A bed of roses presents itself in opulent Sunday garb if the gardener knows how to take care of the cut properly. This tutorial will introduce you to the basics of pruning roses. Comprehensible instructions explain the pruning for important rose classes.

Annual pruning is particularly important for roses

Table of Contents

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  1. rose classes
  2. ground rules
  3. Hybrid Tea Roses
  4. bed roses
  5. Frequent flowering shrub roses
  6. Once blooming shrub roses
  7. miniature roses
  8. groundcover roses
  9. climbing roses
  10. wild roses
  11. cutting tool
  12. frequently asked Questions

    13. Important rose classes at a glance

    More than 30,000 varieties of roses compete for gardeners' favor. In order not to lose track of selection and care, the classification according to rose classes serves as a helpful guideline. The decisive distinguishing criterion is the growth form, which also influences the care of the cut. A worldwide classification system is not yet available. Furthermore, modern varieties cannot always be clearly assigned. After all, the following table with important rose classes offers a practical guide for private rose gardeners:

    Hybrid Tea Roses bed roses shrub roses miniature roses groundcover roses Climbing Roses (Climber) wild roses
    growth height 60 to 130 cm 60 to 100 cm up to 250 cm 20 to 40 cm 30 to 50 cm up to 500 cm 100 to 250 cm
    heyday June to September June to October from mid-May/mid-June for 6 to 7 weeks June to September June to September/October June to October/November June to July/August
    flowering frequency repeat-flowering repeat-flowering once or more flowering repeat-flowering repeat-flowering repeat-flowering once flowering
    growth habit taut upright bushy, upright upright to arching overhanging compact, upright long, flat to creeping climbing (trellis required) upright to broadly bushy, overhanging
    cutting time(s) spring and summer spring and summer spring and summer spring and summer every 2-3 years in spring spring and summer winter

    In addition to the two traditional cutting dates in spring and summer, an autumnal time comes into focus. A separate tutorial sheds light on the conditions under which rose gardeners reach for the scissors again in autumn.

    Basic rules in rose pruning

    Part of the basics of cutting care is that a rose gardener is familiar with important basic rules. These premises apply no matter what class of roses are thriving in your garden. To get you started, our basic tutorial provides you with a concise overview of fundamental principles for pruning roses:

    • Prune roses each year when the forsythia are in bloom
    • Thin out or cut back dead, frozen and damaged branches beforehand
    • Pruning strong shoots little, pruning weak shoots vigorously
    • Side shoots of the second and third order are the most valuable blossom wood
    • Buds in the top position always sprout the strongest
    • Always remove weak branches at the base
    • The top bud on the shoot should always face outwards before and after the cut

    Depending on the class of roses, the most luxuriant flowering takes place on the annual and biennial shoots. For a pruning to achieve the best flower yield, it should produce as much second- and third-order branching as possible. The figure below illustrates how to correctly distinguish the shoots of a rose according to their order of precedence. Shoots of the first order sprout directly from the main shoot. A first order side branch branches into second order side branches and so on. If you are familiar with the hierarchy and basics, you can no longer go wrong when pruning roses.

    The ranking among the side shoots dictates the correct pruning. The focus is on shoots of the second and third order as valuable blossom wood.

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    Incision circumference dictates growth power

    A fundamental knowledge in pruning says: the harder a pruning, the stronger the budding. The reason for this regularity is the juice pressure. With each cut, the sap pressure below the cutting point increases because there is less drive mass to supply. If you only cut off the tip of the shoot, the change is only minimal. However, if you cut half or two thirds of a rose shoot, the plant sap accumulates massively with nutrients in its baggage. As a result, sleeping eyes are activated and drive out happily. Use this rule of thumb to measure the size of the cut of roses: cut a vigorous rose a little - cut a weak-growing rose vigorously.

