Sharp practice

Pruning roses in winter has become the norm, but why do we do it–and should we? Charles Quest-Ritson explains the reasoning underpinning this horticultural habit

- Charles Quest

WHEN should I prune my roses? The answer depends on when you feel like it, when it suits the roses and, indeed, why you want to prune them in the first place. Pruning shrubs—and that includes roses—is not compulsory. We’ve all seen gardens where no one has done any pruning for years and yet the bushes never fail to produce a copious crop of roses. The same is true of camellias, magnolias, buddlejas or any other shrub we grow for its flowers. Pruning, however, may improve the quality or quantity of what they offer us.

Roses are shrubs and the best time to prune all shrubs is immediately after they bloom. Take rambler roses, all those once-flowering varieties such as ‘American Pillar’ and ‘Dorothy Perkins’. When their petals fall at the end of July, cut off all the long sprays that carried the crop of flowers. The plant will then make new long growths to bloom next year. Yet it doesn’t matter if you don’t touch them—you will still get lots of flowers next year anyway.

There’s one good reason why you might not want to cut back a rose after it has flowered—the rose hips that provide a second season of interest. The flowers of