Pruning old rose bush

I believe that you prune roses in late Winter but there will be rose experts along to tell you soon😃

Roses are usually pretty tough and tenacious of life. I think it would be fine if cut back quite severely.

I would cut it back by about half now, taking out any dead wood, and feed it and prune it properly in the spring.

Thanks, MaizieD. Husband wants to move it too, but chopping back and moving it might be a step too far? It’s right next to an apple tree and they both need more space really.

I would leave it for now, cutting it back heavily will stress it, which isn’t good when it’s so warm. I definitely wouldn’t move it now either, because disturbing the roots will make them less efficient. Roses are having a tough time of it in the hot weather, they prefer a more temperate climate. It’s a winter/early spring job.

That’s what I gather from looking online, Casdon, but DH is itching to sort it out! I shall hide the loppers and secateurs!

I would, I don’t think the ground conditions would favour moving anything you want to keep at the moment, if your garden is anything like as dry as mine is.

It would be pointless to move it now. You will need to keep it going by soil improvement, frequent irrigation and regular feeding and even then it might not survive another heatwave. Giving it a bit of a tidy up won’t hurt though.
Far better to cut it back to knee height in late autumn/ early winter and transplant to a well prepared site. The soil will still be warm enough to help it recover and it will have a chance to build up some strength in case there are some vicious frosts in January.

Very difficult to move a large rose successfully, dont prune it until November, then cut it back by half all round and remove any dead wood.
Dont try planting new roses in the same place, there is a replant disease.

It’s my understanding that you shouldn’t prune a rambling rose so if it is of that variety then pruning might be detrimental.

Why not replace it with one of your choice that you both like and plant it where DH wants it and just chop the existing one out?

I’m not great on roses (as you can tell!), but I would say it’s a shrub rose.
Yes, maybe replacing it is the way to go. I think we’re both frustrated because the whole garden is so dry.

If it is a rambler, the time to prune is after flowering. So,it could be pruned now taking out a third down to base and trimming off excess height.

If it is a climber then it is better to prune when dormant. However roses are tough and will survive most things. Drastic pruning may mean no blooms next year or it will die. Rather than try digging out deep roots, why not buy a new one and then you can get rid of the current very big plant any time you wish.

Looking at the photo it's against a fence, prune it, train it along the fence clear the undergrowth around it, mulch it, it will be fine next summer. Its looking pretty good this year considering the dry weather

Please don’t prune it in hot weather, as extreme heat stresses the plant and open cuts can dry out or scorch. Instead of hard pruning, focus only on light summer tasks like deadheading spent blooms or removing clearly diseased wood. That is RHS advice, not mine.

I'm not sure that cutting it back a bit now 'would' stress it, but waiting until November is a fine alternative.

as to replanting, I had a very old climbing rose planted right next to me front door. It had to be removed because we were having a large new porch built. I took loads of cuttings, cut it right back and dug up the root. I replanted the root in a completely different place just in case it would survive. Not only did the rooted bit regrow but all the cuttings took!

I can't remember what time of year I did this (it was about 20 years ago) but probably it was spring or early summer. It would be worth a try if you really wanted to move it.

Your rose might not be a climber, many bush roses will grow very tall if left to their own devices (I know this because I have a few, there's a 6foot+ one waving at me as I type though I have cut it back several times over the years...)

'me front door' 😱 Grammar, maizie, grammar.....

It looks happy enough. February March is the right time to prune roses. This looks like a shrub rose so you can probably cut it right back to about 8” just above a bud. Whenever you prune don’t forget to use clean secateurs and cut on the slant.

Thanks, all useful info.

We forgot to prune an old type of moss rose which we transplanted many years ago from mother-in-law's garden and it has grown up through a buddleia to about 8ft.