When am I supposed to prune my roses and by how much?
The best time to prune your roses is in late winter, early spring just as you see that the leaves are starting to bud out. Pruning before then runs the risk of additional frost injury. When you prune them, you will be removing dead wood, weak and crossing branches. How much to remove depends on the gardener’s own goals.
Rigorously pruned rosebushes have fewer flowers, both at the first flush of bloom and throughout the season than do plants pruned more moderately. Drastic pruning can produce coarse flowers and reduces the food supply that is stored in the stems. Continuous cutting back year after year lessens the vigor of the bushes.
Keeping in mind that it is desirable to allow as much sunlight and air as possible to reach the center of the plant to help prevent disease. Canes growing inward should be removed and cuts should be made just above an outward-pointing bud so that the new growth will be started in the right direction. Cutting canes that are four or more years old to the ground will encourage base stems to cover the bare bottoms of most hybrid teas.
