Summer Pruning Roses: What It Is and Why It Matters
By the height of summer, many repeat flowering roses will already have given a wonderful display, with some moving through their second flush of flowers. As blooms begin to fade, a little thoughtful care can help keep plants looking their best and encourage further flowers to follow.
This is where summer pruning comes in.
Summer pruning is, in essence, a more generous form of deadheading.
When an individual rose has finished flowering, we would ordinarily deadhead it by removing the spent bloom. However, once an entire cluster of flowers has gone over, rather than removing each flower individually, the flowering stem can be cut back further.
Follow the stem down below the finished flowers and make your cut just above a healthy leaf. This removes the whole spent flowering section and leaves the rose neat and ready to put its energy into fresh growth and, for repeat flowering varieties, more blooms.
There is no need to be too tentative. If everything on that particular stem has finished flowering, it can be taken back quite some way.
- Secateurs
- Bucket to collect stems
- Keeling pad for shrubs in borders
Leave a Little Beauty Behind
Summer pruning needn't mean removing every flower at once.
If a cluster contains a bloom that is still opening beautifully, leave it to be enjoyed and simply remove the finished flowers around it. The aim is to keep as much colour and fragrance in the garden as possible while gently tidying those stems that have finished.
It is a wonderfully simple approach: enjoy each flower for as long as it lasts, then make room for those still to come.
Summer Pruning or Deadheading?
The two are closely related, but the distinction is useful.
Deadheading usually means removing individual spent flowers as they fade. Summer pruning comes into its own when a complete flowering stem or cluster has finished. Instead of snipping immediately beneath each bloom, follow the stem further down and cut just above a leaf.
Throughout summer, you may find yourself doing a little of both. Roses rarely finish flowering all at once, so simply work with each plant as you find it.
Should You Summer Prune Every Rose?
No, and this is an important exception.
Roses that do not repeat flower, including many Rambling Roses, needn't be deadheaded after their summer display. Once their flowers fade, leave them in place and many will go on to develop hips.
These jewel-like fruits bring another season of interest to the garden as summer gives way to autumn, while also providing a welcome source of food for birds.
Repeat flowering roses, on the other hand, benefit from having their spent blooms removed throughout summer. Regular deadheading and occasional summer pruning help the plant concentrate its energy on producing fresh growth and further flowers rather than developing hips.
A Simple Summer Ritual
During the flowering season, it is worth spending a little time among your roses regularly, secateurs in hand. Remove individual flowers as they fade and, when a whole cluster has finished, follow its stem down to a healthy leaf and prune there.
There is something rather satisfying about this gentle rhythm of summer care. Finished flowers are quietly removed while fresh buds and beautiful blooms are left untouched, keeping the garden full of colour and fragrance for as long as the season allows.
And where a rose has finished flowering for the year, sometimes the best thing to do is simply leave it be, allowing summer's flowers to become autumn's hips.
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