Pruning climbing rose trees

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Climbing rose trees are special and you can’t prune them like you would conventional rose trees.

The pruning of a climbing rose tree must help the rose bush climb further on its support structure, while maximizing blooming.

Note, though, that such pruning should only be performed on specimens at least 3 years old.

• Read also: Pruning the different types of rose bushes

Pruning climbing rose trees

Repeat-blooming climbing rose trees, those that bloom several times a year, require pruning in February or March.

• At the end of winter and when freezing is over, prune short sprigs along the main climbing branch, so that they form a shape like a fishbone.
• Begin with eliminating dead wood that has dried up.
• Remove the oldest branches, the “old wood”. Don’t be afraid of removing these branches, because once they’re gone, young stems become more vigorous and bear more flowers.
• Finally, the pruning itself: keep 5 or 6 of the most vigorous branches and prune side shoots to more or less 3 buds. This means pruning every single side shoot to around 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm) from their base on the main stem (the “fishbone”).
• Those main branches will form the structure of the bush.

As for once-blooming rose trees, which only flower a single time in the year, follow these same steps but only after the blooming.

Here is a video with advice on how to prune a climbing rose tree

See also:

• Rust, a common rose tree disease
• Pruning the different types of roses
• Pruning bush roses and cane roses
• Planting roses
• Rose tree cuttings