7 Roses You Shouldn’t Prune Until They’ve Finished Blooming

Roses are one of the most popular and coveted plants, and their blooming is one of the most anticipated garden events. The excitement of watching those buds start to swell keeps us going outside to check daily, not wanting to miss a single moment of their petals unfurling.

The first time a new rose blooms is especially exciting. You probably have an idea of what the flowers will look like, but seeing them in person, in your yard, is something special. The transformation from a leafless cluster of stems into a spectacular display of foliage and flowers. 

Knowing when and how to prune your roses is an important factor in maximizing their bloom. If it doesn’t happen at the right time, you can miss out on a lot of action, or they can fail to flower altogether. Technically, all roses are best pruned right after they flower, but some do better when you prune them early in the spring, before their first flush. 

The factor that determines whether you should hold off on trimming until after the bloom is the number of flushes. If a rose flowers repeatedly, it means it blooms on new wood. Trimming these early in the season will encourage new growth and, thus, flowering. For those that only flower once per year, they form buds on old wood.

When you cut them back before they bloom, you cut off the buds, and they will have a mediocre bloom if they do at all. Let’s take a look at some different types of roses and why you shouldn’t prune them until they’re finished blooming in the fall.

‘American Pillar’

	botanical name Rosa ‘American Pillar’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 10’-20’
	hardiness zones 4-9

‘American Pillar’ is a gorgeous, old-fashioned rambling rose. It has a wild look, with bold, pink, single blooms in large clusters. As an old-fashioned cultivar, this one is highly disease-resistant and overall a sturdier type than more modern varieties with grafted roots. Older types tend to adapt well to a wider range of environments. 

Along with their tough constitution, the older roses usually only bloom once per year. They have a long bloom, but once it’s over, they begin to recover for the following year’s show. These plants bloom on old wood, which is why it’s best to prune them right away after they finish flowering. This gives them the greatest amount of time to recover and allow their summer growth to mature and set buds. 

‘La Ville de Bruxelles’

	botanical name Rosa ‘La Ville de Bruxelles’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 4’-6’
	hardiness zones 4-9

‘La Ville de Bruxelles’ is an old damask cultivar that dates back to the early 1800s. It has some of the largest flowers of the old roses. They are three to four inches and heavily petaled, in the perfect shade of pink. In addition, they are exceptionally fragrant with a fruity scent. 

Damask roses fall into two groups: summer and autumn. The summer cultivars only bloom once on old wood, whereas the autumn cultivars are repeat bloomers. Since this is a summer variety, it flowers on old wood; therefore, trimming it ahead of time will drastically reduce the number of flowers. You shouldn’t prune damask roses until they’re done blooming!

‘Felicite Parmentier’

	botanical name Rosa ‘Felicite Parmentier Alba’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 4’-5’
	hardiness zones 5-9

‘Felicite Parmentier’ is a hybrid alba rose in the old-fashioned category. Introduced in 1834, it has stood the test of time and remains a popular choice nearly 200 years later. The large, fully double flowers are soft blush pink with a deepening shade toward the center. Layers and ruffles twirl around a barely visible green eye. 

In old garden fashion, this variety is highly fragrant, and flowers only once per year. Most old garden cultivars have this habit. As such, these cotton candy confections form on mature wood, so pruning ahead of time will cut back on the show. 

‘La Belle Sultane’

	botanical name Rosa ‘La Belle Sultane’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 6’-8’
	hardiness zones 4-9

‘La Belle Sultane’ is an extravagant name for an extravagant plant. The first record of this rose is from 1795. It is a gallica, and it also flowers on old wood. Most of the older varieties are like this, which is why you should hold off on spring pruning and only trim once the flowers fall. 

This cultivar is a large shrub growing up to eight feet tall. Bred in the Netherlands, it has exceptional disease resistance and is easy to care for. The flowers are single petal form, in a deep carmine, red with a hint of purple. They have a strong, pleasant fragrance. 

‘Duc de Fitzjames’

	botanical name Rosa ‘Duc de Fitzjames’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 4’-5’
	hardiness zones 4-9

‘Duc de Fitzjames’ is another rose you shouldn’t prune until its flowers are done with their gorgeous show. This variety is incredibly beautiful and wonderfully fragrant. The fully double, garden-style flowers are an ombre of colors, ranging from nearly purple at the edges to bright pink in the center. A yellow eye is barely visible when they are fully open. Introduced in 1837, this is a plant with true staying power. 

This is a centifolia cultivar, and these vintage roses are single bloomers. ‘Duc de Fitzjames’ puts on a show in midsummer and is best pruned immediately afterward. It is a spectacular variety with lush, dense foliage.

‘Alba Maxima’

	botanical name Rosa x alba ‘Alba Maxima’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 6’-8’
	hardiness zones 4-9

Albas are another type of old garden cultivar that make nice landscaping elements. These large, well-formed shrubs are exceptionally long-lived, so you can enjoy them for many years. They are tolerant of light and will grow in partially shaded areas of the garden. 

‘Alba Maxima’ is one of the longest-living roses overall. The flowers are semi-double, so their yellow stamens show when fully open. The petals are blush, initially, fading to a creamy white as they age. These extra fragrant alba roses are once-blooming, and you shouldn’t prune them until the flowering finishes. 

‘Chapeau de Napoleon’

	botanical name Rosa x centifolia ‘Cristata’
	sun requirements Full sun to partial shade
	height 3’-6’
	hardiness zones 4-9

‘Chapeau de Napoleon,’ which means Napoleon’s hat in French, is a crested moss rose, which is a type of centifolia. It celebrates its 200th birthday in 2026, having been discovered in the garden of an abandoned medieval castle by a Swiss botanist. As centifolias, crested moss roses only bloom once per year, and you shouldn’t prune until afterward.

The title, crested moss, comes from the mossy covering on the buds before they open. ‘Chapeau de Napoleon’ has large, double-petaled pink flowers with a strong fragrance. It grows fairly tall but has a relaxed form, so a trellis or other support is helpful. 

How to Prune

While repeat bloomers often benefit from a hard prune in fall or late winter, once-blooming roses don’t need quite as much work. Unless you’re attempting to control the overall height or spread of the shrub, a light shaping is enough. Here are some steps to follow when your once-blooming rose finishes blooming.