How do I prune roses?

When and how to prune bush, climbing and shrub roses, and the cut that determines where new growth goes.

Difficulty: intermediate
Time: 1 hr 30 min
Read: 2 min
Safety: caution

Short answer

Prune bush roses hard in late winter, cutting to an outward-facing bud about 5mm above it at a slight angle. Remove dead, damaged and crossing stems first — on a neglected rose that is most of the job. Climbers are pruned differently and mainly need their side shoots shortened.

Roses tolerate hard pruning better than almost any shrub, so the main risk is doing too little rather than too much. The cut position matters because the bud you cut to determines where the new stem grows, and outward-facing buds keep the centre open.

Safety

Wear thick gauntlet gloves and eye protection — rose thorns cause a lot of hand and eye injuries, and rose scratches can become infected. Keep secateurs sharp; blunt blades crush stems and slip. Check for nesting birds before pruning anything dense between March and August.

What you'll need

Sharp secateurs
Loppers for thick stems
Thick gloves
Eye protection
Pruning saw (optional)

Step by step

Prune bush roses in late winter or very early spring, as the buds begin to swell.February to March in most of the UK. Pruning in hard frost damages the cut stems.
Start with the three Ds: dead, damaged and diseased wood.On a neglected rose this is often most of the job and improves both health and shape.
Remove crossing and inward-growing stems.Rubbing stems wound each other and let disease in. Opening the centre improves airflow, which reduces blackspot.
Cut to an outward-facing bud, about 5mm above it, sloping away from the bud.The new shoot grows in the direction the bud points. Cutting too close damages the bud; too far leaves a dying stub.
For hybrid tea and floribunda bushes, cut remaining stems back hard.To around 15–25cm from the ground for hybrid teas. It feels drastic and produces stronger growth.
For shrub and species roses, prune lightly — remove a third of the oldest stems at the base.They flower on older wood, so hard pruning removes the flowers.
For climbers, tie in the main framework horizontally and shorten side shoots to two or three buds.Horizontal training is what produces flowers along the whole stem rather than just at the tip.
Clear away all prunings and fallen leaves.Blackspot overwinters on debris. Removing it reduces next year's infection substantially.

Tips

Ramblers, which flower once in early summer, are pruned after flowering rather than in winter. Climbers, which repeat, are pruned in winter.
Feed roses in spring after pruning with a rose fertiliser, and mulch. They are hungry plants.
Blackspot is the commonest rose disease. Good airflow, clearing fallen leaves and choosing resistant varieties matter more than spraying.

Common mistakes

Pruning too timidly — Bush roses respond to hard pruning with vigorous growth. Light pruning produces weak, leggy stems.
Pruning shrub roses like bush roses — Shrub and species roses flower on older wood, so hard pruning removes the flowers.
Leaving prunings and fallen leaves — Blackspot overwinters on debris and reinfects the plant in spring.

Questions people ask

When should I prune roses?

Bush roses in late winter or early spring as buds swell — February to March in most of the UK. Ramblers that flower once are pruned straight after flowering instead.

How hard should I cut back a rose?

Hybrid tea and floribunda bushes can go back to 15–25cm and respond well. Shrub and species roses need much lighter treatment because they flower on older wood.