Stop Pruning Roses The Wrong Way — The Complete Guide to Getting It Right (2026), by Old Farmer Secrets on YouTube. 18 min 39 s.
- Video length
- 18 min 39 s
- Time to do it
- 30 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 8
What you need
Steps
Prune in late winter or early spring, while the rose is dormant and before new buds open. In cold areas, wait until the worst frosts have passed.
Put on thick gloves and clean the blades with rubbing alcohol. Sharp bypass pruners cut cleanly; anvil pruners crush the stems.
Cut out all dead, damaged and diseased canes first. Follow each one down to healthy wood or the base and remove it completely.
Remove thin, spindly canes and any stems crossing through the middle. Keep four to six strong canes spaced around the bush to open the centre.
Shorten the remaining healthy canes by about half to two thirds. Cut just above an outward-facing bud so new growth grows away from the centre.
Make each cut at a slight 45 degree angle, about 5mm above the bud. Slope the cut away from the bud so water runs off.
Use loppers for old, thick canes that pruners cannot handle. On a very overgrown bush, cut the oldest canes right back to the ground.
Clear all prunings from the ground, then water the bush and mulch around the base. Feed with rose fertiliser when new growth starts.
Tips and common mistakes
Keep your fingers behind the blade when squeezing the handles, and never cut towards your other hand.
Don't prune during a hard frost; brittle frozen stems split and tear.
Clean the blades between bushes to avoid spreading disease.
Don't paint or seal the cuts; roses heal best when left open to the air.
Questions
When is the best time to hard prune a rose bush?
Late winter or early spring, while the bush is dormant. Wait until hard frosts have passed so the new cuts are not damaged.
How far back can I cut an overgrown rose?
You can take healthy canes down by half to two thirds, and remove the oldest canes at ground level. Avoid cutting into old, woody stumps with no buds.
Will hard pruning stop my rose flowering this year?
It may delay the first flush slightly, but it encourages strong new canes that flower well. Most shrub roses recover quickly.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
