Each year I forget that February is generally our coldest winter month with snow and freezing; and this year certainly isn’t disappointing us on that front. The pots in my makeshift cold frame have frozen and the heater in the Rhino is working so hard it's shorting out the washing machine. During the day I'm having to wait for greenhouse temperatures to rise before I put the machine on. It’s a choice between clean clothes or happy plants I'm afraid. I am very glad that we have circuit breakers on our fuse board though, otherwise fuses would be blowing.
This cold snap is giving me a good chance to take a look at what needs doing with my roses.
How to Prune Young Rose Bushes (max 2 years)
How to Prune Established Rose Bushes (2+ years)
I have found rose pruning quite tricky and have never been quite comfortable about my approach, gleaned from years of reading a plethora of books and asking rose growers - until now. Diagrams in books, with red crosses on stems, also look very confusing. As a result, my approach has ranged from, haphazard, to a brutal - one size fits all - chop off at the knees. I can assure you that this no longer happens; and as I now wish to grow lots of beautiful blooms I am adopting a much gentler approach which seems far more appropriate. It also seems to work and I am much happier with it. I often find that gardening and growing is about finding what works for you, because no two gardens or gardeners are the same, and we never stop learning, we are forever refining our techniques.
So far this winter I haven't really touched the roses apart from reducing stems to prevent wind rock, cutting off dead blooms, tying a few stems onto some wires, and mulching to protect them from the ravages of winter.
Over the years, I have invested in a number of David Austin roses. I adore them. They are so romantic and beautiful, I can't resist them - with names from the novels of Thomas Hardy, which I grew up on (to be honest who didn’t?). But living in North Dorset we knew those highways and byways that he wrote about, and they still fill me with nostalgia, and memories of chalk downs, harebells, fragrant gorse and summer days.
It is no secret, but I am now following the advice of the head gardener, Steve, at David Austin Roses, who has a gentle and straight forward approach to pruning roses, which encourages them to flourish. Videos are available on YouTube if you’d like to look him up for yourself.
Pruning Roses:
When to prune:
- Prune on days that are above freezing between now (February) and end of March.
- Prune before the leaves start sprouting so that the plant's energy is not being wasted.
One year old roses:

Young rose bush after pruning
- For pruning, you need a 40cm long stick, clean secateurs, gloves, bucket.
- At the rose bush push the stick into the ground 10cm.
- This is your marker as you will now cut all stems to a height of 30cm. Put the cuttings into the bucket.
- Now cut off any dead stems or thin wispy stems that aren’t going to be strong enough to hold a bloom.
- If you have any stems that are crossing and rubbing each other, you may need to cut one off to prevent damage.
- Clear off any leaves and hips remaining on the plant and put in the bucket.
You should end up with a 30cm high shrub with strong looking stems with a good clean airy structure.
Established Rose Shrubs:
- These are shrubs that have been in the ground for two to twenty years or more.
- For pruning you need a tape measure, a 1.5 metre long stick, clean secateurs, gloves, bucket
- At the rose bush push the stick into the ground and mark half the height of the rose bush.
- This is your mark as you will now cut all stems to half the height of the shrub. Put the cuttings into the bucket.
- Now cut out any dead or diseased stems, and thin wispy stems that aren’t going to be strong enough to hold a bloom.
- If you have any stems that are crossing and rubbing each other, you may need to cut one off to prevent damage.
- Clear off any leaves and hips remaining on the plant and put in the bucket.
You should end up with a shrub with clean stems and a good airy structure ready for some good strong growth.