vitality and promotes new flowering. Since the cultivar blooms repeatedly throughout the growing season, any significant pruning for purely aesthetic purposes should focus before blooming or as the bloom period tapers down.

Things You'll Need

• Secateurs

Instructions

1. Prune your Zephirine Drouhine rose for size and shape in the spring just as the buds begin to swell, but before any bloom occurs. Alternatively, prune in the early summer after the main flush of bloom has begun to dissipate. Refrain from pruning any later in the summer, as this can cause the plant to produce green growth too tender to survive winter.

2. Cut away any dead, diseased or broken canes first. Place cuts at least 1/4 inch into healthy tissue with a bias cut placed 1/4 inch above a leaf node.

3. Prune away all but five to seven of the oldest, most poorly performing canes down to the crown of the plant just above the soil. Again place the cuts on a 45-degree angle so moisture and rainfall will slide off the wound site.

4. Harvest fresh pink flowers just coming into bloom for cut arrangements as desired. Sever the individual flower stems or cluster stem on the bias 1/4 inch above a leaf node or bud.

5. Deadhead spent flower heads left on the plant throughout the growing season to spur the development of new flower buds and to keep the rose plant looking neat and tidy. Sever individual spent flower heads to the base of the stem and clusters on the bias 1/4 inch above a healthy leaf node on the cane.

Tips & Warnings

• Leave all year-old canes in place as they will be most productive for producing blooms in the next few years.

References

• North Carolina State University Extension; Climbing Roses: Rosa Zephirine Drouhine; Erv Evans; Undated
• Clemson University Extension; Pruning Roses; Karen Russ; June 1999