On 14/10/2014 14:54, Simon T wrote:
Following the advice of the good folk here, I've given my wayward rose
bush a bit of a trim.

Was told to remove any "dead" sections and try and trim it into a
"goblet" shape (the latter being a little tricky), not sure if I went a
little too far...

http://tinyurl.com/pg587k9

I know this isn't rocket science, but as I have a complete brown thumb,
wanted to know if this looks OK, or should I have gone too far, or not
far enough etc...

Thanks in advance.

Best Wishes
Simon Taylor



I think you've done well for the time being. You could have taken out
more wood, but you can always do that in spring when you see the new
growth developing. To be totally honest, I would have completely
removed the oldest branch on the right but, again, you can make a
decision about that in spring.

The rose obviously hasn't been pruned in years, so a severe cut-back now
might have been too much of a shock to its system. In future years, and
with a bit more experience, you'll probably be confident enough to cut
back further, but it's fine for now.

It would be a good idea to remove those few dead leaves and other debris
from under the rose. These will almost certainly be carrying Black Spot
spores (and perhaps rose rust as well), which can reinfect the shrub.
Perhaps now, but certainly in spring, use a rose fungicide spray in
February/March to completely wash down the rose. This should prevent
those same spores (which will be 'resting' over winter on the stems)
from reinfecting the new growth.

--
Spider.
On high ground in SE London
gardening on heavy clay