Pruning roses

Roses need pruning every year to perform well and produce abundant flowers. Most pruning is done when the plants slow down for winter. Let's recap what needs to be done now.

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For all roses – the basics

Get these right, and you are already pruning.

• Deadhead roses throughout the year to encourage more blooming.

• Remove diseased, damaged or dead branches. It stands to reason to start with this task so that roses remain healthy.

• Remove crossing branches. This helps with the structure of the rose and produces more flowers on the outside. This also opens up the rose, allowing good air circulation and helping prevent fungal diseases.

• Cut above a healthy bud that's facing outwards.

• If roses are in a windy area, they may suffer from wind rocking, which will be harmful to the roots. Prune them back to avoid this.

Old garden roses

These are roses that usually have one flush per year. These don't need severe pruning; just aim to reduce the size of the shrub by one-third.

Floribunda roses