Is this what my rose bush should look like?

10 years ago

KO rose planted last June, very small. Got somewhat bigger over the summer (maybe 18-24")

I did not prune it at all because I read not to for the first two years.

Now it is almost mid May here in Mich and it mostly has leaves on the bottom half and and top half the canes are brown and bare.

Should I just leave it or lop off the brown canes down to where the greener part starts? If I do this, the plant will probably only be about 10" tall!

For the record, it has been a cold spring and is just now starting to warm up.

PS: The lush one behind it was just bought and planted.

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Comments (7)

User
10 years ago
Cut it down to the leafy parts.
User
10 years ago
Yes, you should cut the brown cane off. You can cut more if you want a more rounded, even look. Fertilize it after you are done (but probably not the newly-planted one, at least if you use chemcial fertilizer). Knockouts are tough, tough roses, and yours won't be bothered if you pruned "wrong".
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look at the budeyes before you prune or deadhead. If the budeye is facing away from the main part, then it will grow away. If the budeye is facing toward the center of the plant, then it will grow toward the center. BUT you want to keep the center open to help prevent disease. That is why many people cut above an outward facing budeye. I would wait for spring and move the smaller bush. That's just me though.
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Kali, just in case she does not see your question. It refers to a set of leaves. So you find a set of leaves on the cane that point in the direction that you would like a branch to grow. Right in the nook where the leaf set is connected to the cane on the top side. That is where there are growth nodes that can grow into branches. A rose likes too start new growth from right below where you cut/prune. As that is where the rose will concentrate its growth hormones. Where I live there are an abundance of cane borers. If these are active in your area it is best to place a drop of regular elmers glue on the cut surface. It helps to keep them out of the rose canes.
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Yes, you should remove (deadhead) all of the old blooms as soon as possible at any time during the growing season. Blooms lead to the creation (or attempt of creation) of the seed pod, commonly called "rose hip". While making hips, roses won't make as many blooms. Cut off the old blooms and any hips and that will encourage the rose to make more blooms (to make more hips). Where there are high temperatures, roses will either stop blooming or will have smaller blooms.
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stir_fryi SE Mich
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks.

Should I wait until the first bloom cycle to fertilize or do it now?
mzstitch
10 years ago
Fertilize this rose now, but wait to fertilize your new rose until after it's first bloom cycle. Personally I only fertilize my new roses at half strength the first year. I'm not sure why they tell you not to prune your knock out the first two years, likely just to let it grow to a larger size faster. It looks like your rose just suffered a bit from a cold winter, so cut back to green wood just above a leaf bud. Don't worry a bit about how short you are making it, Knockouts are fast growers.
seil zone 6b MI
10 years ago
You need to take off all the dead cane from this horrible winter. Don't worry about it being only 10" tall. I have several that are shorter than that but have new growth coming from the bottom. It looks like your KO is coming back from the bottom quite well so it should be fine. It will probably put that two feet of cane back on pretty quickly if the weather stays warm here. You can feed it any balanced fertilizer or organics you wish.

As for the new rose, you can give any kind of organics. You just want to be careful with chemical fertilizers that you don't burn the new roots. Give it a chance to get well established before putting stronger fertilizers on it. It looks lovely. What rose is it?
stir_fryi SE Mich
Original Author
9 years ago
seil -- it is a doubel ko rose bought at Costco for $15. They had a ton of them and they were all good size.

I neglected to mention that we dug up and moved that sad little rose over a foot to better space the new one. I just hope I didn't kill it. That would be a whole waste of a year.

I am going to trim it, fertilize, and hope for the best!
User
9 years ago
You did not kill it. It is tough to kill a knockout. I initially hated mine, and subject them to various abuses (e.g., move in the middle of summer, worst garden real estate). They just hang tough and were barely bothered. Now, I have new appreciation for them and enjoy them a lot more. Other than a little winter kill, yours look fine.

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Is this what my rose bush should look like?

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Is this what my rose bush should look like?

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stir_fryi SE MichOriginal Author

mzstitch

seil zone 6b MI

stir_fryi SE MichOriginal Author

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stir_fryi SE Mich
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