So, in addition to outward, angled cutting, you want to declutter.
How to Prune Shrub Roses and Knock Out Roses. The basic principles of pruning are the same: cutting back hard will promote the strongest growth, while light pruning will result in less vigour.
The other basic rules include cutting to an outward-facing bud to prevent compacted growth, and removing closely positioned stems that might rub or compete for stumpchop.clubted Reading Time: 4 mins. Knock Out Roses Pruning Steps: 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 prune. Wear thick gloves and a couple layers of long-sleeve shirts while pruning to avoid the dreaded thorns.
Those pricks and snags can cause rose thorn disease sporotrichosis, which is becoming a more common ailment as more people enjoy gardening with roses.
Wear safety goggles (or sunglasses), too; branches can whip back unexpectedly. For trimming thin canes and deadheading, hand pruners will get the job done, but loppers or a small hand-saw might be needed for bigger canes.
Jul 15, Prune hybrid tea roses, grandifloras and floribundas while dormant in winter, just as the leaf-buds begin to plump up. Trim off approximately one-third of the canes, leaving hybrid tea roses. Summer-flowering shrubs, such as roses and crape myrtle, develop buds in late spring and early summer, and should be pruned during dormancy in late winter or early spring to stimulate flower.