Thanks for your feedback.

I must confess that I am no expert when it comes to old garden roses, but
those varieties that I have noticed in my travels appear to fall into one of
two groups. The group that produces minimal new flowering growth from the
base I would put into the same category as a Floribunda type. The other type
that produces new growth that has borne no flowers should be treated more
like a rambler.

There are exceptions to every rule and cutting back stems due to age could
well be one of them, especially when dealing with old garden roses. A rose
bush that produces ample new growth each year can have older growth cut back
hard or cut out without causing problems and this will keep your plant
forever young. On the other hand older growth can be retained, with light or
no pruning, especially if there are insufficient new stems to replace these.

In some cases it is possible to leave older growth, on some old garden
varieties, for more than three or four years. Decreasing vigour of older
stems will then become your warning signal to remove the stem when the time
is right. But don't forget that in general pruning has a regenerative effect
on roses and can prompt new growth where there was previously no sign of
this happening.

As a general rule I would still prune wood from a plant that has produced no
new basal growth in the previous season. Pruning two third of stems lightly
and one third hard. Remember also that any new stems that have not as yet
flowered should not be pruned, unless of course they are blind shoots.


Regards

Martin Double
BexRose

Email:
Web Site: http://home.btconnect.com/cadoss


"Gail Futoran" wrote in message
...
"Martin" wrote in message
...
A rose pruning guide has just been added to the BexRose
web site at:-
http://home.btconnect.com/cadoss/bexrose

You'll find the article under 'Rose Articles'

Any comments, good or bad, will be gratefully recieved.

Enjoy.

Martin Double
BexRose, Webmaster.

Email:
Web Site: http://home.btconnect.com/cadoss/bexrose

I'm in the midst of spring pruning of my roses so this
information is current as well as useful. I didn't know
about basel stems losing productivity after 3 or 4 years.
Most books I've read simply state "cut off older canes"
without saying why. Since I only started my rose garden
late in 1998, and have lost a number of roses to weather or
my ignorance (that process seems to have stabilized, and I
have lost only 1 or 2 roses out of 150 in the past year),
it's only in recent years that I've had roses survive long
enough to have older canes.

The only question I might have about cutting back canes due
to age is whether that applies to old garden or antique
roses. Many of them seem to have a longer life span than
moderns (due to growing in their own roots??), so I wonder
if the advice about cutting out 4 year old canes should be
conditioned by the type of rose bush.

Other than that the article seems very clear to me,
including all the important information and written very
well.

Gail
near San Antonio TX USA Zone 8