Gardening Group - Rose Pruning

Castle Wood Rose Garden

Friday 13th March 2026

On Friday 13th March, our volunteers gathered in Castle Wood Garden for one of the most important jobs in the rose calendar – the annual prune.

We deliberately carry out this task relatively late in the winter season. By waiting until the worst of the frosts have passed, we reduce the chance of cold weather damaging the fresh cuts and the new growth that follows.

Rose pruning follows a few simple principles. First, we remove anything dead, damaged or diseased, which helps prevent problems spreading through the plant. Next, we take out any shoots growing into the centre of the bush, opening up the structure of the plant. Allowing air and light to circulate through the rose helps reduce the risk of fungal diseases such as black spot and mildew, and creates a stronger, healthier plant.

Finally, we reduce the overall height, cutting back to a healthy outward-facing bud. This encourages the rose to grow outwards rather than inwards, producing a balanced shape and strong new flowering stems.

Pruning roses can sometimes feel a little brutal – especially at this time of year when fresh leaves are already appearing and healthy shoots are beginning to grow. It can be emotionally difficult to cut away vigorous growth, but this process is vital. Roses flower best on new stems, and a good hard prune encourages the plant to put its energy into producing strong new growth and a spectacular display of flowers later in the season.

During the session we spotted some rose root aphid eggs. Fortunately these are generally considered harmless in small numbers and will likely provide a useful food source for the many ladybirds we also found around the garden.

Rose Root Aphid Eggs on a rose

Because rose prunings are so woody and covered in sharp thorns, they are not ideal for our compost system. Instead, the volunteers took the cuttings home to dispose of safely. We didn't quite have time to complete the final bed so some of us will return in the next week or so to finish the job.

With the pruning (almost) complete, the roses now have the space and structure they need to grow strongly through the spring. We look forward to seeing the results when the garden bursts into colour later this year.

If you would like to join the gardening team contact oxleas.volunteers@gmail.com