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  Claire Brown October 6, 2011 at 8:30pm

  I cut back roses from December on, - depending on the weather, and up to early March.

  always use sharp secateurs the right way round see here  - you can be very harsh to them, - never forget my college lecturer pruning back some already pruned roses!
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  Lawncare-4u.co.uk October 6, 2011 at 8:42pm

  frost ?   might need to use my stihl loppers they are that thick !
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  Claire Brown October 6, 2011 at 10:29pm

  stihl loppers good, - held the wrong way up, bad.- Pruning saw may be necessary. - pruning back to a bud still applies
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  Lawncare-4u.co.uk October 7, 2011 at 11:23am

  thanks , ill try and remember to do it end nov then !
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  Austin Powell-Allen October 7, 2011 at 11:44am

  I have always been told Climbers from end of October to end Novembers and T roses End of February to mid March you always want to leave 3 buds so you have a back up if there is a heavy frost and buds die back although as some have shot up to 6ft I have trimmed back half way now and will do the rest in March. It always seems to give the best results with flowers this way. Having attended short courses on this subject at RHS Hyde Hall and Writtle College
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  Lawncare-4u.co.uk October 7, 2011 at 6:04pm

  these ar i suppose ' standards '    not t' or climbers  -

   

  thanks ..    maybe ill cut half way down once these 3 buds finish ......then again after frost ???
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  pete October 7, 2011 at 9:03pm

   

  Standards are officially those ones on top of a stick but I've cut hybrid tea and floribunda bush roses right down to a few inches – pile rotted muck around the base and what you get is fewer stems in the first year but bigger blooms than usual.

   

  Robin, get this – “Some of the finest rose beds that I have seen, are cut back by a hedge-trimmer each year; with scant regard as to whether on not the cut is above, below, or indeed through an outward facing bud. I have had a fair bit of flack over the years for suggesting this seemingly haphazard way of pruning. So be it. I and several major rose growers in the UK did experiments for this type of pruning back as long ago as 1970. we all agreed at the time, that there was no problem with this type of pruning. How could we not agree? the proof was there for us to see in the flower growth that summer. If you still want to cut to an outward facing bud, then go do it - no problem”

   

  makes sense really – I imagine plants did tend to get chomped a bit by animals before we stuck them in gardens.
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  Lawncare-4u.co.uk October 7, 2011 at 9:38pm

  these are the roses in the middle right.  bit bigger now but have been pruned every yr (5 yrs i have done them) and cut out dead/old stems/ those crossing etc and sprayed each yr with bug-clear (white,black,green) and rose one this yr i think.  what about rose compost/ mycorrhizal fungi ??    horse manure obviously a good idea around the roots :)   thanks
  
  Gardens4u.co.uk said:

  
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  David Benson October 8, 2011 at 12:35am

  i think the rhs did a trial with hedge cutters and secateurs and found no difference   pete said:

   

  Standards are officially those ones on top of a stick but I've cut hybrid tea and floribunda bush roses right down to a few inches – pile rotted muck around the base and what you get is fewer stems in the first year but bigger blooms than usual.

   

  Robin, get this – “Some of the finest rose beds that I have seen, are cut back by a hedge-trimmer each year; with scant regard as to whether on not the cut is above, below, or indeed through an outward facing bud. I have had a fair bit of flack over the years for suggesting this seemingly haphazard way of pruning. So be it. I and several major rose growers in the UK did experiments for this type of pruning back as long ago as 1970. we all agreed at the time, that there was no problem with this type of pruning. How could we not agree? the proof was there for us to see in the flower growth that summer. If you still want to cut to an outward facing bud, then go do it - no problem”

   

  makes sense really – I imagine plants did tend to get chomped a bit by animals before we stuck them in gardens.
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  David Benson October 8, 2011 at 12:44am

  prune them 50% for winter then another 50% in spring. i use multi rose every 2 nd week in the growing season and a feed the alternative week
  
  Gardens4u.co.uk said:

  these are the roses in the middle right.  bit bigger now but have been pruned every yr (5 yrs i have done them) and cut out dead/old stems/ those crossing etc and sprayed each yr with bug-clear (white,black,green) and rose one this yr i think.  what about rose compost/ mycorrhizal fungi ??    horse manure obviously a good idea around the roots :)   thanks
  
  Gardens4u.co.uk said: