For information on keeping roses problem free, including details on fall mulching for roses and winter care for roses in containers, see our guide Rose Problems.

When is the right time to prune roses?

It depends on the type of rose you have. As a general rule of thumb, roses that flower only once in a season should be pruned within a month after flowering and roses that flower several times during the season should be pruned in late March or early April once the buds start to break. The precise timing will vary with where you live but you can take your signal from the plants: buds swelling or roses fading. For regions outside the New York City area, refer to the resources of your local American Rose Society affiliate organization.

Where and how you make your pruning cuts is also important and proper pruning creates a more vigorous rose with more, healthy flowers. You can read more about when and how to prune different types of roses in our guide to Pruning Roses or look for the general rules to follow at the bottom of this page.

In the fall many of us have an urge to prune our roses, when the plants are unruly, with spotty leaves and looking in need of care. But it is better to resist the urge and wait until next year when the effort will have greater benefit for the plant. Pruning too late in the season can, in some cases, reduce the amount of flowers you will have on your roses next years as well as risk damage to the health of the plant. Pruning stimulates a plant to produce new growth; tender growth at the end of the season is at greater risk of winter damage which can lead to further plant die-back during the winter. Spring pruning of repeat-blooming roses also allows the gardener to see which stems are looking strongest at the beginning of the season and select those to remain on the plant.

There are some situations that call for a fall pruning.

• If your rose will be subjected to strong winds, heavy snow loads or has become so unwieldy that it could fall over, you can reduce canes in the fall to limit breakage. (Gently caging, tying canes together or creating a burlap wind barrier can also help.) For roses, like climbers, that are prized for their long canes, take care to secure the extended growth in the manner you would like the plant to grow rather than cutting it off.
• If there is diseased growth on the plant, cut that back at any time, including the fall.
• If your rose is growing in a container and it will need to be moved or wrapped to protect it, pruning to avoid broken stems may be unavoidable.
• If you are growing a hybrid tea, grandiflora or floribunda rose in a USDA zone that is colder than its hardiness rating, then it is important to protect the entire rose from the elements. Prune the rose once it goes dormant in the fall. This will simply entail cutting it back to a smaller size, so that it is easier to protect. Surround the rose with a cylinder of chicken wire and sturdy poles. Fill the cylinder to the top with dry leaves or straw and cover it with a solid top to prevent the protective mulch from compressing in the rain and snow (e.g. an old board or trash can lid with a rock on top to hold it down).
• If you live in an area with a much colder winter than the New York City Area, you should contact your county's cooperative extension office for information on protecting your rose for the winter. (To find yours, internet search on name of county name of state Cooperative Extension; example: search on "Grafton County NH Cooperative Extension".)

General Rules for Pruning Different Types of Roses

Once-blooming roses flower on old wood and continuous-blooming roses flower on new wood.  Most Old Garden Roses flower only once; a few, such as 'Autumn Damask' and some Portlands, Hybrid Perpetuals, Bourbons, Chinas and Noisette roses tend to flower again. The majority of modern roses flower over a long period.

More specific guidelines by rose type are as follow:

Hybrid Teas, Floribundas and Grandifloras: Prune in early spring when about half the buds are swollen, but before the leaves start to expand. Take off  ⅓ to ⅔ the length of the canes, cutting back to an outside bud. Reduce the plant to a total of 3 to 6 canes.  These roses respond well to hard pruning. The lower the pruning cut the stronger the new growth will be. A hard pruning encourages the growth of strong canes from the base of the plant that will produce the best flowers. When finished pruning these roses, the framework is anywhere from 6 inches to just over one foot tall.

Repeat Blooming Modern Shrubs and Repeat Blooming Old Garden Roses: These roses will bloom on new growth as well as laterals of one- and two-year old canes. Cut back main canes by half and laterals to just two buds. Thin out branches that are older than three years.

Knock Out Roses®: These popular roses grow to a mature size of 3 - 4' high and wide each year. To maintain vigorous growth, cut back canes with a clean pruner yearly to a height of 12 inches in late winter to early spring prompted by the new growth buds showing. (For Petite Knock Out Roses®, prune back  to 1/3rd the size you would like the plant to be at maturity.)

Repeat Blooming Climbing Roses: Do not prune a climbing rose for the first three years; only remove dead, damaged or diseased wood. After three years, cut back laterals in the early spring to two or three buds or about six inches. On a mature climber, selectively thin out older canes by cutting down to the base.

Once Blooming Modern Shrub and Old Garden Roses: Prune in mid-summer after flowering (usually mid- to late-June). Prune these shrubs lightly to shape them. They generally do not need a severe pruning, but benefit from being thinned out.

Courtesy of NYBG Plant Information