Pruning rose bushes is actually quite simple once you know what and where you should be prune. Do not let the fear of doing terrible damage to your roses keep you from pruning them. Roses are quite forgiving plants and they will grow back.

You need to prune your roses because you need to get rid of the dead, damaged and diseased stems in order to make room for younger growth which will produce more flowers.

Pruning can also help stimulate your plant to produce more new branches which are where your new flowers will develop. If your roses are getting too big, pruning can also help keeping their size in control.

The best time to prune would be early spring where the buds on your roses are starting to plump up and turn pink. Before pruning your roses, be sure to sterilize your pruning shears by dipping them into a bucket or pail filled with water and some chlorine bleach. You need to do this because pruning from one rose bush to another without sterilization might cause the disease to spread from one plant to another.

The first step in pruning rose bushes would be to remove any dead or damaged wood. Leaving dead woods on your roses is not only ugly but also dangerous because they will attract pest problems which will eventually turn into disease.

The second step would be to cut off any suckers that are growing up from the root. You can notice them easily because they grow out from the soil and thus they are smaller in size.

The third step is to remove canes that are either thinner than a pencil or too thick and woody. Since these canes can no longer support growth, it’s better to remove them. You should also remove rubbing canes as they make perfect entry points for pest and disease.

Finally, trim the remaining canes to how tall you want your rose bush to grow.