I have a Caribbean (Korbirac) that last fall I pruned down to maybe
4". This year it grew like crazy, gave one single bloom, then about
8 of them at once. (gorgeous!) The flowers are looking pretty
shabby right now. I do see at least one new bud forming. Doing
searches, all the info I can find is how to prune it in the fall.
What do I do with it now? How low do I cut below the old bloom, or
above the main trunk that stem came from? On one site it says it
blooms late summer. Summer is just getting under way here, is it
going to keep blooming all summer?

zone 6a

Thanks,
Tono

"Tono wrote in message ...
I have a Caribbean (Korbirac) What do I do with it now? How low do I cut below the old bloom, or
above the main trunk that stem came from?
zone 6a

Thanks,
Tono"

Tono,

The best way to prune roses is to look at the leaves. Each rose leaf
has anywhere from 3 to 7 leaflets (most mature Tea leaves have 5).
Counting from the spent flower, find the second mature leaf and cut at
an angle above it. This ensures that the stem that's left is strong
enough to support the new growth. You can prune farther down the stem
than that, especially if you want to make sure that the new growth is
growing away from the center of the plant (recommended). Within a
week or so, you should see new growth, and in 5 or 6 weeks, you should
see new blossoms.

Happy Gardening,

Matt Weld
garden-envy.com :: Free Newsletter, Tip-sheets, e-courses, online
support.

"Tono" wrote in message
...
I have a Caribbean (Korbirac) that last fall I pruned down to maybe
4". This year it grew like crazy, gave one single bloom, then about
8 of them at once. (gorgeous!) The flowers are looking pretty
shabby right now. I do see at least one new bud forming. Doing
searches, all the info I can find is how to prune it in the fall.
What do I do with it now? How low do I cut below the old bloom, or
above the main trunk that stem came from? On one site it says it
blooms late summer. Summer is just getting under way here, is it
going to keep blooming all summer?

zone 6a

Thanks,
Tono


The "new" Roygal National Rose Society method of deadheading involves just
"snapping" off the spent blooms at the abcission layer just underneath the
bud and above most leafy growth. Take a look at the spent blooms and let
your eye follow it down the stem. There will be a slight swelling that
looks as though two different plant sections have been joined together just
before you start getting to the true leaf growths.. It is where most roses
die back to naturally if they don't form hips and the blooms are not
removed. If your roses are well watered, grasping the spent bloom and
"snapping' at that point should be a breeze. If they do not snap easily,
then they are experiencing water stress and you need to water more.

This proceedure results in faster bloom flushes and many more blooms because
you are leaving more leaf growth on the plant to produce more energy for
bloom. However, if you are growing hybrid teas that you intend on cutting
for show or for decoration of your own table, the "traditional" method of
cutting the rose back further will leave you with longer stems for this
purpose. The repeat will not be as quick, however, and you will get less
blooms on the bush overall, but the ones that you do get will have longer
stems and be larger.

Whichever method you choose, stop deadheading and feeding at least 6 weeks
before your first frost in order to not encourage new growth that is easily
killed by winter freezes. And, don't prune in fall. Pruning is best done
in late winter/early spring right about the time the forsythia is in full
bloom in your area. Here, that can be anytime from mid Feb to mid March,
depending on the winter. Your time should probably be late March to late
April. Consult with a local rosarian to be sure. The American Rose Society
www.ars.org has a list of local rose societies that one can join and receive
their monthly bulletins that have tips timed to local care.

Good luck with Carribean. It's a nice rose, but far to prone to black spot
for me to grow here without spraying, as I grow the majority of my roses.
It will probably need spraying to prevent disease in your area as well.

Sunflower
MS 7b

Sunflower wrote:

"Tono" wrote in message
...

I have a Caribbean (Korbirac) that last fall I pruned down to maybe
4". This year it grew like crazy, gave one single bloom, then about
8 of them at once. (gorgeous!) The flowers are looking pretty
shabby right now. I do see at least one new bud forming. Doing
searches, all the info I can find is how to prune it in the fall.
What do I do with it now? How low do I cut below the old bloom, or
above the main trunk that stem came from? On one site it says it
blooms late summer. Summer is just getting under way here, is it
going to keep blooming all summer?

zone 6a

Thanks,
Tono



The "new" Roygal National Rose Society method of deadheading involves just
"snapping" off the spent blooms at the abcission layer just underneath the
bud and above most leafy growth. Take a look at the spent blooms and let
your eye follow it down the stem. There will be a slight swelling that
looks as though two different plant sections have been joined together just
before you start getting to the true leaf growths.. It is where most roses
die back to naturally if they don't form hips and the blooms are not
removed. If your roses are well watered, grasping the spent bloom and
"snapping' at that point should be a breeze. If they do not snap easily,
then they are experiencing water stress and you need to water more.

This proceedure results in faster bloom flushes and many more blooms because
you are leaving more leaf growth on the plant to produce more energy for
bloom. However, if you are growing hybrid teas that you intend on cutting
for show or for decoration of your own table, the "traditional" method of
cutting the rose back further will leave you with longer stems for this
purpose. The repeat will not be as quick, however, and you will get less
blooms on the bush overall, but the ones that you do get will have longer
stems and be larger.

Whichever method you choose, stop deadheading and feeding at least 6 weeks
before your first frost in order to not encourage new growth that is easily
killed by winter freezes. And, don't prune in fall. Pruning is best done
in late winter/early spring right about the time the forsythia is in full
bloom in your area. Here, that can be anytime from mid Feb to mid March,
depending on the winter. Your time should probably be late March to late
April. Consult with a local rosarian to be sure. The American Rose Society
www.ars.org has a list of local rose societies that one can join and receive
their monthly bulletins that have tips timed to local care.

Good luck with Carribean. It's a nice rose, but far to prone to black spot
for me to grow here without spraying, as I grow the majority of my roses.
It will probably need spraying to prevent disease in your area as well.


Thank you both! I did a little of each type deadheading mentioned,
hoping to get blooms at more varied intervals. So far no disease, I
spray it down real hard to wash any critters of. I'll check up on
black spot and keep an eye on it. I did remove a few small lower
stems that had yellowed or blackened. It wasn't much, very small.
I did just notice that none of this years growth actually came from
the stems left from last year, it's all new growth. I also just
remembered that there is a rose newsgroup, I guess I should have
posted there?

Thanks again,
Tono

Tono wrote:
snip
info I can find is how to prune it in the fall. What do I do with it
now? How low do I cut below the old bloom, or above the main trunk that
stem came from? On one site it says it blooms late summer. Summer is
just getting under way here, is it going to keep blooming all summer?


No expert here by any means but this is how my wife cuts the old
flowers off our roses. She cuts off anything just above the
uppermost branch that has exactly 5 leaves on it. She got this from
a book somewhere and our roses tend to bloom all summer long this
way. Ours are going crazy this year too.
Zone 7 - Albuquerque