Mark. Gooley wrote:


Why are you hacking up your roses?

Okay. I planted them in what's now the wet, and on the survivors
much of the top growth has lost leaves or died outright. People
have reminded me that severe pruning is a good idea if the root
system of a rose has been damaged or is about to be. The wet
seems to have caused some of the roots to rot away, which is causing
the tops to die off (presumably the roots can't support them)...so I've
been pruning back the tops in the hope that the bushes will endure
until they can grow new roots.

Ahhh! I see. Sounds like a good idea. I asked because hard pruning seems
to be the answer to every problem to some folks, and I disagree. But in
this case it sounds quite reasonable.


Keep us posted on the results.