    Cut hybrids vigorously

    The pruning of hybrid teas is aimed at the formation of numerous long and straight flower stalks. Majestic flowers are enthroned at their peaks in summer. Too dense branching is only an annoying disruptive factor. The figure below shows that Hybrid Tea roses benefit from vigorous pruning. With the following incision you direct the growth in spring and summer in the desired direction:

    • First cut back all stronger shoots to 5 eyes, weak shoots to 3 eyes
    • Shorten side shoots to 1 or 2 buds
    • On weak-growing Hybrid Tea Roses 3 to 4 select the most promising shoots
    • On vigorous Hybrid Tea Roses 5 to 6 select the best specimens
    • Remove all remaining branches at ground level
    • In summer, cut back withered branches down to the first leaflet with 5 partial leaves

    A continuous rejuvenation has a preventive effect against senescence and the unfavorable high-legged growth. For this purpose, thin out the oldest shoots at the base of old hybrid tea roses every spring.

    Prune your hybrid teas back to three to five buds. Slow-growing varieties should keep a maximum of 4, strong-growing varieties a maximum of 6 shoots. On old hybrid tea roses, remove the oldest shoot at ground level to ensure continuous rejuvenation.

    Match the cut of the bed roses to the vigour

    With five to seven ground shoots, floribunda are well-positioned for a long, lavish flowering period. The aim of pruning care is to promote the valuable blossom wood and to keep long shoots in check. If overly long shoots protrude from a rose bush, the bed rose will fall apart sooner or later. How to complete the perfect cut:

    • Shorten all shoots to 3 to 5 buds
    • Leave 3 healthy shoots with 3 buds on a weak-growing bed rose
    • Leave 5 healthy shoots with 5 buds on a strong-growing bed rose
    • In summer, clean out wilted inflorescences down to the first leaf

    In order for roses to show the desired reaction to a cut, the right cut is important. The image below shows where and how to prune bed roses and other classes of roses. Place the scissors five to 10 millimeters above an outward-facing bud. If you cut too short, the bud will be injured and will never sprout. If you cut too far away, a dried-up stub forms as an entry point for pathogens.

    If a bed rose gets old, the annual thinning out of an old shoot provides new courage. In the last step of the main cut, you cut an overgrown branch near the ground. The resulting accumulation of sap encourages young wood to venture out into the light.

    Always cut a rose shoot 5 to 10 mm above a clearly visible bud that faces outwards. Holding the rose scissors at a slight angle prevents rain or irrigation water from drowning the bud

    Prune shrub roses that bloom frequently

    Shrub roses build up a stable framework in the first few years. This consists of five to eight bottom shoots With Side shoots of the first and second order. This creates the floral foundation for vital annual shoots with numerous flowers. Parallel to the construction of the scaffolding, the cut care works towards preventing bareness from below right from the start. With this cutting strategy, the plan succeeds:

    • Long shoots of the 1st order from the previous year: um one third cut back
    • 2nd and 3rd order shoots: shorten to 3 to 5 buds
    • Matching the space in the bed: leave a maximum of 8 vital shoots on the ground
    • Thin out: superfluous, weak, aging bottom shoots

    The right decision about the number of bottom shoots depends on two aspects. The more airy a shrub rose is structured, the faster its leaves dry off again after a downpour. Furthermore, historical shrub roses with thinner shoots that bloom often thrive. These buckle under the weight of magnificent blossoms. By having a denser network of branches supporting each other, the risk is avoided. Modern varieties have more stately shoots with a larger diameter and do well with three to five trellis shoots.

    digression

    Remove wild shoots continuously

    The most beautiful roses for beds and balconies are grafted onto a robust, vigorous wild rootstock. It is precisely this vigour, which can cause problems for your roses. The rootstock vehemently drives out wildlings, which compete with the precious part for light, nutrients and water. The undesired shoot type can be identified by its foliage. Cultivated roses thrive with leaflets made up of three, five or seven individual leaves. In contrast, the leaves of wildlings are made up of up to fifteen individual leaves. If you have discovered a wild instinct, tear it off with a courageous jerk.

    Prune once-blooming shrub roses

    The pruning of shrub roses that bloom once differs markedly from their fellow roses that bloom more often. As a rule, these are historical varieties from the 19th century, such as the legendary "Queen of Denmark" from 1816 or "Mme. Hardy” from 1832. The floral divas lay their flower buds on the wood of the previous year. For this reason, the main pruning is done in the summer. In the spring, a shrub rose that has bloomed once is only brought into shape. How to cut with gardening expertise:

    • End of February/beginning of March: Shorten shoot tips to bush level, cut off rose hips
    • July/August: Extra-long shoots divert to a lower-lying side shoot
    • Ideally prune to 5 or 10 cm below this year's bud
    • In addition, from the 4th or 5th year, thin out an aging skeletal shoot

    Some lovers of once-blooming historical strains don't prune their roses at all. These shrub roses achieve impressive dimensions that are well above the information given by historical sources. In this case, the roses should be thoroughly thinned out at least every five to six years. Furthermore, a rejuvenation of strongly branched shoot tips is recommended by using the cutting technique of the derivation.

