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Need advice for pruning Dublin Bay rose

11 years ago

Hello everyone- This is a cross post from the Texas gardening forum. This picture was taken last October. The roses were planted 3 years ago last fall and last summer they reached the top of the trellis. When I bought them they were categorized as columnar roses that get to be about 8-10 feet tall.

I'm pretty comfortable pruning shrub roses, but these are my only trellised roses and I'm not sure what I'm doing. Most things I read advise to bring in the canes and tie them to the structure. Seems like as soon as I do that, there is another one that shoots almost 90 degrees out. A friend recommended taking about 2-3 feet off the tops to encourage it to grow in more at the bottom.

When I posted on the Texas forum I was pointed to a very helpful pictoral on the Hartwood roses blog. They also suggested posting here since you all have the most experience. I'm just south of San Antonio if that makes a difference.

Thanks in advance - Lisa

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Comments (3)

ogrose_tx
11 years ago
Hi Lisa, Paul Zimmerman has a blog called "Roses are Plants Too" and has a video on pruning roses. He really makes it simple and easy to understand. I must have watched it ten times before I got up the nerve to prune my climbers at first, now it's just easy peasy!
seil zone 6b MI
11 years ago
Congratulations! Those look like two very healthy climbers!

You're right, tying the canes in will encourage the rose to grow more side canes and those will go outward looking for sun. You can instead trim those side canes back to encourage them to branch out and make the entire structure fuller.

As for the bottom, a lot of climbers will get that bare look at the bottom and Dublin Bay did that same thing for me. In order for the rose to send needed water and nutrients all the way to those top limbs it will sacrifice the ones at the bottom. I'd suggest planting another, shorter rose at the base to hide the bare legs of DB.
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That DB is grafted on Dr. Huey. I don't recommend amending the hole except for adding the superphosphate (put it in the hole then cover with soil, then the plant). I usually amend the entire bed in the fall, but you don't say if your soil is sandy and needs the amendments. You want to avoid what we call the "bathtub effect" where the hole retains too much water and it doesn't drain out properly. Here we may or may not have that problem because of the sandy soil (in some cases). Make sure the union is 2" below the soil. Don't "tamp". Backfill and use water to fill in the holes. Use your hands to press in the soil to make sure there are no air pockets. But you don't want to compress the soil around the roots. Mulch the soil, but keep the mulch away from the canes. Water after you plant, then monitor the soil. You shouldn't have to water daily, especially since we are due for more rain this week (thu - sat). You'll probably get in two applications of Rose-tone, July and August, then stop (no fertilizing after August). Once you see new growth after planting, you can try a weak (1/4 - 1/2 strength) solution of fish emulsion once a week until you start the Rose-tone. You're going to need a regular fungicide treatment for DB.
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southofsa
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you both for your responses. I know what you mean Ogrose- when I first started pruning roses I almost cringed when I cut them back. It's gotten easier the longer I've done it.

Seil - Thanks! Most of my plants survive in spite of the things I do to them, not because of it :-) I have one more question - do you prune yours just once a year then? Our pruning time is around mid February in this area and then maybe cut out the dead canes in the fall. Is that a good schedule to follow with the Dublin Bay as well? Sorry these questions are so basic. I just really like these roses and want to treat them right.

Lisa

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