Understanding roses and their pruning requirements

In order to ensure successful rose blooms return year after year it is important the pruning rules are followed. Correct pruning techniques mean a rose can be kept in good health for many years whilst providing the maximum flowering time and yield with an appealing form and structure.

• How to prune the rose

• Deadheading

• How to train a climbing rose

• Identifying types of roses

Overview

• Identify the type of rose - Before pruning it is important to identify the type of rose you are dealing with.

• 3 Ds - Begin pruning with the removal of all dead, diseased and damaged stems leaving a network of healthy stems to work with.

• Cut at a 45-degree angle - Always make cuts at a 45-degree angle facing away from the buds approximately 5mm above the bud.

• Goblet shape - Be mindful of the eventual shape of the rose when pruning, in most cases this is an open centred goblet shape. Prune to an outward facing node.

• Crossing or rubbing - Prune crossing or rubbing stems to prevent damage and disease.

• Deadheading - Deadhead regularly whenever spent flowerheads appear, cut above 2 leaflet stems from main structure.

How to prune the rose

Cutting too far above a bud will lead to die-back and cutting too close can lead to damage to buds. Cutting like this will encourage new shoots to grow outwards and subsequently avoid overcrowding within the plant, (allowing good air circulation through the plant will reduce the chance of disease) and a correct branch structure.

Typically, pruning should begin with the removal of all dead, diseased and damaged stems leaving a network of healthy stems to work with. It is important to consider the eventual shape of the rose when pruning, a goblet shaped/ open-centred formed rose should be the final goal.

Cut stems at a 45 degree angle to prevent the pooling of water at the site of the cut, which can become a breeding ground for harmful bacteria and fungi. Water can't pool when the stem is cut at an angle.

Deadheading

Deadheading is equally as important to keep a rose flowering again and again. Whereas pruning is done just once a year in the winter, deadheading should be undertaken repeatedly after a flower head is spent. This task involves, as the name suggests, the removal of dead flower heads following their bloom. This not only tidies the visual appearance of the rose but encourages another bloom to follow. Dead flower-heads can be simply pinched off the plant by hand but ideally they should be cut after 2 five leaflet stems up the shoot as shown in the diagram below.

Training climbing roses

Whereas the rambling roses are more vigourous in their growing habit and hold smaller flowers in ‘sprays’ blooming just once a year, the climbing rose will be less vigourous in growth but with larger individual flowers repeating throughout the season.

Training climbing and rambling roses involves bending and tying shoots into the intended form using the supports. The rose will send new stems near vertically upwards which, when training latterally along a fence for example, can be discordant with the intended final form. However the flowers will grow upwards from the horizontal sideshoots which must not be cut as the flowers will grow from the previous year’s horizontal sideshoots (see diagram above).

Identify the type of rose

Different types of roses

Roses exist in various different categories, miniature roses, ground cover roses, Floribunda roses, Hybrid Tea roses, shrub roses, climbing roses and Standard and weeping standard roses.

Hybrid tea roses

Hybrid tea flowers are well-formed with large, high-centred buds, supported by long, straight and upright stems. They are one of the most popular roses and you will see them often.

Specific pruning information -

• At the end of the growing season all flowered stems must be cut back for the winter.

• Pruned back relatively hard in the late winter/ early spring leaving 4-6 buds above the soil surface (this should leave stems roughly 15cm tall).

• Be very aware of trying to create the goblet shape.

Standard roses

Standard roses are roses chosen for their flowering properties that have been grafted (fused) on top of a taller rootstock. A graft is the combination of two species to achieve a best of both worlds scenario but comes with specific pruning techniques.

Pruning information -

• At the end of the growing season all flowered stems must be cut back for the winter.

• Pruned back in the late winter/ early spring.

• Don’t prune back as hard as the tea rose as the tall-stemmed rootstock can take over the abundant-flowered rootstock above if over-pruned.

• 3Ds - prune any dead, diseased and damaged stems.

• Prune any crossing/rubbing stems.

• Always prune to an outward facing node.

• Snap sucker by hand to prevent them from growing back.

Weeping standard roses

These grafted standard roses can often come in weeping forms which must be pruned accordingly.

Pruning information -

• Trim back stems nearing or touching the ground.

• Young standard roses under 4 years of age should be pruned lightly.

• Established weeping roses however should be pruned to roughly 1/3 of its overall mass/stem number once annually in the winter.

Shrub roses

Shrub roses, as the name suggests, are bushy and woody roses with a larger ultimate height and spread then the Hybrid tea roses.

Pruning Information-

• 1/3 of the stems lengths cut back after flowering in autumn.

• Sideshoots cut back to 1/2 of their length once annually in the winter.

• In the autumn approximately 10% of top stems should be removed to reduce drag caused by strong gusts.

Climbing and rambling roses

Climbing and rambling roses can both be pruned in the late autumn to midwinter. The two differ in the extent of flowering and their growing habit as well as the support needed to continue to cover a structure such as pergola, wall or fence.

Pruning Information-

• Flowers will grow upwards from the horizontal sideshoots which must not be cut as the flowers will grow from the previous year’s horizontal sideshoots.

• Be careful not to overprune, removing old thick stems is necessary but cutting back too many can leave the remaining stems over burdened.