On Tue, 03 Feb 2004 19:29:13 GMT, torgo
wrote:

The best tip I'd give anyone trying their hand at the cheap bagged
stuff is to cut off the first flush of blooms immediately. These poor
roses had their roots hacked to virtually nothing when they were cut
out of the ground. They're two year old plants with the root stock of
a first season seedling. Until the roots have time to really get
going again, the effort required to support the blooms might kill the
entire plant. Cut those blooms off and let the plant put its energy
into growing instead.

You know, I used to do this as well, but I didn't for some reason with
the Bel Amis that I posted a link to. I think that part of it was the
fact that each of the three plants threw about 5 -8 first buds
simultaneously and I didn't have the heart to trim them. As it turns
out, they bloomed profusely TWICE before the end of the year.

Of course, the question will be, how will they do making it through
the winter. So far, they seem to be fine.

So, I'm not sure if this guidance is always the best. It might depend
on the rose. I know one thing - if I had cut the first flush of the
Bel Amis, I would have definitely been cheated out of about 20 blooms,
and I'm not sure if there would have been much benefit. Having said
that, I'll have to evaluate how vigorous the plants are going to be in
the spring. I have no absolute way to judge them against a control
group, but I think it will be pretty apparent if their root structure
suffered because of excessive blooming the first year depriving the
plant of energy to the roots.

Just my .02.