    If shrub roses bloom only once, they set their flower buds in late summer. Cut back this year's long shoots in August so that more short flowering shoots form for next year.

    Pruning dwarf roses boldly

    Miniature roses come out big in summer with a sea of colorful flowers, under which the leaves and shoots almost disappear. The little beauties bloom on this year's branches several times per season and do without the formation of a supporting scaffolding structure. That primarily weak growth requires one strong pruning, so that every year a lush flowering rose bush develops again in small format. That is how it goes:

    • Cut all shoots of the 1st order
    • Vigorous variety: shorten to 6 to 7 buds
    • Weak variety: cut back to 3 to 4 buds
    • Finally select 5 vital ground shoots and cut off all others to ground level

    The summer care cut is dedicated to the withered flowers and not limited to a single appointment. Rather, your dwarf roses will shine in picturesque splendor if you continuously cut out everything that has faded. Only when the flowering period is definitely over should you cut back faded shoot tips to the first healthy pinnate leaf.

    tips

    In regions with harsh winters, rose gardeners give preference to varieties that bloom more often. Once-blooming roses lay their flower buds in the previous year, which must be overwintered undamaged. A harsh winter can destroy the valuable flowering plants in just one night. Roses that bloom several times avoid this shortcoming because they primarily position their buds on this year's shoots.

    Prune groundcover roses every 3 years

    It is really no fun to cut an area covered with thorny tendrils. How fortunate that ground cover roses only have to be noted on the pruning schedule every 2 to 3 years. A particular advantage of this class of roses is that the shrubs will sprout and flower without being trimmed in the summer, provided that all other basic conditions are right. How to properly prune ground cover roses:

    • Cut back every 2 to 3 years when the forsythia is in bloom
    • Thin out the bushes thoroughly beforehand
    • Shorten shoots of the third order to 3 to 5 buds
    • Do not mix second and first order shoots

    If shoots grow beyond the intended bed area, shorten them to just above a bud. In the end, each main shoot on a groundcover rose should have at least two to three side shoots from which the blossom wood can sprout.

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    Plant pruning - prologue to pruning care

    Late winter maintenance pruning and summer maintenance pruning are not the only important types of pruning for your roses. In connection with the planting, subject the young roses to a pruning. Shorten the roots of bare-rooted plants to a length of 20 to 25 cm before planting. Damaged shoots are removed on Astring. In the first spring, cut back all branches to three to five buds. This is also how you proceed with container goods, whereby the roots remain uncut here.

    Form climbing roses on the trellis

    Climbing roses that flower frequently are unsurpassed champions when it comes to vigor and abundance of flowers. If a stable climbing aid is available, the roses transform facades, arbors and arches into a summer fairy tale of blossoms. The right cut plays a key role in floral splendor. It is important to cover the climbing aid evenly and to attract numerous flowers. With this cut you can:

    • Ideally, detach all or as many tendrils as possible from the climbing aid and lay them on the ground
    • On each main shoot: cut back all 2nd and 3rd tier side shoots to 3 to 5 buds
    • Healthy, well-developed long shoots from the previous year do not cut

    The cut main shoots now resemble a "chicken ladder" and are fixed to the climbing aid. The figure below illustrates the before/after effect. Begin the formation with the most promising shoot and gradually work your way up. You may not need all of the main shoots, so you can end up removing the weakest specimens. One-year long shoots, on the other hand, are the floral hope for your climbing rose and are spared the scissors.

