Pruning roses

[PlotSurfer]

Hello! Everywhere I look seems to say something different about this topic. Last week I got a couple of rose plants from the nursery and have re-potted them into bigger containers (hopefully this was the right thing to do!). But when am I supposed to prune them? Now, in a few weeks when they're completely dormant, or in the spring?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[PlotSurfer]

[Palustris]

First of all, let me say I loathe roses. However, as regards to pruning, it is simple. Cut off any tall growths which might by blown about in the wind and rock the plant and damage the roots. This is done now. Then in very early Spring when you can see the new growth, that is the time to prune fully.
Easiest way is to spray them with Roundup. You only have to do that once and the problem is solved. 

[PlotSurfer]

Ha ha!! Thank's Palustris - 12 months ago I would have agreed with you whole-heartedly: if you couldn't eat it I wasn't interested in it! However, having a small back garden has made me realise it can be nice to have a splash of colour amongst the veggies. As long as they don't take up too much room of course!

Great advice as well - thanks.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I do all my pruning in autumn. I know someone who used to prune hers in spring; I persuaded her not to in the end. They were miserable looking skeletal things with hardly any flowers till she changed to autumn pruning; now they're flourishing, and were covered in bloom last summer.

[Palustris]

Well, I prune Roses the way I suggested and have done for the last 40 years or so and they flourish for me. Not my own Roses I hasten to add, I wiped those out years ago, but I still do them for a friend.

[laurieuk]

If you do the main pruning in the autumn you can get into trouble in that you may force them into early growth which if we get severe weather will be damaged by the frost. I usually reduce the top growth about now to avoid wind rock and then the main prune late Feb/March depending on the season. You shouild not leave it too late or you waste the plants energy by cutting off new growth but then too early and you risk frost damageon young soft growth.