Pruning rose bushes is one of the major regular activities associated with growing them. Pruning roses removes excess leaf surface and allows you to direct the growth of the plant in the way you wish.

Pruning your rose bushes can also be a way to remove any diseased, dead or damaged wood from the plant. It can get rid of crossed canes, and other growth problems, and you can shape the plant as you wish.

Pruning roses is a great way to thin out the denser parts of the plant to allow better circulation of air, or to keep the size of the rose bush within acceptable limits. Pruning rose bushes is, in fact, an accepted and time tested way to ensure that your plant grows more vigorous and healthy.

It is only logical if you think about it. Allowing the plant to grow wild puts pressure on it as it has to supply nutrients to old, dying, or diseased limbs, or deal with infection spreading from them. As you cut away this wood you give the plant much more of a chance to concentrate on healthy growth and blooms, encouraging larger and more flowers.

When you need more detailed information, or would like to read up on the various kinds of roses and their upkeep, head for the nearest library to do some research. Alternatively, an internet search through your favorite search engine is sure to yield a wide variety of information, some of which might be quite confusing for the new gardener.

A dependable way of getting some information, about pruning rose bushes, is to find your nearest nursery, and talk to their master gardener. Keep I mind, however, that there are as many opinions as there are gardeners.   

Don’t let seemingly conflicting advice scare or confuse you. The most basic things to keep in mind before you begin pruning rose bushes are -

•    When to Prune
•    How to Prune
•    How to go about pruning different types of roses

While there are different guidelines for different types of roses, some basic rules apply to all of them. These are the fundamental things you should know while pruning rose bushes.

•    As a general rule, it is wise to begin pruning roses after the dormant season ends, and just before new growth starts
•    Wait until the hardest of frost and cold are past, and new buds begin to swell
•    Prune climbers and ramblers after flowering
•    Prune a healthy plant hard and it will grow more vigorously
•    Lighter pruning brings about a more limited new growth
•    Always use strong, sharp tools
•    Make clean cuts without any jagged edges
•    Make the cut a quarter of an inch on top of outside-facing growth bud
•    Angle the cut away from the bud
•    Cut back to the next branch when you thin out wood and avoid stubs
•    Newly planted roses, except the ones planted in autumn, should be pruned immediately
•    Always cut out dead or weak wood
•    Always cut out at least one of the stems that rub or cross

Once you have this basic roadmap down pat, pruning rose bushes will not seem like such a huge and scary undertaking after all.