How to prune an English climbing rose

How to prune climbing roses

The instructions in this article cover the pruning of English climbing roses, from their first year after flowering through to maturity.

Why prune a rose?

Pruning is essential if you really want your rose to thrive.

The main purpose of pruning is to create a shapely, attractive plant, with good coverage and structure, you can do this by simply removing parts of the plant during the non-flowering season. Pruning encourages fresh new growth and plentiful blooms for the following season.

You will need

Secateurs

Gloves

Kneeling pad

When to prune?

We recommend pruning in late winter/early spring, when the first growth is beginning. It is ok to prune earlier, but it can be more difficult to identify the less healthy stems that you will want to prune out. If you still haven’t pruned by March it is still better to do so.

Important information for growing climbing roses on structures:

If growing on fixed structures we recommend attaching horizontal wires to your wall which you will use to tie back the stems. Attach the wires at two feet intervals up the wall. Initially, three wires will suffice. As your rose grows taller you will need to add additional wires.
If growing on an obelisk wind the strong stems growing from the base around your structure so that the stems spiral around it. This is much easier when the stems are young, soft and pliable.
If growing on an arch follow the same method as for wall climbers but tie-in to your arch. To keep a tall and slender habit on your arch, allow the main stems to grow and create height, just pruning back the side shoots.

Remember these key points:

Don’t worry about where you cut a stem. Accepted wisdom suggests cutting just above a leaf joint with a sloping cut away from the bud. However, there is no evidence to prove this is necessary.
Do not worry about cutting back too much.Do not be alarmed, the growth will strengthen and re-establish quickly in the spring.
Carefully dispose of foliage. Foliage should never be composted and should be removed from your garden. This ensures spores that can initiate disease are removed from your garden.

How to prune a climbing rose

The two important elements when pruning climbers are:

Selecting and encouraging strong growth from the base of the plant.
Training stems so that they fan out and are near to horizontal to promote shoots along the stem.

Pruning a newly planted climbing rose

A newly planted rose has completed it's first season of flowering. At this stage your rose will still be establishing its roots to support growth in the future, thus only very light pruning is required.

Step 1
Lightly prune

Cut away any growth that is growing away from the structure that cannot be tied back.
Step 2
Remove unhealthy stems

Look out for the ‘four Ds’ – remove any dead, dying, damaged and diseased stems.
Step 3
Tie longer stems to wires

Pull down the longer stems to 45 degrees or more and tie against your wires.
Step 4
Remove foliage

Remove any foliage that remains. This is where disease spores can lay dormant ready to challenge your plant next year.

Pruning an established rose - Year two and three

An established rose that has completed two flowering seasons is still considered to be developing its root system and will not be at its mature size or shape.

Step 1
Prune

Cut away any growth that is growing away from the structure that cannot be tied back. If your climber is particularly vigorous and getting congested, cut away more of the weakest growth.
Step 2
Cut back old flowering stems

Reduce the length of any flowering side shoots by half.
Step 3
Remove unhealthy stems

Look out for the ‘four Ds’ – remove any dead, dying, damaged and diseased stems.
STEP 4
Tie in longer stems

Pull down the longer stems to 45 degrees or more and tie against your wires
Step 5
Remove foliage

Remove any foliage that remains. This is where disease spores can lay dormant ready to challenge your plant next year.
Step 6
For three year old+ roses

After completing the aforementioned steps, cut out any old or weak stems at the base of the plant.

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