How To Trim Garden Roses

For those seeking a useful way to spend their time during social distancing—or anyone simply interested in forging a deeper connection with their homes—HB has launched Home Love, a series of daily tips and ideas to make every minute indoors more productive (and gratifying!)

If you're lucky enough to own garden roses, one of the most important things you can do to keep your them (or almost any plant, for that matter) healthy and thriving is to give them a proper pruning at the start of the growing season. Since taking a pair of shears to your favorite blooms can be a little bit scary, we asked House Beautiful contributing editor and gardening expert Eddie Ross how he prunes his roses each spring. Read on to find out how—and when—to prune garden roses to maximize blooms later in the season.

Maximalist Studios

You'll Need

Gardening gloves (make sure they're the extra-long kind to protect your forearms from thorns!)
Pruning shears
Rose fertilizer

Thorn-Resistant Garden Gloves

G & F Products homedepot.com

$13.58

Large Softgrip Bypass Pruner

Fiskars homedepot.com

$14.59

Rose Plant Food

Vigoro homedepot.com

$5.98

2 Gal. Double Rose Plant

Knock Out Roses homedepot.com

$43.57

When to Prune Roses

The actual timing depends on your climate, but you'll want to prune rose bushes every spring after the last frost. Here's an easy rule of thumb, according to Ross: "When the forsythia blooms, it's time to prune. That's nature's way of telling you your roses are ready!"

Khanh Ngo Photography Getty Images

How to Prune Roses

1. Start by removing any dead or diseased leaves and broken or crossing stems.

Tip: Make sure that your pruning shears are well-sharpened and clean. Use rubbing alcohol to disinfect the blades to avoid spreading diseases from other plants.

Maximalist Studios

2. Cut off any old canes at the base of the plant.

Tip: Always an angle away from the bud; this allows water to run off more easily and avoids rotting.

Maximalist Studios

3. Keep pruning until you're left with a total of three to four strong stems, each measuring around two feet high.

Tip: Don't freak out if it seems like you're over-pruning, says Ross. "You might feel like you're totally destroying your roses, but what you're actually doing is forcing it to grow better, stronger stems," he explains.

Maximalist Studios

4. Rake away clippings.

Maximalist Studios

5. Sprinkle rose fertilizer around the base of the plant, and water.

Maximalist Studios

With proper care—Ross suggests fertilizing every six weeks or so in addition to watering—your garden roses will bloom bigger and better than ever!

Maximalist Studios

Follow House Beautiful on Instagram .

Emma Bazilian Senior Features Editor Emma Bazilian is a writer and editor covering interior design, market trends and culture.

This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io