Rose pruning ensures that plants grow vigorously and flower well each year. Most groundcover roses, whether shrubby or rambler types, require only light pruning. Many flower just once in summer and will bloom for years with little formal pruning. These roses fall into RHS Plant Selector pruning group 19.
When to prune groundcover roses
Roses can be pruned during late winter when growth is just resuming, usually mid-February in the south, but in northern and colder areas wait until March.
Groundcover roses tend to flower profusely, which does make deadheading quite a job. But, it is beneficial to the plant if you can deadhead after flowering.
How to prune groundcover roses
Start by removing all dead, diseased, damaged, weak and spindly shoots. Then, depending on the type of groundcover rose, proceed as follows:
Shrub-type groundcover roses
These small shrubs need little or no routine pruning, but when they outgrow their situation, the following steps can be taken:
- Hard prune any wayward upright growths to within their allotted space
- Reduce strong shoots by about one-third
- Shorten sideshoots back to two or three buds
- When they become too large and congested they can be renovated by pruning to near ground level, 10cm (4in), from the base in late winter
Spreading rambler groundcover roses
The long flexible stems of these roses root as they spread along the ground and may reach 3m (10ft) or more in length, with the side shoots producing a mound of flowers and foliage.
- Shorten the sideshoots in summer (after flowering) to prevent the rose becoming too large
- If they do become too large and congested they can be renovated as for shrub type groundcover roses
To prune other types of roses, see our advice topics below;