Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Search this Thread Display Modes
  #1   Report Post  
Old 09-08-2003, 12:14 PM
Judy Donovan
 
Posts: n/a
Default Help please on pruning old rose bushes

Hi,
We inherited a couple of old shrub roses when we moved into our house (I
believe they are Rosa Windrush). They both flower well but unfortunately
they are in a spot that we intend to turn over to vegetables. I'd really
like to keep them and I'm sure we can fit the veg beds around them, but they
have been supported by an old dilapidated trellis that we need to move now
to start clearing the ground ready for autumn digging. So my questions a

1. As they're very top heavy they're all the green growth that had flowers
on is flopping over and I'm worried that the strain will break or damage the
stems. They're pretty much finished flowering - I know technically it's not
the right time of year but can I prune them back now to prevent them getting
damaged?

2. If and when I prune how much can I take off? There's about 3 ft of old
wood before any flowering shoots start. Is there anything I can do to
encourage new growth lower down the shrub?

Any advice gratefully received!

Many thanks
Judy


  #2   Report Post  
Old 09-08-2003, 02:14 PM
Jeanne Stockdale
 
Posts: n/a
Default Help please on pruning old rose bushes

There was a very similar question in today's Telegraph. The advice was:
"Remove all shoots that have flowered. There will probably be new shoots
already growing about 2 feet back from the dead flower heads. Cut back the
old growth only as far as these new shoots.Also, if you can get to the base
of the roses easily, take out some of the oldest and most gnarled stems
completely from gound level. Give each bush a granular rose feed and water
well. Don't cut them hard back all over. If you do, they won't flower next
year"

Jeanne Stockdale

"Judy Donovan" wrote in message
...
Hi,
We inherited a couple of old shrub roses when we moved into our house (I
believe they are Rosa Windrush). They both flower well but unfortunately
they are in a spot that we intend to turn over to vegetables. I'd really
like to keep them and I'm sure we can fit the veg beds around them, but

they
have been supported by an old dilapidated trellis that we need to move now
to start clearing the ground ready for autumn digging. So my questions

a

1. As they're very top heavy they're all the green growth that had

flowers
on is flopping over and I'm worried that the strain will break or damage

the
stems. They're pretty much finished flowering - I know technically it's

not
the right time of year but can I prune them back now to prevent them

getting
damaged?

2. If and when I prune how much can I take off? There's about 3 ft of

old
wood before any flowering shoots start. Is there anything I can do to
encourage new growth lower down the shrub?

Any advice gratefully received!

Many thanks
Judy




  #3   Report Post  
Old 09-08-2003, 03:43 PM
The Devil's Advocate
 
Posts: n/a
Default Help please on pruning old rose bushes

Call me a rebel but I would cut it right down to the ground and move it in
the autumn with, yes you guessed it, lashings of water

Judy Donovan wrote:
Hi,
We inherited a couple of old shrub roses when we moved into our
house (I believe they are Rosa Windrush). They both flower well but
unfortunately they are in a spot that we intend to turn over to
vegetables. I'd really like to keep them and I'm sure we can fit
the veg beds around them, but they have been supported by an old
dilapidated trellis that we need to move now to start clearing the
ground ready for autumn digging. So my questions a

1. As they're very top heavy they're all the green growth that had
flowers on is flopping over and I'm worried that the strain will
break or damage the stems. They're pretty much finished flowering -
I know technically it's not the right time of year but can I prune
them back now to prevent them getting damaged?

2. If and when I prune how much can I take off? There's about 3 ft
of old wood before any flowering shoots start. Is there anything I
can do to encourage new growth lower down the shrub?

Any advice gratefully received!

Many thanks
Judy


Robert The Devil's Advocate www.pafc.co.uk


  #4   Report Post  
Old 09-08-2003, 04:03 PM
anne
 
Posts: n/a
Default Help please on pruning old rose bushes


The Devil's Advocate wrote in message
...
Call me a rebel but I would cut it right down to the ground and move it in
the autumn with, yes you guessed it, lashings of water


I did exactly this two years ago thinking I had no chance with them, but
they were/are fantastic both this year and last.



