It will depend on your climate. It's always best to list your zone when asking gardening questions.

If you provide your zone and the name of your rose (if possible) the wonderful folks on this forum will provide fantastic information for you.

Good Luck!
M

M

"When the forsythia blooms" may work fine for Virginia, but here we cannot grow forsythia because we are too warm. Instead of Spring, we prune our roses (the ones that need pruning - many do not) in January.

Actually, in my garden (zone 9, No California) many of my roses bloom and grow all 12 months, and I have over 100 of them, so sometimes I start early (like now), and just tidy up the teas and the chinas, who really don't like to be pruned anyway.

The roses that theoretically do need pruning are modern hybrid teas. Do you know what kind of roses you have/want? Knowing vaguely where you are located would help folks on here to make suggestions about that, too.

Jackie

Please, disregard any information that you've received about roses being very sensitive and needy. It just isn't true. They do not require any more care than any other perennial in your garden. They need sun, water, reasonable soil, some fertilizer now and then and a pruning once a year. Just like a peony, hydrangea, hibiscus or iris or most all perennials need. And many of them have survived for decades with no care what so ever from anyone!

If you're considering repeat flowering types, you can prune some virtually any time of the year as it won't reduce or eliminate flowering. If you're considering once flowering types, it's best to do any pruning after they've flowered or you run the risk of significantly reducing, or even eliminating the year's flowering all together. R. Banksiae was grown in Britain for many years before any flowers were seen there. They were kept pruned like the other roses, which eliminated all the older wood which is required for their massive bloom display.

Other than those rules of thumb, ideally, you prune "after your last frost" and before new growth begins to push from your roses. Whenever THAT is. Mine continue pushing new growth and flowers (as Jackie's do) all year long, so "pruning" is accomplished to keep paths open, attempt to separate plants to make my tasks easier, or to remove anything damaged or too old or diseased.

Many types not only resent hard pruning, but actually don't require it. This all depends upon your overall goal for them. If you require fewer, but larger, more "exhibition" flowers, you prune harder, lower, removing more of the plant. If your goal is for a heavier, mass effect of color, you prune less, removing less of the plants. You're individual flowers will probably be smaller, but you should have many more of them, faster, with faster repeat flowering from many varieties than with heavier, lower pruning.

You can learn rather easily from your roses what each variety "wants" by observing how they respond to what you do to/for them. Some seem to need harder pruning to reinvigorating them. Others 'complain' when pruned too hard. Just pay attention to them when you do anything with them to see how they respond. You'll find they really will "talk" to you and teach you what treatment is best for them where you are. On the whole, most aren't 'fussy'. Unless you do something really terrible to them, it's often very difficult to actually kill a rose. Some die, seemingly for no reason, but unless you drown them, totally dry them out, poison them with too much fertilizer or hack up the plant beyond repair, they are marvelously difficult to murder. Kim

So very true ! I have a rose located out in "deer territory" in front of my home that I have not caged and have allowed the deer to prune it as much as they like because eventually I plan to remove the rose ... I truly hate the color.

The deer have been pruning that rose for 8 years. It's still a strong and vigorous plant. (I've been working to create a rose garden in back of the house. I'll get to it.)

Note: Deer do not know when to prune. Nor do they know how to prune. So, please do not be afraid you might make some pruning "mistakes". The rose doesn't know that you are not a deer.

Smiles,
Lyn