How to prune an established bush or shrub rose

Welcome to my guide to pruning an established bush or shrub rose

I always do my established Plants first earliest in the season. These have the ability to withstand the worst of the weather and are naturally much larger and stronger young plants under 24 months in the ground should be left to the middle of February and into March before pruning takes place. As they are most susceptible to die back and frost damage. 

This process is exactly the same if you were working on a plant in the ground here I’m working on a potted specimen of Elizabeth from ‪@david_austin_roses‬

Start by removing the dead the diseased dying and crossing wood in this video. I describe how dying stems can be easily identified usually by the colour of the bark however if you’re unsure using your pruners or Penknife scrape away a small amount of the bark  if it’s brown and dull below the bark the stem is dead if it’s green and moist it’s alive

Wherever possible remove stems congesting the centre of the plant you’re aiming for an open goblet shape with plenty of light and space in the centre allowing for ample light and airflow paying attention to this will reduce disease problems in the future

In the first few years your aim is to create a permanent framework. Remember it’s your garden if you want your framework to be a little higher than others you do you! I prefer the permanent frameworks on my roses to be somewhere in the region of 15 to 20 inches tall

then cutting back all of last year‘s growth to a strong outward facing bud ensuring that the plant continues to grow naturally outwards from the centre increasing air and light flow to the centre of the plant

Wherever possible pay attention to the angle of your cuts keep your pruners at an angle of between 35 and 45°. This will ensure water runs off of the cut and doesn’t rot the stems causing die back in future years

Once you’re finished, remove any leaves left on the plant and collect together any fallen on the ground at the base, these should be incinerated or placed in your home garden recycling bin never on the compost. This insures that you’re not reinfecting new growth with any pest or disease problems you had last year. 

This is the perfect time to mulch and feed your roses with rotted horse or cow manure wood  chip home-made garden compost leaf mulch or soil conditioner

Remember creating the perfect plant can take several years and all plants are different 

Look out for my live prolongs and other videos coming in this series where I’ll be pruning Young Plants under 24 months old climbing standard and rambling roses

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to leave me a comment below