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How to prune a newly planted shrub rose
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How to prune an established shrub rose
The instructions in this article cover the pruning of English Shrub Roses, as well as other repeat flowering shrub roses.
Pruning is essential if you really want your rose to thrive.
The main purpose of pruning is to create a shapely, attractive plant, with good coverage and structure, you can do this by simply removing parts of the plant during the non-flowering season. Pruning encourages fresh new growth and plentiful blooms for the following season.
When a rose reaches its third year; after three flowering seasons, pruning can be used to influence its size and shape.
We recommend pruning in late winter/early spring, when the first growth is beginning. It is ok to prune earlier, but it can be more difficult to identify the less healthy stems that you will want to prune out. If you still haven’t pruned by March it is still better to do so.
- Shaping is essential. Try to create a rounded shrub.
- Don’t worry about where you cut a stem. Accepted wisdom suggests cutting just above a leaf joint with a sloping cut away from the bud. However, there is no evidence to prove this is necessary.
- If pruned properly, your rose bush will look significantly smaller and bare. Do not be alarmed, the growth will strengthen and re-establish quickly in the spring.
- Carefully dispose of foliage. Foliage should never be composted and should be removed from your garden. This ensures spores that can initiate disease are removed from your garden.
- Look out for loose roses. Look out for any roses that are loose in the ground due to the wind rocking them to the point where they are no longer standing upright. Firm around the base of each loose rose and cut them back a little more to reduce wind resistance.
We define a newly planted rose as one that has completed its first flowering season. At this stage your rose will still be establishing its roots to support growth in the future, thus only very light pruning is required.
An established rose that has completed two flowering seasons is still considered to be developing its root system and will not be at its mature size or shape.
By the third year your rose will be a fully formed plant. Your choice of how much you cut back is a little more flexible. You now have the opportunity to influence the size and shape of your shrub.
Before pruning, choose from one of the following:
- For a taller shrub – cut back by less than one third.
- To maintain its current size – cut your rose back by one third.
- To reduce its size – cut back by a half or even more. This will reduce the size of the shrub without impacting the amount of flowering.