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Posted By: becca pruning rose bushes - August 23rd, 2005 at 07:12 PM
Have a rose bush that i couldn't find the right spot to prune.It doesn't have any outward growth on 5 stocks.It looks ill what do i do with it?
Posted By: Shani Re: pruning rose bushes - August 25th, 2005 at 12:38 PM
Hello and welcome, I would say thin the bush out. I found with big rose bushs that once I started poking about in them I found a lot of dead wood and started but cutting it out. after that it was a matter or figuring out what shape and size I wanted the bush to be and trimming back to it.
Posted By: Dixie Angel Re: pruning rose bushes - August 25th, 2005 at 08:47 PM
Welcome to the forum, becca! I am not a expert on any plant but I did want to say "hello".

Dianna
Posted By: Bids Re: pruning rose bushes - August 26th, 2005 at 12:22 AM
When i first pruned a rose bush(someone elses) I was terrified that it would not reappear in the Spring, but it lived, so the next year i pruned my own and so on, You just have to do it. Roses need to be pruned so take of a the lenghths of a few buds on a branch/stick and you'll get the hang of it.
Posted By: weezie13 Re: pruning rose bushes - August 26th, 2005 at 06:09 AM
Hey Becca,
Just to let you know, I'm going to move your
post into the PLANTS AND FLOWERS SECTION,
You've gotten some good response's here,
but I'm sure you'll get a few more into there..

Welcome by the way, to The Garden Helper's Forum!
We're very glad you found us..
Posted By: MaryReboakly Re: pruning rose bushes - August 26th, 2005 at 09:05 AM
Hi Becca! I'm new to roses too, but have been pruning them all summer. What we do is count down from the top of the stem, until we see a set of 5 leaves coming from the main branch. Then, cut just above where the 5 leaves connect to the main stalk. Cut on a diagonal so rainwater can run off it to help prevent disesase.

The key is not to be afraid to cut it - I don't believe you can ever cut one 'too much'. We've cut a few of ours down to the ground this summer because of blackspot, and they've made a complete rebound - you'd never know we even touched them -- other than the missing blackspot wink

I remember my mom always trying to convince everyone to help her cut the rosebush - but everyone was afraid to kill it! She knew that if you cut it back, it would grow better, and fuller. Nobody listened, and she ended up with a 10' tall rosebush of about 4 stalks laugh So, don't be afraid - cut away!
Posted By: weezie13 Re: pruning rose bushes - August 26th, 2005 at 11:34 AM
Hello again Becca....

I am also a new rose grower,
well, I've grown them, but I am not all
too fancy with them....

I can tell you some basic's, but I'm also
at a bit of a dis~advantage as far as roses
for your growing climate...*I am growing zone 5*

Now, normally at this time I would be putting my rose's to sleep or at least preparing them for the winter...

I'm hopin' someone who grows rose's in your climate can chim in...

~~~~~~~>Do you happen to have a picture??<~~~~~~~
That would be great...


I do know that if I ever want new basal growth
for my rose *but this is usually in the spring time I do this*, I will give my rose a good watering, scatch in some Epsom Salts, and water that in again too..
Then I find some new soil/dirt from somewhere's else on my property, and fill a bucket of it.... then take it to the rose in question,
and dump it on top of it...covering a good portion of the bottom and stem of the plant,
and give a good watering again...
And wait..... what this does promotes new, red, basal growth from the bottom of the plant....
*although it may be the root stock of the rose too, not sure in your case, you may have rose's that don't need a cold tolerant root stock, so it may come true to the rose you bought...

Now, once the rose sprouts some new red/green growth, you want to pull that new soil/dirt away
from the base/stem of the plant, uncovering the new growth...

I am not sure this is what you wanna do so late in the season, but again, not sure of the correct proceedure in your area...

Hope this helps some....
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