Trimming as Deadheading

• Trimming roses to remove spent flowers is known as deadheading. Deadheading a rose is done throughout the growing season. Deadheading a repeat-blooming rose bush encourages continued blossoms. The best time to trim or deadhead a rose is right after the rose blossom is spent. Trim the rose by cutting right below the bud. Do not pinch or twist spent rose blossoms, as this can damage the stem. Use a pair of sharpened garden scissors to make a clean cut. Clean up any leaves or petals that fell below the rose and throw them away; do not add these to a compost pile as they can encourage disease or pests.
  
  

Trimming as Pruning

• When roses are trimmed to reshape the rose, remove old, dead or diseased canes and prepare it for healthy growth in the coming season, this is known as pruning. All roses need to be allowed to grow for two to three years before pruning.
  
  Steve Jones explains in his article "Pruning Old Garden Roses," that a once-blooming old garden rose or climbing rambling roses that have smaller flowers, bloom on last year's canes. These rose bushes need to be pruned in the summer, right after the blossoms on the rose have faded. This will help the rose grow new wood for next year's blossoms.
  
  All other varieties of roses need to be pruned in late winter or early spring. Garden Mob explains that this time is 4 weeks following the last frost of spring; there is a map of the different dates for the last frost.
  
  

Preparing the Plant for Winter

• The best time to trim or prune roses depends upon the purpose for pruning.
  
  In areas with very cold winters, larger rose bushes should be pruned in late fall or early winter. This protects the rose from being damaged by strong winter winds that might disturb the bush's roots.
  
  Garden Mob states that this isn't the same as the hard winter pruning. It involves simply taking off some of the longer canes from the previous growing season.