    Rarely cut wild roses

    Wild roses are an asset to any natural garden. The rosy natural beauties are not made for yearly trimmings. Attempts to press a wild rose into a cut shape are doomed to failure. A single ground shoot remains vital and floriferous for up to six years. To prevent wild roses from turning into a senile, impenetrable thicket, pruning every four to five years ensures order. This is how a wild rose stays young and full of flowers for many years:

    • The best time is in February when the weather is frost-free
    • Thin out a third to a quarter of the old scaffolding shoots (very dark wood) to ground level
    • Overly long or overhanging shoots slim down to an outward-facing side shoot
    • Do not cut annual, unbranched shoots

    If young, green wood is scarce in a wild rose, cut back some of the older, two- to three-year-old shoots to 40 centimeters. A sap builds up, which encourages sleeping eyes to sprout. If the cut branch gets caught in the dense mesh, please do not use force when pulling it out. The risk of damaging valuable blossom wood is too great. Instead, you chop up the old wood to get a better hold of it.

    Pruning tool for rose cutting

    A rose gardener always has his rose scissors to hand, because they are the most important tool. The basic equipment also includes pruning shears and a jackknife. There are a variety of designs to choose from on the market. The following overview summarizes the basic properties that the cutting tool should have:

    Rose shears and pruning shears

    • Narrow tip for maneuvering in tight spaces
    • Two sharp blades as bypass scissors
    • Constructed of high quality stainless steel or carbon steel
    • Easy to disassemble for cleaning work

    Pruning saw, folding saw

    • Narrow, pointed saw blade
    • Ideally with Japanese perforation
    • Folding saw (€17.70) with a stable lock
    • Easy replacement of a dull saw blade

    With cheap tools from the discounter you will not meet the high demands of your roses. Please look at proven brand manufacturers such as Okatsune, Fiskars, Felco or Kumamoto. The investment in premium quality is rewarded with a smooth flow of cutting work, so you can fully concentrate on the perfect approach.

    frequently asked Questions

    What does ADR rose mean?

    ADR stands for Recognized German Rose and is to be understood as a seal of quality. The title is only awarded to those roses that have been planted in one of eleven selection gardens and have demonstrated good health and high ornamental value over a period of three to four years. One of the most important premises is that healthy growth can be achieved without the use of pesticides. Other criteria are winter hardiness, leaf health, self-cleaning or overall impression. To date, around 150 varieties have been able to obtain the ADR rose rating.

    When is the best time to plant roses?

    Roses grown in containers can be planted in beds or pots throughout the growing season. For bare-root goods, the time window for planting is from October to March. This applies on condition that the earth is not frozen and the thermometer is above freezing.

    My heart bleeds to cut my roses so vigorously, as can be read in many instructions. Why should a rose be pruned so deeply anyway?

    You are not alone in your concerns. Many rose lovers struggle with cutting back roses radically in spring. Hobby gardeners often assume that a rose is taking too much strength when it has already started to sprout. The truth is that roses only sprout at the end of a branch. Old age and lignification are inevitable if the shoots are not regularly shortened. Without annual pruning, the flowering shrubs become bare from the base with a few flowers in the upper area.

    When and how should I prune a standard rose?

    Standard roses are the combination of root and stem of a wild rose, refined with a bed, shrub or hybrid tea as a crown. Cut back the crown to 20 to 40 centimeters in spring. If it is a dwarf rose crown, shorten the branches to 10 centimeters. An exception applies to once-blooming cascade roses. The crowns bloom on last year's wood and should only be thinned out and slightly trimmed into shape. Please make absolutely sure that you do not cut into the spherical grafting point, which is located in the transition from the trunk to the crown.

    The 3 most common cutting mistakes

    The queen of flowers graciously forgives many a beginner's mistake. With the following three pruning mistakes, hobby gardeners usually fall out of favor and, in the worst case, are punished with the total loss of their roses. The following table names common mishaps by name, provides information on typical damage patterns and tips for prevention:

    cutting error damage picture prevention
    never cut premature senescence, bare thicket, few flowers Cut every year when the forsythia blooms
    cut somewhere Growth depression, dried up buds, disease spread Cut 5-10 mm above a bud
    cut too timidly bare base, massively branched shoot tips with few flowers cut back to 3 to 5 buds in spring
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    tips

    A regular and balanced supply of nutrients is the ideal complement to professional cutting care. In order for roses to bloom lavishly, administer a special organic-mineral rose fertilizer at the end of March and the end of June. Please pay attention to the dosage. Too much of a good thing makes roses soft and vulnerable. It shouldn't be more than 60 grams per square meter.

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Vegetable garden