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#1
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Rose pruning dilemma
Hi There,
As you can see from my login name, I'm pretty new to gardening in general and roses in particular and have a problem I hope someone can help with. We have inherited a couple of rose trees (the best way to describe them) from the previous owners of our house. The problem is, they've been left to their own devices and have subsequently become very tall and thin, approximately 8 or 9 feet. At the business end of each, there are a lot of great blooms but I'd ideally like to cut them right back and start from scratch to get a bush rather than a tree. I don't think I'd have a problem if there were various stems dividing from the base but, rather like a tree, it's almost trunk-like and there are no divisons for the first three feet or so. I've a feeling that if i cut it back to where I'd like (almost soil level) I'd kill it and pruning back to where the stem begins to divide just wouldn't look right. In a nutshell, is it possible to cut right back, or do I just cut my losses and remove it and plane something else? |
#2
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Rose pruning dilemma
"chasnewbie" wrote in message
... Hi There, As you can see from my login name, I'm pretty new to gardening in general and roses in particular and have a problem I hope someone can help with. We have inherited a couple of rose trees (the best way to describe them) from the previous owners of our house. The problem is, they've been left to their own devices and have subsequently become very tall and thin, approximately 8 or 9 feet. At the business end of each, there are a lot of great blooms but I'd ideally like to cut them right back and start from scratch to get a bush rather than a tree. I don't think I'd have a problem if there were various stems dividing from the base but, rather like a tree, it's almost trunk-like and there are no divisons for the first three feet or so. I've a feeling that if i cut it back to where I'd like (almost soil level) I'd kill it and pruning back to where the stem begins to divide just wouldn't look right. In a nutshell, is it possible to cut right back, or do I just cut my losses and remove it and plane something else? The usual advice is, when in doubt, cut back some canes, see what happens, cut more. I.e., without knowing exactly what kind of rose it is, it's impossible to give specific advice. With that height, it's either a climber or some sort of old garden rose. They have different pruning requirements from their smaller cousins. With a climber, you're better off cutting a few canes down as far as you can, but leaving other canes as is and training them onto some sort of structure, like a trellis. Alternatively, you can in effect turn a climber into a bush, if that's what you want. I don't know what that would do to the blooming. Before I knew much about roses, I over-pruned three roses that were young climbers and they never recovered. They make so-so shrub roses. But I don't know if all climbers (or old garden roses) would respond the same way. If you live near a botanical garden that has roses, or a nursery with a knowledgeable staff, you might take a cutting with a bloom on it to see if they have any idea what it might be. Gail near San Antonio TX USA Zone 8 |
#3
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Rose pruning dilemma
chasnewbie wrote: Hi There, As you can see from my login name, I'm pretty new to gardening in general and roses in particular and have a problem I hope someone can help with. We have inherited a couple of rose trees (the best way to describe them) from the previous owners of our house. The problem is, they've been left to their own devices and have subsequently become very tall and thin, approximately 8 or 9 feet. At the business end of each, there are a lot of great blooms but I'd ideally like to cut them right back and start from scratch to get a bush rather than a tree. I don't think I'd have a problem if there were various stems dividing from the base but, rather like a tree, it's almost trunk-like and there are no divisons for the first three feet or so. I've a feeling that if i cut it back to where I'd like (almost soil level) I'd kill it and pruning back to where the stem begins to divide just wouldn't look right. In a nutshell, is it possible to cut right back, or do I just cut my losses and remove it and plane something else? It sounds like, from your description, that you have a couple of three foot standard roses. A standard rose is created by grafting bud wood to the top of a root stock cane (these are usually some type of vigerous wild rose such as a briar rose). Examine the top of the cane you should see a calloused area where the bud wood is shooting out the growth that has the flowers. Do NOT cut the rose back beyond this point or you will get no flowers. I have attached a couple of links that may be of use to you. http://www.hellohello.com.au/growing...owingrose.html http://www.swanesgardencare.com.au/Ben_Swane's_Rose_Growing_Tips.html http://bestgardening.com/bgc/plant/rosesprune02.htm http://www.apuldramroses.co.uk/Rose-...ng-Pruning.htm |
#4
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Just a quick note to say many thanks to you both Gail and Greenie, you're advice has been most helpful and educational. My plan is to leave the roses until winter and prune them back as you suggested.
Now, if you could give me some advice on how to stop the torrential rain we've been having in Britain lately, I'd be reallly impressed! |
#5
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Rose pruning dilemma
"chasnewbie" wrote in message
... Just a quick note to say many thanks to you both Gail and Greenie, you're advice has been most helpful and educational. My plan is to leave the roses until winter and prune them back as you suggested. That sounds like a great plan. Let us know how it works. Now, if you could give me some advice on how to stop the torrential rain we've been having in Britain lately, I'd be reallly impressed! We're dealing with our own rain problems in Texas. Some small towns have experienced a lot of damage, although the area where I live is doing ok - nothing like our floods of 1998 and 2002. Stay safe! Gail near San Antonio TX USA Zone 8 |
#6
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Rose pruning dilemma
I remember the mid 80's one year I think 4 National holidays were floods
of 800, 400, 200, 100 year levels. The 800 put 17 inches overnight in our backyard - Round Rock. - The rock was under water. Martin http://lufkinced.com/weather_station...eather_001.htm Martin H. Eastburn @ home at Lions' Lair with our computer lionslair at consolidated dot net TSRA, Life; NRA LOH & Endowment Member, Golden Eagle, Patriot's Medal. NRA Second Amendment Task Force Charter Founder IHMSA and NRA Metallic Silhouette maker & member. http://lufkinced.com/ Gail Futoran wrote: "chasnewbie" wrote in message ... Just a quick note to say many thanks to you both Gail and Greenie, you're advice has been most helpful and educational. My plan is to leave the roses until winter and prune them back as you suggested. That sounds like a great plan. Let us know how it works. Now, if you could give me some advice on how to stop the torrential rain we've been having in Britain lately, I'd be reallly impressed! We're dealing with our own rain problems in Texas. Some small towns have experienced a lot of damage, although the area where I live is doing ok - nothing like our floods of 1998 and 2002. Stay safe! Gail near San Antonio TX USA Zone 8 ----== Posted via Newsfeeds.Com - Unlimited-Unrestricted-Secure Usenet News==---- http://www.newsfeeds.com The #1 Newsgroup Service in the World! 120,000+ Newsgroups ----= East and West-Coast Server Farms - Total Privacy via Encryption =---- |
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