Pruning roses.

[Rowgtfc72]

Have always pruned my elderly rose trees this time of year but have read it shouldn't be done till Feb.
Like to do it earlier to coincide with the last green bin of the year.
Anyone know if a pre Christmas trim will damage then?

It’s only a problem if there’s an unseasonal mild spell and the rose starts into growth prematurely, in which case the new growth will be damaged by subsequent frosts.

I always prune in autumn but then again in march to take off any parts that have been damaged by frost.

Thanks for that. Will have a look at and see what can have a quick trim.
They're about 50 yrs old and were my dad's. I need to prune them into some sort of shape and probably about a third of the height.
Dad always said to hack back as far as you can to encourage growth but it all seems a little drastic!

In that case I’d take a slightly different approach and saw off some of the oldest wood near the bottom. Hopefully the stumps will sprout in spring. Prune the remaining branches normally. Next year take out more of the oldest wood and gradually regenerate the whole bush.

With my taller ones I tend to take some off now so there's less chance of wind-rock and damage. Then I prune fully in early spring. Someone told me once that you need to prune them by Valentine's day and that's what I stick to now. Pruning too hard in late autumn means that if there's any winter die-back, there's a chance you won't have much left. Hard renovation pruning is probably best done in spring just before it bursts into life, and can repair itself quickly.

I have one that flowers all year round if I let it (Iceberg), which is left to its own devices in the winter and pruned in Feb. I've had roses on the table on Christmas Day from that one.

Some of mine are 5ft tall and could possibly snap in the wind. I still have roses at the minute on my queen Elizabeth and superstar trees.

Agree with above. Personally I reduce the long twiggy bits as part of general autumn tidying, but do the proper pruning in Jan/feb. Can’t leave it latef than that here in Cornwall as they start growing early

I like to do proper pruning when the first little leaf/stem buds appear (normally Januaryish) so that I can see what I can take off safely. But a bit of a tidy in the autumn often helps,particularly on my climbing rose so I can position stems that I want to keep while they're still flexible.