So much mystique surrounds the subject of pruning rose bushes. There are so many experts on the subject, and of course when you get many experts you get many opinions! We show you how to prune Roses. Pruning roses is so simple, other than the fact that most rose bushes have thorns!
Firstly, lets answer the question "Why do roses actually need pruning?"
Answer. Bush roses flower best on new shoots made in the early spring and summer. The flowers are larger, more prolific and actually last longer when there is a good framework of new shoots on the plant.
As well as the healthy flowers this pruning will provide, you will also get nice new healthy rose foliage clothing the plant from more or less ground level up to the top.
If you cut back your rose bush quite hard in early spring, this will force it to send out new shoots (Branches). For every old branch you prune, there will be at least two new ones to grow and take its place. More shoots = more flowers.
Another reason is, that if you do not prune your rose bush, you will end up with a tall tangle of old stems - some of which will be dead and which are devoid of foliage lower down - so you end up with a rose bush which is many feet tall with just a few weal flowers on the top. Nothing but bare prickly stems lower down. It stands to reason, that if the flowers are further away from the root system (Food supply) then they will receive less food to produce strong healthy blooms.
Once a rose bush flowers for a few years on old un-pruned bushes, the flowered stems become exhausted and eventually dies as new shoots sprout from lower down the stem. Old flowered shoots die.
Most of us will have seen rose bushes that fall into the latter category. Some rose bushes will grow many feet in a year even if pruned. Queen Elizabeth is a typical example.