Judy Donovan wrote:
Hi,
We inherited a couple of old shrub roses when we moved into our
house (I believe they are Rosa Windrush). They both flower well but
unfortunately they are in a spot that we intend to turn over to
vegetables. I'd really like to keep them and I'm sure we can fit
the veg beds around them, but they have been supported by an old
dilapidated trellis that we need to move now to start clearing the
ground ready for autumn digging. So my questions a

1. As they're very top heavy they're all the green growth that had
flowers on is flopping over and I'm worried that the strain will
break or damage the stems. They're pretty much finished flowering -
I know technically it's not the right time of year but can I prune
them back now to prevent them getting damaged?

2. If and when I prune how much can I take off? There's about 3 ft
of old wood before any flowering shoots start. Is there anything I
can do to encourage new growth lower down the shrub?

Any advice gratefully received!

Many thanks
Judy


Robert The Devil's Advocate www.pafc.co.uk




  #5   Report Post  
Old 09-08-2003, 04:22 PM
Franz Heymann
 
Posts: n/a
Default Help please on pruning old rose bushes


"anne" wrote in message
...

The Devil's Advocate wrote in

message
...




Judy Donovan wrote:
Hi,
We inherited a couple of old shrub roses when we moved into our
house (I believe they are Rosa Windrush). They both flower well but
unfortunately they are in a spot that we intend to turn over to
vegetables. I'd really like to keep them and I'm sure we can fit
the veg beds around them, but they have been supported by an old
dilapidated trellis that we need to move now to start clearing the
ground ready for autumn digging. So my questions a

1. As they're very top heavy they're all the green growth that had
flowers on is flopping over and I'm worried that the strain will
break or damage the stems. They're pretty much finished flowering -
I know technically it's not the right time of year but can I prune
them back now to prevent them getting damaged?

2. If and when I prune how much can I take off? There's about 3 ft
of old wood before any flowering shoots start. Is there anything I
can do to encourage new growth lower down the shrub?

Any advice gratefully received!

Many thanks
Judy


Call me a rebel but I would cut it right down to the ground and move it

in
the autumn with, yes you guessed it, lashings of water


I did exactly this two years ago thinking I had no chance with them, but
they were/are fantastic both this year and last.


I need to do something like that too, but before risking it, please confirm
that I understood you correctly:
(1) You are talking of shrub roses. (of the Rugosa group)
(2) You did not lose a season's flowering. (I am ancient and the loss of a
season's flowers is, if I may be blunt about it, a matter of life and
death).
(3) What time of the year did you prune it?

Thanks in advance,
[Franz Heymann]




  #6   Report Post  
Old 09-08-2003, 07:32 PM
Rod
 
Posts: n/a
Default Help please on pruning old rose bushes


"Franz Heymann" wrote in message ...
I need to do something like that too, but before risking it, please confirm
that I understood you correctly:
(1) You are talking of shrub roses. (of the Rugosa group)
(2) You did not lose a season's flowering. (I am ancient and the loss of a
season's flowers is, if I may be blunt about it, a matter of life and
death).
(3) What time of the year did you prune it?

Judy's roses are not rugosas - she can prune quite hard and still have a reasonable lot of flowers next year, though personally I'd
do a rather heavy dead heading or summer pruning now and more heavier pruning in the autumn - like end of next month.
With your rugosas you can reduce the area they fill quite a lot by pruning them somewhat like cane fruit. ie take out all old wood
and wood that's flowered this year, just leave as much of this year's basal growths as you have room for. You don't have to do all
of this - just do as much as you need to get them how you want them, but do spare at least this year's basal growths and if possible
any of last year's that have nice strong side shoots. Done properly it will look a lot smaller but won't look like a heavily pruned
plant and should give a decent show next year.

Rod


  #7   Report Post  
Old 09-08-2003, 08:02 PM
Franz Heymann
 
Posts: n/a
Default Help please on pruning old rose bushes


"Rod" wrote in message
...

