Pruning Roses

There are different kinds of roses and special pruning methods have evolved for each one. Four of the most common classes are hybrid tea (shown above), grandiflora, floribunda, and climbing.

Prune hybrid teas and grandifloras when the buds begin to swell. First, thin out or remove all dead, diseased, or damaged canes. Cut-back canes that show dieback symptoms to healthy wood. Remove any suckers that emerged from below the graft union. Next, select three to five of the most healthy canes and cut them back to a lateral branch or bud within 12 to 18 inches of ground level. Prune these canes at an angle about one-quarter inch above an outward facing bud. The angle should slope away from the bud.

Floribundas should not be pruned as heavily as hybrid teas and grandiflora types. Select six to eight healthy, vigorous canes and cut them back to within 18 to 24 inches of ground level.

Cut back climbing roses after flowering. Remove older canes back to ground level and leave five or six of the healthiest, most vigorous canes. Thin excessive growth on the remaining canes to a side branch or bud.