How To Prune Groundcover Roses In The Winter For Gorgeous Blooms Next Season

Do you eagerly anticipate that magnificent carpet of brightly-colored flowers when your groundcover roses burst into bloom in spring every year? If so, then a little extra care towards the end of winter will result in a truly outstanding show of color. In fact, it's widely known that roses are one of those plants to prune in late winter for a stunning spring display. Although many varieties of groundcover roses don't need as much or as precise pruning as other types of roses, they will benefit from a trim in February and will reward you with gorgeous blooms next season.

Pruning groundcover roses is easy and something you do want to consider if you're after vibrant, bushy plants. It's best to give your roses a haircut in late winter or very early spring just before they come out of dormancy and start to put on their new growth. All you need for the job is a good pair of pruning shears and some robust gardening gloves to protect your fingers from any thorns.

The first thing you want to do is remove any dead or damaged stems. You can cut these right down to the ground or to a healthy bud. If you have shrub-type groundcover roses, you can cut back any upright branches to ensure a more compact growth structure. Any strong stems can then be cut back by about a third. Always make sure that you make the cuts just above an emerging bud. Stems that are growing sideways can be trimmed, if necessary. If your roses are the rambling type, the long flexible stems can be cut back to create a more manageable structure. You can even cut these in late summer once the plants have finished flowering. 

If you have groundcover roses that have been neglected and their growth is out of control, these can actually be hard pruned to around 4 inches from the ground. This is commonly known as rejuvenation pruning and while it might sound a bit drastic, these rose varieties are super hardy and will surprise you with luscious new growth in spring. As a final tip, give your plants a dose of organic slow-release balanced fertilizer immediately after pruning and watch for a massive burst of blooms late in spring and right through summer. And, if you're after a little less maintenance, you might want to take a look at a range of gorgeous rose varieties that require no pruning or deadheading at all.