Roses react very quickly to changing temperatures in our Mediterranean climate, so don't be too anxious to prune them.  Ideally, roses should be pruned about six weeks before the last average expected frost date, which for Placerville is about April 15 (for each 1,000 foot elevation above or below, add or subtract one week).

Hybrid teas, floribundas and grandifloras need pruning every year to produce new blooming wood and keep the shrubs healthy.  The goals are to have a bush that is open and vase-shaped, to allow good air circulation and to cut down on disease.  Use the following system to simplify your pruning of these types of roses:

Step #1
Remove about one-quarter of last year's growth from all the canes and all suckers from below the bud union or graft.  This will make it easier to see the structure of the plant.

Step #2
Remove all dead, damaged and diseased canes.

Step #3
Thin canes that are crossing and rubbing against each other.  Keep the newer canes, identified by green bark rather than brown, or the thickest and most vigorous canes.

Step #4
Remove any canes that produced only spindly growth the previous season.

Step #5
Select the best three to five remaining canes.  Ideally, these canes should be placed equally around the crown to create a vase shape.  Favor new, sturdy canes over old, woody ones and remove all others.  Head back the chosen canes to a total of one-third to one-half of last year's growth.  Cut just above a growth bud, either on the outside of the cane or in the direction you want new growth to begin, making the cut at a 45 degree angle.   

Step #6
Remove any remaining old leaves from the canes, then rake up and dispose of all fallen leaves on the ground.

Shrub and hedge roses need much less pruning.  Clean up dead, diseased or crossing canes, remove some of the oldest canes each year in order to rejuvenate the plant and do some light heading back or tip pruning to control shape and size.

Climbing roses need special attention.  Do not prune newly planted climbers for two years.  The first year, the plant will grow long, flexible canes that should be tied at right angles to the plant; if they are left upright, only the tip of the cane will bear a bloom.  The second year, secondary branches will sprout along the length of the cane which will carry the blooms.  In the third and following years, prune these secondary branches to one or two growth buds.  As the shrub matures, new primary canes will be produced to replace depleted ones.  These new canes should also continue to be tied horizontally.  Note that "pillar" type climbing roses do not need to be tied horizontally to produce secondary, blooming canes.

Miniature roses need heavy pruning each year if they are to continue to bloom and perform well.  Prune the same as for hybrid teas, except that there will be no suckers since minis are always grown on their own roots.

Tree or standard roses also need heavy pruning each year or they will become top heavy and their trunks will break.  Prune as for hybrid tees, except cut remaining canes to only two or three growth buds.