"Kay" wrote in message
...
In article , David W.E. Roberts
writes
Hi,

I was about to post a query about when to prune my roses - in tubs
on the
patio - but Google told me March/April after the last frosts.

In much of the UK, those two conditions are mutually incompatible!

The reason I was looking was because I have noticed that the roses
have
burst into life and are putting on loads of new growth, and I was
wondering
if I had left it too late (as I usually do with my grape vines).

There are two theories:

1) Prune in November because otherwise the bush will be rocked by
the
wind and will flatten out an impervious pan under the crown where
water
will collect and rot the roots.

2) Prune in March else the rose will put out lots of new growth
after
pruning which will all be killed by frosts/

I put a third theory into practice:
Prune lightly in early winter to minimise windrocking, and give a
final prune in late March.

[snip]

Franz