Making the right kind of pruning cut ensures that the wound heals quickly, reduces the chances of disease, and encourages growth in the desired direction. The basic cuts are the same for all roses.
Use a sharp instrument to make clean cuts, in general secateurs are easier to use than a knife, but a sharp knife is useful in case cuts need to be tidied. For large stems use long handled pruners or a fine tooth saw with a curved blade.
Always cut back to live healthy wood, in which the pith is white or greenish white, not dark or discoloured.
Cut on a slant starting about 6 1/2 centimetres above an eye or growth bud, with a cut angled away from the bud toward the base of the stem so that moisture will drain away from the eye. A cut that is too close to the eye will damage it, but of the cut is too high the stem is likely to die back.
Prune to an eye pointing in the direction in which growth is wanted. In most cases this will mean pruning to an eye facing out from the centre of a bush or shrub rose so that the new growth will leave the centre itself open and uncluttered. It is mainly with roses of a spreading habit that it is useful to prune to inward facing eyes, which will encourage more upright growth.
Cut out dead, diseased or damaged stems, if necessary cutting right back to the union, or in the case of a lateral, to the junction with the main stem. Dead wood is brown and brittle and diseased wood is generally discoloured.
Cut back weak or spindly growth to the union or the junction with a strong stem.
Where two stems rub or cross, take one out, cutting back to a main stem or, if necessary, to the union.
If two or more shoots grow from an eye after pruning reduce it to one.
When you have finished pruning make sure that you burn all cuttings to reduce the risk of spreading disease.
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