Winter Rose Pruning

Roses have a reputation for being fussy, but in reality they’re tough plants that respond well to a little routine care.

One of the simplest ways to keep them healthy and flowering well is to prune them during the winter months.

Why Winter Is the Best Time to Prune Roses*

1. The plant is dormant

In winter, roses are resting. With sap flow reduced and no new soft growth to damage, pruning causes less stress. You’re working with a quiet plant rather than one in active growth.

2. You can see what you’re doing

Without leaves and flowers in the way, the structure is visible. You can spot dead wood, crossing stems, and weak shoots far more easily, which means cleaner, more confident cuts.

3. Better disease and pest control

Removing old, congested growth improves airflow. This reduces the chance of black spot, mildew, and other fungal problems later in the year. Winter pruning also helps remove any stems damaged by pests.

4. Encourages stronger flowering

Roses flower on new growth. Pruning in winter encourages the plant to push out vigorous new shoots in spring, which in turn means better blooms.

5. Helps maintain a good shape

Pruning keeps roses from becoming leggy or tangled. A well-shaped rose is easier to manage, looks better in winter, and performs better in summer.

A Quick How To Prune Roses Guide

This is s

uitable for most shrub roses, hybrid teas, and floribundas.

What You’ll Need

• Sharp, clean secateurs

• Gloves

• Loppers or pruning saw for thicker stems

• A bucket or trug for clippings (obviously!)

  
  

When to Prune

Late winter is ideal — roughly January to early March in the UK — avoiding periods of hard frost.

1. Start with the obvious:

Remove anything that is dead, diseased, or damaged.

• Dead wood is usually dark and brittle.

• Diseased wood may look blackened.

• Damaged stems may be split or scarred.

  
  

2. Take out crossing or rubbing stems:

These cause wounds that invite disease. Aim to keep an open, vase-like shape with space in the middle.

3. Cut back to healthy buds:

Make each cut just above an outward-facing bud, sloping slightly away from it.

4. Remove weak or spindly stems:

If it can bend like a piece of string, it’s not going to become a strong flowering shoot. Take it out.

5. Clear up thoroughly:

Pick up all the prunings — especially any old leaves — to reduce the spread of fungal diseases.

6. Apply mulch to the base of the shrub

Mulching helps conserve moisture, improve soil structure, suppress weeds, and gives the plant a bit of a boost – take care not to heap the mulch up against the stems.

Winter rose pruning is one of my favourite gardening jobs.

So if you’d rather not tackle it: Get in touch!

*Which Roses Shouldn’t Be Pruned in Winter?

While most modern roses benefit from a winter prune, there are a few types you should leave alone until summer. These varieties flower on wood produced the previous year, so cutting them back in winter would remove next season’s blooms.

Once-flowering roses

These bloom just once in early summer and rely on last year’s stems to do it. This group includes many old shrub roses — such as Albas, Gallicas, Damasks, and Centifolias — along with most species roses. Prune them straight after flowering, not in winter.

Rambling roses

Ramblers produce long, whippy stems and usually flower on last year’s growth. A winter prune risks wiping out their entire display. Tidy and train them after they’ve finished flowering in July or August.

Very young roses

Roses in their first year need time to settle in. A hard winter prune is more of a setback than a help. Leave them to establish and start shaping them properly the following year.

If you’re ever unsure whether a particular rose flowers on old or new wood, observing when it blooms is a good guide: early-summer, once-only bloomers are pruned after flowering; repeat bloomers are pruned in winter.