How to prune roses in winter

The ideal time to prune roses in Australia is June or early July. In colder climates, where there’s still frost about, its best to delay pruning until early August to avoid tender new shoots being burnt by frost.

Roses need pruning at least twice a year, to deadhead spent blooms in summer and a stronger prune in winter.

1. Look for spindly stems and cut these back to where they are the thickness of a little finger
2. Cut back any dead branches right down to the stump level
3. Try to open the centre of the bush, for more air circulation
4. Look out for any light pink, olive coloured water shoots which is the new growth and where the rose will have its flowers, just prune these lightly, to encourage it to shoot out and produce more flowers.

Don’t be afraid to remove large sections of the rose bush. It’s good to do this every couple of years to rejuvenate new growth.

• Remove any old branches, or any stems that look crinkly and warty
• Roses can be pruned back by a third to a half at this time, always from the top and you will find you will get many good flower shoots.

When pruning, always look for an outward facing bud and cut. The new growth will then grow outwards and produce flowers around the outside of the bush. Cut on a 45-degree angle and ensure your cut is sloping away from the bud to avoid dew collecting and encouraging fungal disease.

• Heritage roses don’t need a lot of pruning just a tip prune and regular shaping
• Ground cover roses are easy to prune with hedging shears, almost to ground level
• t’s a good idea to fertilise with rose fertiliser, three weeks after you’ve pruned
• Remove all clippings into the rubbish bin and not your compost to avoid spreading any disease.