When and how to prune shrub roses?

Pruning shrub roses: best practices for beautiful flowering

Breve réponse — ils sont très proches, mais on peut noter quelques différences pratiques. - Rosier buisson (ou « bush rose ») : - Habit généralement compact et arrondi, plusieurs tiges qui partent de la base. - Hauteur fréquente : environ 40 cm à 1,2 m selon les variétés. - Utilisation : massifs, bordures, rocailles, pots. - Entretien : taille légère pour conserver la forme, suppression du bois mort et des fleurs fanées. - Rosier arbuste (ou « shrub rose ») : - Port plus libre et souvent plus haut et plus bois�ux qu’un buisson, peut former un véritable arbuste. - Hauteur fréquente : 1 m à 2 m (voire plus pour certaines variétés). - Utilisation : sujet isolé, haie libre, fond de massif, structure du jardin. - Entretien : taille plus structurante possible (éclaircissage, formation), traitement du bois âgé. Points communs et remarques pratiques : - Les deux types donnent autant de fleurs selon la variété (remontantes ou non) ; la distinction tient surtout au port et à l’usage au jardin. - Dans le commerce et chez les pépiniéristes, les termes sont parfois employés indifféremment : mieux vaut se fier à la fiche variété (hauteur, port, vigueur) pour choisir. - Conseils d’entretien généraux : plein soleil à mi‑ombre, sol bien drainé, apport d’un engrais de printemps et suppression régulière des fleurs fanées pour favoriser la remontée. Si vous avez une photo ou une fiche variété, je peux vous dire lequel des deux c’est et donner des conseils de taille adaptés.

Bush rose is a rose with an open habit and measures between 60 cm and 1.20 m depending on variety. It bears either large solitary flowers (perfect for bouquets) or smaller flowers grouped into clusters. These include Polyantha, Floribunda, Hybrid teas, some perpetual hybrids, some English roses and Portlands). Ideal for beds or borders.

Bush rose shares same characteristics, but it is noticeably larger: between 1.20 and 1.80 m. This includes Musk hybrids, Bourbon roses, some perpetual hybrids and many English roses. They are ideal for beds, as background plants for largest specimens. As with bushes, period for pruning roses plays an important role in their health and flowering.

Bush rose ‘Mozart’

When to prune shrub roses?

Period for pruning bush roses or perpetual bushes falls at end of winter or start of spring depending on your climate, ideal is to proceed just before growth restarts, when you see a few buds start to swell. Pruning roses in autumn is of course possible. Simply carry out a light tidy-up a few months beforehand. For this, discover our article : “How to prune roses in autumn”.

Meanwhile pruning non-perpetual roses is done just after flowering, in August.

How to prune a shrub rose?

How to prune your bush rose properly :

• Start by removing dead wood as low as possible and cutting out damaged or spindly stems, especially if autumn pruning was not carried out.
• Check that your rose has not produced suckers, those vigorous shoots that often arise from the rootstock. If it has, remove them without delay (To learn how to recognise a sucker, see the article: Help, my rose is degenerating).
• Open up the centre of the branches by removing shoots that grow inwards, to improve air circulation and reduce the risk of fungal diseases.
• Usually, keep 3 to 5 main branches, distributed evenly. For roses with small flowers, more branches can be left.
• Then make a sloping cut, about 0.5 cm above an eye facing outwards on the rose.
• If unsure between two branches growing the same way, keep the younger one. Also see our advice sheet on pruning roses.
• Finally, prune non-perpetual bush and bush roses by simply removing one third of each branch just after flowering.

1. remove dead wood ; 2. remove small twigs, spindly or poorly directed stems ; 3. prune one third of each branch

Our advice :

There are several approaches to pruning. Some gardeners practise very short pruning, others are content to tip back slightly. Personally, I recommend moderate pruning, which consists of removing one third to one half of each branch while ensuring a balanced silhouette.
Another method I like: prune weaker shoots to 2 or 3 eyes and vigorous branches to 5 or 6 eyes.
I do not recommend severe pruning except for rejuvenation pruning, to be carried out every 3 to 4 years at most. Cutting branches back too far weakens the rose, encourages formation of stubs and makes recovery more difficult in the event of late frosts. If you do opt for a short prune, wait until the end of winter when the risk of frost has passed.

? Pruning table for bush roses

Special case: pegging

The pegging technique concerns bush roses that produce long branches which run skywards with a solitary bloom at their tips. In this case pruning will be different. To learn more, see our article: “Pegging roses“.