July and August are the two main months in New Zealand for pruning roses so my column this time will go over a few general basics plus tell you how to tackle climbing roses – a problem area for many people. For my next column, I will cover how to prune bush roses, standards, old fashioned and weeping roses.
Why do you need to prune your roses?
Why not leave them to their own devices. Well you need to prune in order to encourage more growth and hence more blooms – the reason why we grow them in the first place. It also helps to shape the plants as well.
Pruning roses is also very easy to do. It is impossible to kill a rose just by pruning it incorrectly. Ok, it may sulk for a little bit but will get over it.
What tools to prune your roses?
For pruning roses, you will need a good pair of secateurs that you find comfortable to use. For larger canes, a pair of loppers or a pruning saw will come in handy. A good pair of gloves will also save your hands from catching a few thorns while a small wire brush is useful to give the basal unions a light scrub to remove flakey bark, lichen and moss. This helps promote new shoots but be careful not to rub any off already growing.
Some ties will come in handy if you are pruning standard or climbing roses. Make sure your tools are sharp before you start.
How to prune your roses?
It is best to prune your roses on a dry day. That is a day when you can get your washing dry outside.
When making your cuts on any type of rose, make sure they slope back and away from the bud which will burst into growth in spring. If you are removing large canes from the base, cut them off flush with the bud union and do not leave any stubs behind as this will encourage die back.
When you are done pruning roses, you do not need to apply pruning paste or similar to the cuts. It is best just to leave Mother Nature to heal them herself. Rose pruning's should be disposed of in the rubbish or burnt – do not compost as this will lead to disease problems later on. The same applies to any fallen leaves which you must pick up after pruning. A little effort now will reap rewards later with less disease. 
Now onto how to prune climbing roses. A lot of people make the mistake of treating their climbing roses like bush ones and cut them back hard, then wonder why they aren't climbing. Rather than cut the long canes off, you need to train them according to where you are growing the rose. If along a fence or wall, train them horizontal with the canes arranged in a fan shape. This way means you will get blooms along the canes.
If your climbing rose is growing up a pole or similar structure, stagger the heights of the canes so you get flowers all the way up, rather than at the top where you can't see them.
Remove any dead, diseased or damaged growth and then shorten the side branches back to two or three buds. These will shoot away and produce flowers in spring. Check any ties and replace if required.