The Beginner's Guide to Pruning: Roses

Roses can look intimidating with all those thorns, but pruning them is actually very straightforward — and the results are absolutely worth it! 

When to Prune 

• Early spring is the main pruning time — just as you see the first red or green buds beginning to swell on the canes (stems). In most Canadian climates, this is around late March to April. 

• Throughout summer: Deadhead spent blooms to keep the flowers coming all season long. 

• Fall: Do a light tidy-up, but avoid heavy pruning in fall as it can stimulate new growth that is vulnerable to frost. 

How to Prune — Step by Step 

1. Gear up: Put on thick gardening gloves to protect against thorns. Use sharp bypass pruners (the scissor-type, not the anvil-type) for clean cuts. 

2. Remove the 3 D's first: Dead, Damaged, and Diseased canes. Cut these all the way back to healthy wood or to the base of the plant. 

3. Open up the centre: Remove any canes that cross through the middle of the plant. You want air and light to flow freely through the rose to prevent disease. 

4. Cut back remaining canes by 1/3 to 1/2: For most roses, this means pruning healthy canes down to about 12–18 inches. Cut at a 45-degree angle, about ¼ inch above an outward-facing bud (a small bump on the cane). The angle helps water run off the cut and away from the bud. 

5. Remove any suckers: These are shoots growing from below the graft union (the knobby part near the base). They sap the rose's energy — pull or cut them off as close to the root as possible. 

6. Clean up: Rake up all fallen leaves and clippings from around the rose. Old rose debris can harbour disease over winter. 

Beginner Tip 

When you make a cut, look at the center of the cane. Healthy wood is white or cream on the inside. Brown or hollow canes are dead — keep cutting back until you reach healthy wood. 

Tools You'll Need 

Before you start, make sure you have: 

• Sharp bypass pruners for roses 

• Thick gloves (especially for roses!) 

• A clean cloth and rubbing alcohol to wipe your blades between plants — this prevents spreading disease 

 

Happy pruning! Remember, plants are resilient. A confident cut is better than a hesitant one. If you have questions about the specific plants in your garden, our team at GARDENWORKS is always happy to help. 

Visit us in-store or browse our full library of care guides at gardenworks.ca