The right pruning will reward you with more blooms. Photo / Meg Liptrot
When it comes to rose pruning, there are some basic rules which cover most rose types. To make a good job of pruning your rose it helps to know the difference between rose groups. Fortunately roses are pretty forgiving, so if you make a hash of it this time around the rose will survive and you'll make a better approach to your pruning the following year. Winter is the usual time to prune roses, but this isn't always true, as you'll see below.
Getting to grips with a few common pruning problems
Did your climbing or rambling rose produce long green canes with few flowers?
Often gardeners cut roses hard on purpose to renovate an old climber or rambler. Old, unproductive canes are removed or cut hard back, then a selection of subsequent long healthy shoots are trained horizontally by tying them to a support structure.
More flowers form on horizontal branches. If you have too many upright fresh green canes, select three to six flexible, healthy ones and remove the rest. Train these canes to a fan shape or horizontally, using soft fabric ties.
Lateral sideshoots will grow from each cane, and these will produce flowers. Cut existing laterals back to one or two buds - these will shoot away in spring.
Is your rose looking a little down in the dumps?
If your rose didn't flower well last season and you've not pruned your old stems in a while, you're not encouraging new growth and you will have fewer flowers. Each year or two, look for old unproductive stems.
Occasionally you will need to cut an old woody cane right out from the base with a saw and replace it with a young cane which will produce laterals and flowers.
No roses last spring from your old-fashioned species or heritage rose?
Did you prune your rose in winter? Many old roses start flowering in early spring on the previous season's growth, so avoid pruning these varieties until after they've finished flowering in summer. If you prune the older types in winter you'll cut off latent spring flower buds.
Getting ugly die-back on your rose?
Stems die back if you cut them too far from a bud. Allow 5mm between the cut and your bud. Make sure you cut to an outward-facing bud on a slight angle sloping away from the bud.
Does your bush rose look like a tangled haystack?
Be strict with your pruning with no half measures. Remove spindly growth, inward-facing growth, crossing branches and damaged or diseased material.
Start slowly if you're feeling a bit timid. Soon enough the structure will reveal itself and you'll see what you need to do more clearly. Prune the remaining side branches back by a third to an outward-facing bud, keeping the centre of the bush clear so it has a vase-like framework. Prune laterals back to one or two buds.
If you want to avoid unnecessary bushy growth over summer, try "thumb pruning". This involves getting in early as buds start to emerge in late winter or early spring, and using your thumb to rub off unwanted buds or soft new shoots before they've grown. You can choose how you want your rose to develop and get bigger blooms, too.
Once your pruning is sorted, dispose of the prunings properly. Put fallen leaves in a garden refuse bin or bury in an out-of-the-way spot. Don't compost trimmings, particularly those that have been sprayed with chemicals or which have blackspot.
Pruning improves airflow and encourages healthy new growth. Organic clean-up sprays ensure that new growth in spring is as pest and disease-free as possible. Avoid toxic systemic chemicals as these will affect all the good insects, including bees.
Certified organic Aquaticus Glow is a fish oil-based spray excellent for clearing up mealy bugs, aphids, scale, mites and powdery mildew. Kiwicare's Organic Super Sulphur will help control powdery mildew, blackspot and rust. If sucking pests are a problem, sprinkle neem granules and incorporate in the top layer of soil. Also try Daltons Organic Bio-fungicide powder (Trichoderma) to innoculate your rose against soil-borne fungal disease.
Seaweed is an excellent tonic for roses. Lightly mulch with a little seaweed if you can get hold of some. In spring apply compost or sheep pellets, and basalt rock dust.