In this blog, chartered horticulturalist David Domoney explains how, when and why to prune shrub roses and climbing roses.
Roses are one of the most popular garden flowers grown in the world, and the UK is no exception. It has even been identified as the UK’s most popular flower for gardeners.
So, ensuring they have the right care, and treatment is paramount for these fan favourites. Pruning will ensure vigorous growth and plentiful flowers once they start to bloom from the new growth.
Find out how and when to prune both shrub roses and climbing roses to help them thrive once growth continues.
How to prune roses
When pruning all roses, you should never compost the disposed-of material. Roses are particularly prone to diseases which can spread. So, to mitigate the risk of spreading, dispose of the material in your garden waste bin.
When making your cuts, aim to be cutting no more than 5 mm above a bud, sloping down from it. The aim of this is to prevent water from collecting on the bud. Pruning should be well-spaced, allowing free airflow in the plant. This reduces the risk of fungal diseases developing and spreading within the plant.
Generally, much of late-winter rose pruning is on dead wood.
The perfect tool in this case, is Ames Tools’ Multi-Function Anvil Pruner. The anvil action is perfect for dead wood, one blade cutting onto a solid base, much like a knife and chopping board.


When pruning living rose material, I suggest Ames Tools’ Multi-Function Bypass Pruners instead, the cutting ‘scissor’ action being much better for the plant.
Both of these pruners are adjustable, so can be modified to suit different hand sizes, for optimum comfort. Plus, it has an ambidextrous sliding lock catch, to make storage easy, and inclusive.
To ensure rose pruning is as comfortable as possible, I find the Multi-Function Anvil Pruners and Multi-Function Bypass Pruners excellent and made to last.
How to prune shrub roses
Characteristic of wild gardens, or the backs of borders, or as independent, isolated features, shrub roses are diverse and have been separated into two groups: old-fashioned, and modern.
The old-fashioned types originated before the 18th century, whilst modern shrub roses were introduced in the 20th century. These modern roses were bred for more vibrant colours, improved repeat flowering, and greater disease resistance.

Regardless of your preference for old-fashioned or modern, shrub roses will have an open, spreading shape.
The flowers are wonderfully varied, either being single, semi-double, or fully double.
This rose type should be pruned between late winter and mid-February or March, depending on where you are. Northern, colder, areas can wait until March, whilst southern areas shouldn’t be pruning beyond mid-February. This is whilst growth is just beginning to resume.
As opposed to modern bush roses, shrub roses will typically produce flowers on older wood. Regular pruning serves to balance old wood with younger growth evenly. There are slightly varying methods depending on the type of shrub rose you have. These are separated into shrub roses with a single flush of flowers, and repeat-flowering shrub roses.
How to prune single-flowering shrub roses
Once your single-flowering shrub rose has finished flowering, you can prune these plants, in the late summer. They can also be pruned during the late winter, from February to March. The main goal of pruning these is to remove unproductive wood, limit crowding in the centre of the shrub, and remove dead, diseased, and damaged wood.
Also, if you’ve had your shrub rose for three flowering seasons, you can use pruning to influence the plant’s size and shape. Beforehand, it is better to simply prune to ensure the healthiest growth. However, when pruning, always try to aim for a rounded shape to encourage even growth.
How to prune repeat-flowering shrub roses

These repeat-flowerers are much better suited to pruning in late winter, from mid-February to March. The task with these roses is to reduce the strong, new growth by up to a third, and the previous season’s growth by between 30 and 50 percent. Stems of new growth would be better pruned with either Precision Snips or Multi-Function Bypass Pruners, of which Ames has a great selection available.
Additionally, mature plants will need old growth from the main stems cut down to the base. This encourages newer growth in spring and summer.
Next, looking at strong sideshoots, these should be reduced to two or three buds maximum. This should keep your repeat-flowering shrub roses healthy, and ready for more vigorous growth and flowering that summer.
How to prune climbing roses
Climbing roses are popular features on the sides of homes, up trellises, over arches, and more. They’re a fantastic way to add evenly distributed, elevated colour and interest to the garden.
Climbing roses can be easily confused with rambling roses. Rambling roses have much more pliable stems, grow vigorously, and have a single flush of flowers. Alternatively, climbing roses have become more popular in comparison, with stiffer stems, and larger blooms, and many varieties are repeat-flowerers.
As with most roses, between mid-February and March is the ideal time for pruning climbing roses. Use the Ames Tools Multi-Functional Anvil Pruner on dead, diseased, dying wooden branches. If renovating an overgrown climbing rose, cut some of the old, woody branches to the ground. Only retain up to six young stems, which should be secured to support. Then, the dead stumps should be sawn away, to avoid rot.

Then, using some Multi-Function Bypass Pruners or snips, prune the flowering side shoots down by two-thirds, which will encourage branching and more blooms. Tie in any remaining new shoots which would benefit from support whilst you’re pruning too, ahead of the growing season.
With Ames Tools Multi-Function Anvil or Bypass Pruners, you can do some fantastic renovation to your shrub and climbing roses at this time of year. You will be rewarded with more blooms, and healthier rose plants overall.
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