Do You Cut Back a Rose Bush After It Blooms for the Season?

Prune roses after the last blooms are harvested.

Roses need constant maintenance to remain healthy and produce beautiful blooms. Part of that maintenance includes pruning at least twice a year, once before spring and once after the roses have finished blooming. This pruning removes diseased, damaged or dead wood and suckers that drain nutrients from the main rose canes, and promotes healthy new growth on the rose bush.

Late Summer

Cut back rose bushes during the months of July and August after the bushes have completed blooming. Prune off 1/3 to 1/2 of the main canes, and remove diseased or dead wood. Prune side suckers or thinner, weaker canes to promote growth of the rose bush. Make 45-degree-angle pruning cuts on healthy canes and smooth, straight pruning cuts to remove side branches where they join the rose bush at the base.

Late Winter

Prune rose bushes during the months of February and March after the danger of a late, hard frost has passed. The main canes can be pruned almost to ground level, and inward growing or crossing branches and rose bush canes older than three years should be removed. Prune at a 45-degree angle, 1/4 inch above an outward facing dormant bud, to prevent the canes from dying.

Shaping

Rose bushes may need periodic pruning outside of the two major pruning times during the year to regulate the shape of the bushes. If you prune your rose bushes too close to winter, the cuts may not have time to heal before the cold weather sets in, and the canes could die back. Prune weaker canes to the ground, and remove inward growing and crossing canes to promote air circulation.

Pruning Problems

The biggest problem when pruning rose bushes is that the gardener does not take off enough of the cane to keep it healthy. Under-pruned rose bushes become overgrown tall bushes without a definite shape -- and may send out suckers different from the original plant's cultivar. An overgrown rose bush is much more difficult to prune for the purposes of shaping and encouraging growth.

References

• University of Florida Cooperative Extension: Pruning Roses; 2011
• Virginia State University Cooperative Extension: A Guide to Successful Pruning, Shrub Pruning Calendar; Bonnie Lee Appleton et al; 2009
• University of Florida Cooperative Extension: Rose Pruning Time; Theresa Friday; 2010