Practical Gardening
LATE February, there is no doubt to my mind, is the best month to set about pruning your roses. It’s a job I look forward to every year and is a task I find quite therapeutic and relaxing.
That actual physical task of rose pruning is quite simple but the more complicated part is knowing which type of roses you have and what is the appropriate pruning method for those roses. From a pruning perspective we can categorise roses into four types, hybrid tea, floribunda and English ; shrub and species; climbing and rambling; groundcover. A starting point for all rose pruning no matter what type is to remove all dead wood, any diseased wood and crossing and rubbing stems. The last point doesn’t apply to some of the thicket forming species rose varieties or groundcover types but is a good general rule for all others and all the above should be done before any other pruning is carried out.
The first category is probably the one that en- compasses most of the roses in peoples gardens. Hybrid teas have large flowers one per stem and tend to repeat flower three times during summer to late autumn. Floribundas have many flowers per stem and repeat bloom right through the summer to late autumn. English roses were developed in the 70’s by crossing floribundas and hybrid teas with old shrub roses. These can have the flowering characteristics of either hybrid teas or floribundas but with an old rose bloom. The pruning is very similar for all three rose types however.
With hybrid teas prune back strong growth to within 15 cms of the ground. Lighter growth can be cut back to 5 cms and any very weak growth can be cut back to the plant stem or ground. Always look for an outwards facing bud and make a sloping cut above that. Try to cut out old wood on a three year cycle allowing new growth to take over. Floribundas can be pruned in much the same way only cut the strong shoots back to a little higher at 30 cms. With English roses pruning back somewhere around half its annual growth is recommended but this is not set in stone. A little higher or lower won’t matter.
Shrub and species roses fall into two categories, once flowering and repeat flowering. Once flowered roses, they flower on two year old wood, can be pruned after they have finished blooming in the summer. This is mainly to maintain size and shape and thin out old growth, if left unpruned there is little harm done as they still tend to flower well regardless. If pruning cut back strong stems by a third and remove weak growth. Repeat flowering types will flower on new growth so need to be pruned now in the same way as the once flowering types.
Rambling roses tend to flower once a year mostly in June while climbers generally repeat flower through the summer. Both need to be supported and both need a basic frame work of growth. A rambler, will like the once flowered shrub roses, routinely be pruned after flowering in the summer. Renovating pruning of old or overgrown plants can be done now. Cut out all the very old wood and leave yourself six strong young stems to take over. If you have space you can just let it live up to its name and leave it to ramble.
Climbers, start by removing weak whippy growth. Remove very old wood and tie in new strong growth. Any side shoots from the main frame of the climber that have flowered should be cut back by two thirds. This and renovating pruning can be done now.
Groundcover roses have rightly become very popular, especially the long flowering carpet series. These need little or no pruning other than dead heading. If they become too large for their space they can be cut back to 20 cms of the ground to renovate them. Any strong upright growth can be hard pruned back to the plant. Any strong lateral growth can be reduced by one third.