Pruning old garden roses

When should you prune an old rose bush?

Pruning old roses is carried out at different times depending on whether it is a perpetual rose or a once-flowering rose.

• non-perpetual: pruning is carried out in summer, just after flowering, in July or August,
• perpetual: is carried out in late winter, generally between mid-February and late March. Perpetual varieties can benefit from light pruning in autumn or around Christmas.

To learn more about key pruning times for roses, discover our advice sheet: When to prune roses?

How to carry out pruning on an old non-perpetual rose?

Its roses flower only in June/July but in abundance and unrivalled. These are roses that flower on branches aged two years. Therefore, if pruning is done in the usual way at the end of winter, branches ready to flower are removed. That is why pruning is carried out just after flowering. To do this:

• remove dead branches and aged wood to make way for new shoots;
• clear centre of the bush;
• shorten main stems by one-third to one-half, cut at an angle above a clearly visible bud, preferably facing outwards from the rosebush.

Summer pruning of old rose ‘Jacques Cartier’

For more information, see our advice sheet: Pruning roses.

Some examples of old roses that are not perpetual: ‘Cuisse de Nymphe’, ‘Celestial’, ‘Félicité Parmentier’, ‘Cardinal de Richelieu’, ‘Charles de Mills’, ‘Tuscany Superb’…

For a non-perpetual old climbing rose (‘Dorothy Perkins’, ‘François Juranville’, ‘Léontine Gervais’, ‘Paul Transon’…), simply carry out a basic tidy-up and tip-pruning. Finally, if you wish to go further, I invite you to refer to our advice sheet: When and how to prune climbing roses?

How to prune an old rose with perpetual flowering?

Flowers form at the tips of shoots that develop during the year, as on modern roses. In other words, pruning is the same as for classic perpetual roses.

1. remove dead wood and damaged branches ;
2. also remove twigs and crossing branches to open up the centre of the rosebush
3. remove one-third to one-half of each branch depending on vigour of the rosebush (moderate pruning for a vigorous rosebush, shorter pruning for a weaker one) while ensuring an attractive, balanced silhouette. Always cut at a slant 0.5 cm above an eye facing outwards.

See also our advice sheet: When and how to prune perpetual roses.

Some examples of old perpetual roses: ‘Eugénie Guinoisseau’, ‘Comte de Chambord’, ‘Jacques Cartier’, ‘Madame Ernest Calvat’, ‘Souvenir de la Malmaison’ and ‘Souvenir du Dr Jamain’

Old climbing roses and lianas

Old roses can also be climbing or sarmentous. In that case, pruning differs and I invite you to consult our advice sheets: When and how to prune a climbing rose and Pruning of liana rose !