The #1 Mistake People Make With Roses—And What to Do Instead

Of all the plants I’ve attempted to keep alive on my back patio through NYC winters, my roses have been the stars. They come back year after year, but I’ve been noticing that come spring, they haven’t been growing as vigorously as I’d like. One of them was actually quite leggy and sad last year, and I didn’t know why! Ryan McEnaney, marketing and communications manager at Bailey Nurseries, advised me to try a simple trick to help: cut ’em back in the spring, instead of the fall.

I was skeptical as to how much of a difference it would make when I did it this spring, and for a week or so I was sure I had killed one of my bushes—but then lo and behold, it suddenly sprung to life and has been growing at a much better clip then previous years when I cut it back in the fall. It’s also much fuller and not so leggy. To get a better idea of why this works, plus all the right things to do, I consulted the pros.

Why You Should Prune Roses in the Spring

“I worked alongside an ornamental horticulture professor in New York many years ago, and one of our first projects with the students each spring was pruning the roses,” says Amy Enfield, Ph.D., senior horticulturist at Scotts Miracle-Gro. “Until I worked with him, I hadn’t really given much thought as to why spring pruning was so much better than an end-of-season fall pruning. Then I saw the plants in full bloom. Wow!” Here’s why pruning your roses in the spring is a good idea.

You Don’t Want to Trigger New Growth Before Winter

If the weather is still warm in fall and you prune your roses, you could trigger new growth, explains Enfield, which will make the roses vulnerable to late-season frosts and eventual freezes. “As the leaves on your rose bushes die back in the fall, they transfer their carbohydrates to the stems. Pruning while there are still leaves on the plant depletes your rootstock of these energy reserves,” she says.

The Dormant Stems Can Protect Your Roses

Enfield says that leaving the canes (basically the dormant stems) throughout the winter gives added protection to the crown and can help trap snow, which helps insulate your rose plant. Additionally, I’m lucky in that my roses are under a tree that sheds needles, which helps to insulate and protect my plants.

Spring Pruning Helps Identify Healthy Stems

“Pruning in spring also makes it easy to identify any winter dieback,” explains Enfield. “Since the ideal time to prune roses in spring is when the buds start to swell, identifying dead branches—those without healthy buds, damaged branches, or diseased branches is a lot easier.” She says that spring pruning to remove old and/or weak canes helps encourage new vigorous growth because strong, healthy canes produce bigger, better blooms. And after all, we all want big, beautiful blooms!

Pruning in the Spring Helps Control the Plant’s Shape

“Pruning to control shape, size, and direction of growth by pruning to an outward-facing bud in the spring is also a lot easier as the buds begin to swell, but before the leaves have opened,” she says. 

How to Make Your Rose Bloom Better After Pruning

All done pruning? When you’re finished, there are other things you can do to make sure your roses produce beautiful blooms, advises Enfield.

Feed Your Plants

“Top dress the soil around your rose bushes with a continuous-release fertilizer once the leaves start to unfurl,” says Enfield. These fertilizers will continue to feed your precious roses for a couple of months, so you don’t have to worry about it.

Mulch

“Adding a 2- to 3-inch layer of mulch around your rose plants—but not right against the stem—will help retain moisture in the soil, stop weed seeds from sprouting, and regulate soil temperature,” she says.

Exceptions to the Rule

While spring pruning for roses is a good rule of thumb, not all roses are pruned on the same schedule, and not all roses benefit from spring pruning. Most of the roses below bloom on old wood from last year’s growth, so pruning in spring would therefore end up removing the flowers.

Climbing Roses

“These roses should actually be pruned back lightly in fall to help prevent stem damage due to snow and winter winds,” she says. “Otherwise, they should be pruned after their first flush of flowers.”

Old Garden Roses

“These also bloom on last year’s growth, but can be pruned in spring to remove any dead or damaged branches,” Enfield says.