"Franz Heymann" wrote in message

...
I need to do something like that too, but before risking it, please

confirm
that I understood you correctly:
(1) You are talking of shrub roses. (of the Rugosa group)
(2) You did not lose a season's flowering. (I am ancient and the loss

of a
season's flowers is, if I may be blunt about it, a matter of life and
death).
(3) What time of the year did you prune it?

Judy's roses are not rugosas - she can prune quite hard and still have a

reasonable lot of flowers next year, though personally I'd
do a rather heavy dead heading or summer pruning now and more heavier

pruning in the autumn - like end of next month.
With your rugosas you can reduce the area they fill quite a lot by pruning

them somewhat like cane fruit. ie take out all old wood
and wood that's flowered this year, just leave as much of this year's

basal growths as you have room for. You don't have to do all
of this - just do as much as you need to get them how you want them, but

do spare at least this year's basal growths and if possible
any of last year's that have nice strong side shoots. Done properly it

will look a lot smaller but won't look like a heavily pruned
plant and should give a decent show next year.


Many thanks for clearing this up. I will follow your advice. But just one
more thing: Do I have to wait for the winter to do that maintenance?

[Franz Heymann]


  #8   Report Post  
Old 09-08-2003, 11:13 PM
Rod
 
Posts: n/a
Default Help please on pruning old rose bushes


"Franz Heymann" wrote in message ...

"Rod" wrote in message
...

"Franz Heymann" wrote in message

...
I need to do something like that too, but before risking it, please

confirm
that I understood you correctly:
(1) You are talking of shrub roses. (of the Rugosa group)
(2) You did not lose a season's flowering. (I am ancient and the loss

of a
season's flowers is, if I may be blunt about it, a matter of life and
death).
(3) What time of the year did you prune it?

Judy's roses are not rugosas - she can prune quite hard and still have a

reasonable lot of flowers next year, though personally I'd
do a rather heavy dead heading or summer pruning now and more heavier

pruning in the autumn - like end of next month.
With your rugosas you can reduce the area they fill quite a lot by pruning

them somewhat like cane fruit. ie take out all old wood
and wood that's flowered this year, just leave as much of this year's

basal growths as you have room for. You don't have to do all
of this - just do as much as you need to get them how you want them, but

do spare at least this year's basal growths and if possible
any of last year's that have nice strong side shoots. Done properly it

will look a lot smaller but won't look like a heavily pruned
plant and should give a decent show next year.


Many thanks for clearing this up. I will follow your advice. But just one
more thing: Do I have to wait for the winter to do that maintenance?

[Franz Heymann]

That kind of pruning can be done now or anytime in the next few weeks, in fact it will help the new basal shoots to grow and ripen
before the winter.

Rod


  #9   Report Post  
Old 10-08-2003, 12:12 AM
Franz Heymann
 
Posts: n/a
Default Help please on pruning old rose bushes


"Rod" wrote in message
...

"Franz Heymann" wrote in message

...

"Rod" wrote in message
...

"Franz Heymann" wrote in message

...
I need to do something like that too, but before risking it, please

confirm
that I understood you correctly:
(1) You are talking of shrub roses. (of the Rugosa group)
(2) You did not lose a season's flowering. (I am ancient and the

loss
of a
season's flowers is, if I may be blunt about it, a matter of life

and
death).
(3) What time of the year did you prune it?

Judy's roses are not rugosas - she can prune quite hard and still have

a
reasonable lot of flowers next year, though personally I'd
do a rather heavy dead heading or summer pruning now and more heavier

pruning in the autumn - like end of next month.
With your rugosas you can reduce the area they fill quite a lot by

pruning
them somewhat like cane fruit. ie take out all old wood
and wood that's flowered this year, just leave as much of this year's

basal growths as you have room for. You don't have to do all
of this - just do as much as you need to get them how you want them,

but
do spare at least this year's basal growths and if possible
any of last year's that have nice strong side shoots. Done properly it

will look a lot smaller but won't look like a heavily pruned
plant and should give a decent show next year.


Many thanks for clearing this up. I will follow your advice. But just

one
more thing: Do I have to wait for the winter to do that maintenance?

[Franz Heymann]

That kind of pruning can be done now or anytime in the next few weeks, in

fact it will help the new basal shoots to grow and ripen
before the winter.


