Newsletter Articles
How to Prune Roses: An End-of-Season Guide
By Richard Flowers, ACCNP-Green Thumb Nursery-Ventura
Prune roses in the dormant season, which in mild Southern California usually means January. Start by removing the dead, dying, damaged, and diseased canes, take out any crossing or rubbing branches to open the center into a vase shape, and make each cut about a quarter inch above an outward-facing bud. Cut hybrid teas and floribundas back hardest, prune shrub and landscape roses only lightly, and do not hard-prune climbers or once-blooming roses in winter, since many bloom on old wood and should be pruned after they flower. Heading into winter, ease off fertilizer and deadheading and rake up fallen leaves to limit disease.
Quick answer: The main rose prune is a dormant-season job, about January in Southern California, not fall. Remove dead, diseased, damaged, and crossing canes, open the center for airflow, and cut a quarter inch above an outward-facing bud at a slant. Cut hybrid teas and floribundas back by roughly one-half, prune shrub roses only lightly, and prune climbers and once-blooming roses after they bloom instead of in winter. In fall, stop deadheading and let hips form, taper off fertilizer so growth hardens, and clear fallen leaves and prunings to cut down on disease. In our mild winters you can skip the cold-climate practice of mounding soil over the graft.
| Rose type | How hard to prune | When |
|---|---|---|
| Hybrid tea, floribunda, grandiflora | Hard: cut back by about one-half (hybrid teas to roughly 12 to 18 inches) | Dormant season (about January in SoCal) |
| Shrub and landscape roses | Light: shape and thin by about one-third | Dormant season |
| Climbers and once-blooming roses | Do not hard-prune in winter; they bloom on old wood | After their spring bloom |
End-of-Season Rose Care: Easing Roses Into Dormancy
The end of the season is not the time for the big structural prune; it is the time to let your roses wind down. The clearest signal you can send is to stop deadheading in fall and let the spent flowers form hips, which cues the plant toward dormancy.[1] At the same time, ease off the fertilizer: UC IPM notes that feeding should taper heading into fall so the plant hardens off for winter rather than pushing tender new growth.[2]
The one job worth doing now is cleanup. Rake up and dispose of fallen leaves and any prunings, because sanitation like this reduces disease and insect pressure the following spring.[2] This matters most with black spot, which persists on fallen leaves and infected stems and spreads back onto the plant when conditions turn wet, so good airflow and clearing debris do more than any spray.[3] For the rest of winter protection, like mulching and watering through dry spells, see our guide to rose care for winter.
When to Prune Roses (Especially in Southern California)
The big prune is a late-winter, dormant-season task. UC Master Gardeners put the California window at roughly December to January for coastal areas and January to February inland, so for most of Southern California that means January.[1] That is noticeably later than in cold-winter regions; Oregon State, for example, times rose pruning to mid-February or early March, once the weather is about to push new growth.[4] One upside of our mild winters: the cold-climate ritual of mounding soil over the graft union to protect it is generally not necessary here, since UC IPM scopes that winter-hardening concern to regions with hard freezes.[2]
How to Prune Roses Step by Step
Work with clean, sharp bypass pruners and take the cuts in a sensible order. First remove the four D’s, the dead, dying, damaged, and diseased canes, cutting them back to the base.[1] Next take out canes that cross or rub, then keep three to six strong, healthy canes and open the center into a vase shape so light and air can reach the middle of the plant.[4]
Make each cut about a quarter inch above an outward-facing bud, on a slight downward slant away from the bud.[5] Cutting to an outward-facing bud steers the new growth away from the center, which keeps the plant open and airy and helps it shrug off disease.[4] Remove any suckers growing from below the graft union, as close to the root stem as you can, and cut off the remaining leaves rather than stripping them by hand to expose the structure and clear overwintering pests.[1] As a rule of thumb, trim old growth back by about one-third, or up to one-half for an overgrown bush.[1]
Different Roses, Different Cuts
How hard you cut depends entirely on the type of rose, and this is where most mistakes happen. Modern repeat bloomers take the hardest cut: Colorado State recommends hard-pruning them to about one-half to two-thirds of their height,[5] and Oregon State gives spring target heights of roughly 12 to 18 inches for hybrid teas and grandifloras and 24 to 36 inches for floribundas.[4] Shrub and landscape roses are the opposite: remove the dead and diseased wood and just shape them back by about a third.[1]
Climbers and once-blooming roses are the big exception. Many of them bloom on old wood, so a hard dormant-season cut removes the very canes that would have flowered. UC Master Gardeners advise pruning once-blooming ramblers and climbers after their spring bloom instead of in winter,[1] and Colorado State makes the same point: for one-time bloomers that flower on old wood, avoid cutting them back the way you would a modern rose.[5] On a repeat-blooming climber you keep the main canes and just shorten the side shoots; on a once-blooming climber or rambler, wait until the flowers fade.[4]
Not sure which kind of rose you have, or how hard to cut it? Bring a photo or a cane to any Green Thumb Nursery and our team can show you where to make the cuts. For planting new roses, see our guide to planting dormant roses, and for the bigger picture, our tips for growing roses in Southern California.
Rose Pruning FAQ
How do you prune roses?
Start by removing the dead, dying, damaged, and diseased canes back to the base, then take out crossing canes and keep three to six strong ones, opening the center into a vase shape. Make each cut about a quarter inch above an outward-facing bud, remove suckers below the graft, and strip the leaves to finish.[1]
When should you prune roses in Southern California?
Do the main prune in the dormant season, which in most of Southern California means about January (December to January along the coast, January to February inland). That is later than in cold-winter regions, where pruning waits until late February or early March.[1]
How far back do you cut roses?
For hybrid teas and other modern repeat bloomers, cut back by about one-half (down to roughly 12 to 18 inches). Prune shrub and landscape roses only lightly, shaping them back by about a third. Do not cut climbers and once-blooming roses hard in winter at all.[5]
Do you prune climbing roses the same way as hybrid teas?
No. Many climbers and once-blooming roses flower on old wood, so hard winter pruning cuts off the coming blooms. Prune once-blooming climbers and ramblers right after they finish flowering; on repeat-blooming climbers, keep the main canes and just shorten the side shoots.[1]
Should you prune roses in fall or wait for winter?
Wait. Fall is for easing roses into dormancy, so stop deadheading, let hips form, taper off fertilizer, and clean up fallen leaves. Save the real structural pruning for the dormant season in January.[1]
Sources
- [1] UC Master Gardeners, San Luis Obispo County, Pruning Rose Bushes: ucanr.edu
- [2] UC IPM, Roses: Cultural Practices and Weed Control: ipm.ucanr.edu
- [3] UC IPM, Roses: Diseases and Abiotic Disorders: ipm.ucanr.edu
- [4] Oregon State University Extension, Pruning Roses: extension.oregonstate.edu
- [5] Colorado State University Extension, Rose Pruning: extension.colostate.edu
Sign up for the Green Thumb Nursery newsletter for seasonal Southern California gardening tips.