I know there are some keen gardeners here but I dont know when I should prune my roses. I am in the South Of England and some books say prune them in Mid December, others say August, Some say February. Why all the confusion? I dont know what type of Rose bush it is but its about 8ft tall and the branches begin about halfway up from the ground, after which they grow quite rapidly Apart from when to prune the bush, I dont know why people do it, is it to make the bush stronger? Also if I do thios at the wrong time will it kill the plant?
Hi there you really have to ignore the books now and think local weather patterns. This whole global warming thing has totally knocked the months out. You need to prune before any major growth starts. Because of the way the seasons are, I would say you are probably safe to leave it till March after all the South still had summer till a few weeks ago. This is the same for all pruning rules. Pruning helps the growth of the plant. It also means that you can check on the health and also give it the max light it needs by cutting back any overgrowth. If the rose is young - leave it to establish for a couple of years.
you can kill a rose by pruning too severely during active growth, but with an established bush you can prune them just about any time you want as long as you don't cut too much off. Easiest rule of thumb is prune when it's dormant, and leave at least two nodes (where a new branch will form) on each branch you prune back. When in doubt, prune less rather than more. It works best to prune at an angle right above a node that is pointing away from the center of the bush.
