On Jul 1, 2:58*pm, "David E. Ross" wrote:
On 7/1/10 2:07 PM, Freckles wrote:

Two of my tea roses have too many canes coming from the middle of the root
stock.

Would now be a good time to prune those canes out, or should I wait until
late winter?

Thanks

Freckles

If the new canes are coming from below the bud union or from the root
stock itself, remove them now. *They will divert nutrients away from the
desired growth, which will eventually die.

If the new canes are coming from the bud union (the knob that forms
where the desired variety was budded onto the root stock) or from above
it, keep them. *When you do your dormant pruning, keep them; and remove
an older cane for each kept new one. *This is how you renew your plant.

In any case, if the new canes are poorly placed (e.g., crossing each
other, growing towards the center of the plant instead of outward),
remove them now. *In this case however, if they are from the bud union
or above it, you might head them to a bud that will produce growth in
the desired direction instead of removing them entirely.


One assumes that he knows that "heading" means pruning diagonally
just above a bud facing in the desired direction.
--

David E. Ross
http://www.rossde.com/

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