Many thanks. I now have a very nasty chore on hand.

[Franz Heymann]


  #10   Report Post  
Old 10-08-2003, 02:03 AM
A Troll aka Jeff Coles
 
Posts: n/a
Default Help please on pruning old rose bushes

Hi, I'm no expert with roses, but over the last 2 seasons I have been caring
for the garden of a 92yo neighbour,who's name is Marjorie. Both the front
and rear gardens have boarders of roses, at the last count, 38 of 'em!
Marjorie tells me that the youngest ones are about 30 years old. She's had
to rely on a garden maintenance service for the last 10 years and as a
result the roses have not been cared for ( all other plants were strimmed to
oblivion). Many of the roses had grown to around 7 or 8 feet high with all
the green growth starting 3 to 4 feet above old wood, others had been
strimmed to near submission.

Staring in April 2002 I could only trim out all the dead wood and rip of the
briar wood below the soil that was growing from a few of the shrubs. I then
hoed in plenty of rose feed. through out the summer I just dead headed the
roses until finally in October I guessed it was time to do some serious
pruning. With some trepidation and a rather dry throat, I gulped and took
the plunge. I started by removing all weak and straggerly shoots, the I
decided the centres of the shrubs needed lightening up so I cut out all
shoots growing to the middle. My intention was to reduce all the former
flowering shoots by half and cut them back to the nearest outward facing
bud. I was rather surprised with my efforts, the shrubs looked quite good,
nice shape and much lighter. They were still top heavy though, which
concerned me.

It was a difficult wait over the winter, to see if I managed to destroy 30
or 40 yrs of natures work. In march this year I started to feed all the
roses again, by this time there was plenty of new green growth. By the end
of May, both myself and Marjorie were rewarded to a magnificent display of
blooms on most of the shrubs and those that didn't bloom so well were a
least "shrubbier". But the best thing of all is that many of the taller
shrubs have pushed up quite a few new shoots from the base, which gives me
the hope that I can eventually cut down the tallest of the shrubs and bring
them back to a more manageable height. Marjorie is thrilled to bits with
them, when I can distract her attention from the "Robbie Williams Live from
Wembley" consert she had recorded from the previous evening ( is Marjorie,
at 92 Robbie's most senior fan?).

I actually hated roses, the few roses I have in my own garden, are horrible,
no overall nice shape, a lot of effort for a few meagre flowers and often
"bit" me at the least expected moment, aaaaaw! those dammed
thorns!.........................now where did I put those secateurs?

Jeff





"Judy Donovan" wrote in message
...
Hi,
We inherited a couple of old shrub roses when we moved into our house (I
believe they are Rosa Windrush). They both flower well but unfortunately
they are in a spot that we intend to turn over to vegetables. I'd really
like to keep them and I'm sure we can fit the veg beds around them, but

they
have been supported by an old dilapidated trellis that we need to move now
to start clearing the ground ready for autumn digging. So my questions

a

1. As they're very top heavy they're all the green growth that had

flowers
on is flopping over and I'm worried that the strain will break or damage

the
stems. They're pretty much finished flowering - I know technically it's

not
the right time of year but can I prune them back now to prevent them

getting
damaged?

2. If and when I prune how much can I take off? There's about 3 ft of

old
wood before any flowering shoots start. Is there anything I can do to
encourage new growth lower down the shrub?

Any advice gratefully received!

Many thanks
Judy




Reply
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes

Posting Rules

Smilies are On
[IMG] code is Off
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Pruning old roses and old grapes - help! tazmainiandevil Gardening 5 27-02-2010 02:13 PM
old rose bushes and clover Kumar Varadan Roses 0 25-03-2004 07:02 PM
Pruning rose bushes Patsy Gardening 5 17-03-2004 12:42 AM
Pruning rose bushes Patsy Gardening 0 16-03-2004 01:34 AM
Pruning rose bushes Patsy Gardening 0 16-03-2004 01:12 AM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 01:21 PM.

Powered by vBulletin® Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 GardenBanter.co.uk.
The comments are property of their posters.
 

About Us

"It's about Gardening"

 

Copyright © 2017