rose bushes and pruning

ronn

When would be the right time to prune my rose bushes, Is it too early to do it now,some of my roses are still flowering,

any help be great, Thanks:D

periodictable

Much has been written about pruning roses...and much is nonsense.
Prune away right now-go back to healthy stem and angle the cuts about 1/4 inch above an outward facing bud. Cuts should be clean and remove dead/diseased/thin/spotted wood.
My experience is that a good hard pruning is great.

ronn

Thanks for that, Ill get stuck into them tomorrow.

slowburner

Paddy's day is traditionally the deadline for cutting back hard.
Of course this date can shift, according to weather conditions.
There's a lot of bunkum and false mystique about pruning - these plants are tough.
As a general principle, the aim is to achieve outward growth with an open centre to allow light and air in.
Old, dead, and spindly growth should be cut out.
The golden rule is always to cut just above a bud. Early spring pruning might have an advantage in that the buds are more obvious.

Oldtree

My worry about pruning now is that if we get a severe frost i would have cut down on the number of buds available for next year shouls some die. While I would prune a dog rose at any time over the winter i hesitate to prune my tea roses until late winter.

monkeynuz

Ronn,

For goodness sake don't take any notice of the person who said to prune now!


Pruning should only ever be done in November(very light pruning to remove wight from bush to prevent wind rock damage etc.)

Full pruning of Roses is to be done late February into March.

With regards to the shape to prune to, one of the other posters was on the right track, outward facing bud, any crossing or diseased wood, and also maintain a winde glass type shape with an open centre.

Hope this helps.

M.

jezko

monkeynuz wrote: »

Ronn,

For goodness sake don't take any notice of the person who said to prune now!


Pruning should only ever be done in November(very light pruning to remove wight from bush to prevent wind rock damage etc.)

Full pruning of Roses is to be done late February into March.

With regards to the shape to prune to, one of the other posters was on the right track, outward facing bud, any crossing or diseased wood, and also maintain a winde glass type shape with an open centre.

Hope this helps.

M.

I would agree with the above post, Its how I have been doing Roses for nearly 20 Years. however a few years back the RHS (Open to Correction) did a trial on Rose Pruning, and found No Big Difference in Growth/Flower in Roses that were "pruned with a Hedgecutter" Compared to roses that were Pruned with outward facing buds and taking out weaker Shoots etc.. In fact am sure they claimed it improved as the plants had more Leaves/shoots to create energy. I believe they were HT Roses...

ronn

monkeynuz wrote: »

Ronn,

For goodness sake don't take any notice of the person who said to prune now!


Pruning should only ever be done in November(very light pruning to remove wight from bush to prevent wind rock damage etc.)

Full pruning of Roses is to be done late February into March.

With regards to the shape to prune to, one of the other posters was on the right track, outward facing bud, any crossing or diseased wood, and also maintain a winde glass type shape with an open centre.

Hope this helps.

M.

Ooh O, Where were you a few weeks ago, Ive already pruned my rose's.. Hopefully they dont die,

thanks for your help

monkeynuz

ronn wrote: »

Ooh O, Where were you a few weeks ago, Ive already pruned my rose's.. Hopefully they dont die,

thanks for your help

I wasn't following the thread a few weeks ago, but then sometimes it pays to look at more than one point of reference.

I didn't say they will definitely die but it certainly ain't the right time either.

M.

slowburner

ronn wrote: »

Ooh O, Where were you a few weeks ago, Ive already pruned my rose's.. Hopefully they dont die,

thanks for your help

They'll survive.

jezko

slowburner wrote: »

They'll survive.

Agree they will survive .... Roses are quite Tough
If you have pruned Roses "too early" what you do is encourage buds to break (Start opening) at the highest point of the stem or the nearest buds to the Pruned point, and if you get a bout of Frost these breaking Buds can be killed/Burnt.
If this happens the buds lower down along that stem should open later you may find that your Plant/Rose develops more slowly at start of grow season.

Although I do use the March 17 as a Deadline for my Pruning it totally depends on your local Area if you are at Risk of Heavy Late Frosts.... I would say Most of Ireland is suitable for this date...

I Would believe that If Roses are Pruned too late it will again slow the start of Bud Break/Growing... So the Trick is to find the Correct time for your Area.

Realtine

I have a question re roses also, They were only planted last year and I now see that I need to move them, I'm wondering when to do this, they are quite tall now as I haven't yet pruned them, I was thinking perhaps February or March or is that too late?
Also planted at the same time was a climbing rose which seems to be slow growing, I don't want to move that but I was wondering if I should prune it or just leave it to ramble?

monkeynuz

Realtine wrote: »

I have a question re roses also, They were only planted last year and I now see that I need to move them, I'm wondering when to do this, they are quite tall now as I haven't yet pruned them, I was thinking perhaps February or March or is that too late?
Also planted at the same time was a climbing rose which seems to be slow growing, I don't want to move that but I was wondering if I should prune it or just leave it to ramble?

Prune them beginning of march and move them water them in and add a bit of toprose and mulch with a bag of compost or fym.

Have you started training the climbing rose to wires?

M.

slowburner

I'd move them now and prune them before the middle of March.

monkeynuz

slowburner wrote: »

I'd move them now and prune them before the middle of March.

Pruning then moving just makes the moving easier. Moving big roses can be painful!

M.

ronn

monkeynuz wrote: »

Prune them beginning of march and move them water them in and add a bit of toprose and mulch with a bag of compost or fym.

Have you started training the climbing rose to wires?

M.

Im planning on moving mine aswell, Can i ask what toprose is and fym ?

Thanks

Realtine

monkeynuz wrote: »

Have you started training the climbing rose to wires?

M.

I sorta have them tied to wires on a fence but to be honest, while the label said 'climbing' I have my doubts, they don't seem to be going anywhere fast, should I prune a climber?
Thanks for replies by the way - novice gardener here.

monkeynuz

ronn wrote: »

Im planning on moving mine aswell, Can i ask what toprose is and fym ?

Thanks

Toprose is a brand name for granular rose feed.

Fym is farmyard manure. I ten to buy the composted type from garden centres and the likes of homebase.

Hope this helps.

M.

Poulgorm

Roses are tough plants. I prune mine in November - I am in an exposed site - high winds. One year, I did not get around to doing it until after a very strong December storm and the roses got badly damaged.

So now I prune in November. No problems have resulted - they thrive every year and put on a great display. I just use a hedge clippers and a lopper for the thicker stems. The purists would say it's crude. But it works for me.

Of course, remove any dead wood.