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Start Sharpening Your Pruners

Karen Russ
Home & Garden Information Center

It’s almost time to prune most (but not all) roses. Prune repeat blooming roses, such as hybrid teas, floribundas, and many shrub roses as soon as their leaf buds begin to swell, but before the buds elongate.

Image of the rose, 'Buff Beauty'.
Repeat blooming roses can be pruned starting in February in the Coastal Plains.
Karen Russ, Clemson HGIC

Wait to prune roses that only bloom once a year, such as Lady Banks' and many old-fashioned roses and climbers, until immediately after flowering. These roses bloom on wood from the previous year’s growth, and pruning now would remove most of this spring's flower buds.

Image depicts a Lady Banks' Rose.
Don't prune once-blooming roses like Lady Banks' Rose until after they bloom.
Karen Russ, Clemson HGIC

For more information on pruning roses, please see our fact sheet, HGIC 1173, Pruning Roses.

Page Last Updated: 28-Jan-2008

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