White meidiland roses (Rosa “Meicoublan”) feature showy white double blooms in a prostrate form, growing just 1 to 2 feet tall with a spread of 4 to 6 feet. Grown in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 9, white meidiland roses work well in group plantings as groundcover where they can blossom from spring until frost. Unlike many upright rose cultivars with fussy pruning needs, white meidiland roses only need light to moderate pruning to shape the plant. The ideal time to prune is in late winter to early spring once the buds begin to swell.
Wash all of the tools with rubbing alcohol to avoid spreading disease among plants. Wipe the blades often while pruning, particularly after cutting a diseased branch. White meidiland roses have relatively thin stems, so bypass pruners are all you need to want to prune the plant.
Wash all dead foliage from around the plants so you can more easily observe the framework of the canes. Discard the leaves instead of composting to stop from spreading foliar diseases.
Cut any dead canes back to the healthy, green portion of the stem; dead canes are generally brown or black. Cut at an angle just above a healthier outward-facing bud. If the whole cane is lifeless, then cut the cane back to the ground or at the graft union.
Eliminate as much as one-third of the old canes to make room for fresh canes. Cut these back into the ground.
Eliminate any rubbing or crossing branches, especially toward the center of the plant. Instead of removing the whole cane, cut branches back to the junction with the parent cane or just above a healthy, outward-facing bud to support the plant to branch away from the plant facility.
Trim additional canes and divisions as required to form the plant. When possible, always cut back the canes above an outward-facing bud and remove the buds that face the interior of the plant. Aim to keep the plant open and encourage it to continue spreading from the center, instead of allowing it to develop into a tangled mess at the center with sparse growth on the outside.
Eliminate the spent blossoms during the flowering period in order that your plant continues to make fresh flowers into fall. Cut the stem at an angle just above a five-leaf set.