Pruning roses.
There are as many tips and advice about pruning roses as there are roses themselves. The rose grower needs to be aware that different types of roses need different approaches to pruning. The simplest act of pruning roses takes place almost absent mindedly when walking around the garden, as few gardeners can resist ‘dead heading’ the rose blooms which have finished and if left, look unsightly.

However, most gardeners do not dead-head correctly, thinking that all that is required is to merely nip the bloom off from its stalk. To do this risks the introduction of disease into a weak and damaged stalk. When dead-heading either a hybrid tea rose or a floribunda, the whole stem should be removed down to just between the second and third leaf. Dead-heading means that the rose’s energy will go to making fresh buds, rather than rose hips which are the seed of the rose.

Some roses are grown for the production of the rose hip, which gives a vibrant display in the autumn. The hips are also used by herbalists and in the production of rose hip syrup. Therefore these varieties are not dead-headed.

Pruning roses takes place usually twice a year, once in the late autumn and again in the spring when the danger of frost is over. Obviously the gardener will prune the odd damaged or dead branch at other times for the overall health of the bush. When pruning roses the gardener must also be on constant alert for suckers, which are the prickly branches which stem from the root stock the rose was grafted to, and if left, will sap the strength of the rose and eventually the rose will revert to its original stock.  The sucker must be grasped in a gloved hand and pulled in a down-wards movement tearing it away from its base. By doing this, the growth nodules are also removed. Cutting the sucker away usually means that nodules are left and the sucker will re-grow, continuing to damage the health of the plant.

Traditional method of pruning roses
Pruning in the autumn should be directed at all established rose bushes including standard roses. Established, means that the rose has been in place for approximately a year, giving sufficient time to allow budding and flowering.

All dead, damaged, thin, touching and diseased branches should be pruned in a cut which slopes to allow moisture run off, and is cut close to a dormant bud. Should the remaining branch be brown in appearance following the cut then a further cut lower down should be made until the surface of the cut is white and as close to a leaf bud as possible. Continue this process until only healthy stems are left. Beware of fraying the cut, as this can introduce disease that will have all winter to gain a hold on the plant. The common cause of fraying is using blunt secateurs. A common cause of ‘die back’ where the branch goes brown after it is cut, is often due to frost damage.

The Easy-Care Method of pruning roses bush roses, not standards or climbers.  Just cut off half the height of the bush, without worrying about thin branches, but take out dead wood at the bottom.  Trials have shown this method to be highly successful and easy for most rose growers.