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Dec 17, The best time to cut back roses is on spring when the buds start to swell on your rose plants. The bumps on the canes should be huge and reddish in hue by then. Timing your pruning before those buds open.

Use the following steps as a guide for what you should remove, in order of priority.

Here is a short tutorial on how to cut back your overgrown roses:Reviews: 1. To maintain a size of 3–4’ w x 3–4’ h, Knock Out Roses should be cut back once a year to 12” high. Check your rose bush from time to time in late winter/early spring, and when you start to see new shoots growing from the canes on your rose bush, that’s a good sign that it’s time to stumpclearing.baron: 8 Federal Road, Suite 6 West Grove, PA United States. Apr 01, For most other types of roses, the best time to prune them is in late winter or spring, right after your last frost date.

You’ll want to track your local weather forecast because late frosts can vary by weeks or even months from year to year. In late winter or very early spring, the roses need a good clearing out and cutting back before they start greening up and branching.

About the time forsythias bloom, take out all the dead wood, crossing canes, and spindly growth. Although pruning is necessary, it can be detrimental to your rose bush if done at the wrong time.

The best time for heavy pruning is when your rosebush is dormant, such as in the winter months or spring months. In the summer months, the rose bush is in its growth stage, and the canes are full of sap.