Lady Hillingdon Rose Pruning

After Planting

• Lady Hillingdon should be pruned very lightly if at all the first 2 or 3 years. Both shrub and climbing types need time to establish. During these first few years, remove dead canes and canes growing at odd angles across other canes.

When to Prune

• Since Lady Hillingdon roses are repeat bloomers, prune them in the winter or early spring. December and January are the best pruning months in warm winter areas. Prune in March and April when the bud eyes begin to swell in cold-winter areas. Completely prune dead canes on both climbers and shrubs. Deadhead throughout the blooming season as soon as the roses fade. Remove the trimmings from the garden.

Bud Eyes

• Identify the bud eyes located on the canes before starting. This is where new growth emerged. On canes without foliage, the buds resemble small, flat triangles of plant tissue. The canes are slightly swollen where the buds are growing, and there may be a light band present. Bud eyes on canes in full foliage are located where two leaves with five leaflets each grow at the same spot on opposite sides of the cane. Cutting a cane just above an inward-facing bud eye causes the new growth to be vertical. Pruning just above an outward-facing bud eye encourages more horizontal or open growth. Make pruning cuts about 1/4 inch above the bud eye at a 45-degree angle.

Lady Hillingdon Shrub

• Lady Hillingdon shrubs should not be pruned back hard, as with hybrid teas. Reduce the size of the shrub by no more than half each winter or spring. Gauge this reduction by how vigorously the shrub grows. If it is not growing quickly, prune it more lightly. If it is growing rampant, prune it a bit more. Do not cut the canes shorter than 2 feet. There should be no fewer than five bud eyes remaining on each cane. Strip the foliage off the shrubs in hot climates. This encourages a brief period of dormancy that improves the shrub's overall health. Cut off any canes that are weak, growing across other canes or smaller than a pencil. A well-pruned Lady Hillingdon shrub has no fewer than five healthy canes spaced evenly around the base. Dabbing white glue on the canes' cut ends keeps cane borers out.

Climbing Lady Hillingdon

• Lightly prune Lady Hillingdon climbers any time throughout the year. Prune canes growing horizontally from the base back to four to six bud eyes. Remove some of the old canes at the base in the winter or spring, as the new canes become long enough to take their place. Do this every 2 to 3 years.