Pruning roses is crucial if you want to grow beautiful, lush roses. Over the years, roses have been highly hybridized and cross bred in order to produce beautiful blooms. This has effected their growth habits. Today, keeping the bush size and shape appealing requires some human intervention in the form of pruning.

Pruning roses isn’t as complicated or mysterious as people make it out to be. In fact, there are just a few basic rules. If you keep these in mind whenever you pick up your pruning shears, you’ll be rewarded with beautiful rose bushes that your friends and neighbors will envy.

1) When to Prune

Rose pruning should be done in the spring, just as the leaf buds begin to swell. It is very important that the pruning is done before the seasons active growth begins. Young roses should not be pruned at all. They need to reach a strong, mature size (2-3 years) before pruning is necessary.

2) How Much to Prune