Measurements of leaf photosynthetic characteristics, leaf nitrogen (N) content and light were made along the flower shoots and bent shoots of a rose ( Rosa hybrida cv. Dallas) canopy managed with the bending technique under Mediterranean greenhouse conditions (Valencia, southern Spain). N-allocation to flower shoot and bent shoot leaves decreased from late-winter to summer. The annual trend of N-leaf, whether expressed per unit leaf area (N l) or per unit dry mass (N w, g N g DM − 1 ), followed a quasi-parallel evolution for the two types of shoots with values of N w 25–30% lower for the bent shoots throughout the year. These results were consistent with the significantly higher values of light-saturated net CO 2 assimilation, A lm, and maximum photosynthetic Rubisco capacity, V lm, observed for the flower shoots. A strong gradient of photosynthetic capacity prevailed along the flower shoots, the uppermost leaves having values of A lm and V lm, 45% higher than the basal leaves. A similar gradient was observed within the bent canopy, A lm being about 30% higher for the recently bent shoots than for the older ones. Profiles of A lm, N l and light, reported to their values at the top of the upright and bent canopy, revealed a similar exponential decrease of the three variables. The bent shoots had a higher value of light extinction coefficient and a greater sensitivity of A lm to declining leaf nitrogen content, which explain the low values of the photosynthetic capacity observed for the old bent shoots. The flower shoots, with a marked priority in N-allocation, exhibited a distribution of leaf photosynthetic parameters similar to that previously observed with the traditional pruning techniques.