How to prune your floribunda rose

Pruning your floribunda roses is essential for maintaining their health and encouraging vibrant blooms. Here’s a summarised guide based on the information from GardenAdvice.co.uk:

• Timing: The ideal time for pruning is late winter or early spring. This is when the plant is dormant but just before the onset of new growth.
• Initial Steps: Start by removing any dead, diseased, or damaged canes. Make sure to use clean, sharp pruning shears for clean cuts and to prevent disease spread.
• Pruning Technique: Shorten the main canes by about one-third to one-half of their original length. Ensure you make a 45-degree angled cut about 1/4 inch above an outward-facing bud. This encourages outward growth and prevents water from collecting on the cut surfaces.
• Thinning and Cleaning: Thin out crowded or crossing canes to improve air circulation and sunlight penetration. Also, remove weak or spindly growth, focusing on retaining strong, healthy canes.
• Post-Pruning Care: After pruning, apply a balanced, slow-release fertiliser and add a layer of mulch around the base of the plant. This helps conserve moisture and suppress weeds.
• Additional Tips: For hybrid tea and floribunda roses, prune about a quarter to a third of the total length of the stems. Adjusting the pruning length among roses of the same variety can extend the flowering period in your garden.

Remember, the harder a rose is pruned, the later it will flower. Pruning not only encourages healthy growth and flowering but also helps in maintaining the shape and size of the rose bush.