Updated at: 11-08-2022 - By: Sienna Lewis

As a bonus, there is no trimming required for Flower Carpet® roses. In contrast to most roses, you don’t have to be concerned about cutting the stem in a specific place or trimming it in a specific method. A simple pair of pruners or a pair of hedge clippers would suffice. Take a pair of scissors and trim the Flower Carpet roses to about a third of their original size. For the upcoming season, cutting them back will ensure a larger and denser growth and a lot of flowers.

Flower Carpet roses in our Australian Trial Gardens following their yearly July/August cut-back can be seen in the photos below. There is already an abundance of fresh growth four weeks following their yearly spring cutback. 5 months later, they’re still blooming!

When to cut them back . . .

Depending on where you live, the best time to prune your Flower Carpet roses is between the end of February and the beginning of April in the Northern Hemisphere, and the middle of July to mid-September in the Southern Hemisphere.

How To Prune Carpet Roses (Shrub Roses) - YouTube

If you live in a warmer climate you’ll probably be dealing with plants that are still green and possibly even still in bloom. Don’t worry though . . . pruning them will stimulate growth and generate more blooms. If you can easily identify any dead stems, cut those right back to the ground.

If you reside in a warmer region you’ll undoubtedly be dealing with plants that are still green and potentially even still in flower. Pruning them will help them develop and produce more flowers, so don’t worry about it. Cut any dead stems back to the ground if you can see them.

How To Prune Carpet Roses. 2 Techniques To Master

If you master two approaches, you can learn how to prune carpet roses. Maintaining the healthy development and blooming of these bushes requires careful attention and a plan of action. Using these tactics will ensure that your roses become the envy of other gardeners.

When you consider that ground roses are often low-maintenance, to begin with, this is fantastic news. However, if your environment is tough, it may be a good idea to keep these roses indoors to avoid stressing the plants when pruning them. You’ll learn how to get the most out of these plants and how to maintain them looking their best in this tutorial.

Comprehensive Guide On Pruning Carpet Roses

Technique #1. Cutting back

Cutting back carpet roses is the first method of pruning. When it comes to cutting carpet roses, this technique can be thought of as more heavy-handed. By the end of the fall or the beginning of the spring, this is the perfect time to accomplish it.

Carpet roses should be trimmed down when new growth has ceased following the fall or before new growth appears at the start of spring. If your plants have gotten out of hand, you can use a hedge trimmer to clip them back to a foot or eight inches from the ground. Some gardeners chop off the top two-thirds of the plant and one-third of the healthy shoots to enable the plant to swiftly regenerate itself.

Plants should recover rapidly from pruning, so don’t be frightened to do it! Plants that have grown too large for trimming may need to be chopped back. Furthermore, the roses grown in a greenhouse are less likely to be stressed because the environment is already stable.

Technique #2. Trimming

The second way to prune carpet roses is to clip them a little more sparingly. If you want to control their size and shape, this is a good option. Cutting the upper canes to a precise shape is best done when you see new growth at the beginning of the year.

Keep your carpet roses at their best by trimming them regularly during the growing season. Make sure you use sterile shears and a sharp blade to get rid of everything that is untidy and untidy appearing. It’s also a great time to get rid of the dead and diseased stems that are likely to sprout.

Trimming can be done after the summer blooming season by cutting the side shoots that have grown too large. To prevent your plant from outgrowing its container, cut the branches down to two buds. Some gardeners even trim the whole plant itself and not just some parts.

Should I deadhead carpet roses?

During the summer months, you can remove the side shoots that have grown out of control. If you don’t want your plant to get too big for its pot, cut it down to two buds. It’s not uncommon for some gardeners to trim the entire plant rather than just a few sections.

Rose pruning: groundcover roses / RHS Gardening

Growing And Maintaining Carpet Roses

Where to grow

In contrast to vinca and ivy species, carpet roses don’t act the same way. In spite of this, they’re great as route borders, low-growing accents in beds, accents in containers, and slope coverings due to their spread and lack of obstruction.

How to grow

Bare-root plants can be grown in the greenhouse or on a frost-free day in the fall and winter. As with other plants, make sure the hole you dig is large enough to accommodate the roots before you begin planting. Add organic matter to the soil and water well in order to speed up the process of establishing the crop.

Groundcover roses can also be propagated by cutting a stem from a healthy mature plant in spring or fall. It is possible to grow these plants either in pots, or directly in the ground. Carpet roses, on the other hand, are hardy plants that may be grown even by those with little experience in the yard.

How to care

In addition to being easy to grow and maintain, carpet roses are also relatively low-maintenance. Caregiving isn’t a problem for them either. You don’t have to feed or deadhead them all the time to get gorgeous, healthy blooms from your plants.

How to prune your ground cover rose - YouTube

Conclusion

Despite the fact that carpet roses are very low-maintenance, there is a technique that you should not overlook: watering. Pruning carpet roses is necessary to keep them from overtaking an area of land, maintain a tidy appearance, and help them regrow. This can be accomplished by either cutting them back in the fall or spring or by trimming away any overgrown or untidy side shoots.

These plants, however, don’t need to be deadheaded, as this can cause them to struggle with dormancy in the winter. To be on the safe side, gardeners in areas with a genuine winter should avoid removing the faded blossoms for aesthetic reasons. As a further option, consider growing your roses in a greenhouse in order to protect them from becoming overly stressed.