They bloom on new wood so no worries if you want to prune it back hard. I guess the question is what do you want to accomplish with the pruning? Size control, shaping, thinning out etc? Is it already a standard or you need to train it? Supposedly cutting it back hard will produce fewer, but larger blooms, though I have seen this done and sometimes the branches cannot support the flowers very well. All I do in the spring is cut the dried flowers off and maybe remove a few crossing branches as I have no need for size control at this point.

Hello GaryStPaul,

I have three new Pink Diamond standards in a little formal garden that I started this year. I chose them because I love the three Pink Diamond shrubs that I have had for a few years. The shrubs grow quickly and the form can get out of control, but I wait till spring to prune for shape and to remove dead branches, as ginkgonut said, it flowers on new wood, so the timing is okay. The one thing I do though, is remove the blooms, I hate picking them out of my roses in the spring, and that is where they always end up.

Helen.

Thanks, folks, for the good advice. I'm pruning mostly for size and shape; would like to keep it in bounds. Gary