Can I cut back hardy shrub roses now?

10 years ago

Hi--

A pretty uninformed, casual gardener would like a bit of help.

I have a lot of shrub roses that are now about four years old. Many of these have grown quite a bit larger than I anticipated (and than the labels indicated they'd get), so I'd like to trim them back a ways. I think maybe I read that this should be done more in the early spring, and it is now early summer (finally) here in Minnesota. We were out of town for three weeks in the end of May. When we left things were just barely beginning to leaf out after an unbearably long winter, and when we got home everything was fully leafed out, so I missed any pruning opportunities earlier. Or, maybe I should have pruned even before there were any signs of leafing our. That is something else I don't know.

These are continuous bloomers, and they are just now in stages starting to finish blooming. Normally I'd start deadheading now, but I am wondering if instead of just deadheading I can accomplish two goals in one and instead cut them back. But, I'd like them to continue to bloom over the summer. If I cut them back, will I then lose all possibilities of further blooms this season?

What is your advice? Thanks so much.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

Thorntorn
10 years ago
It would help if you named the varieties in question.

A hard pruning right now, in early summer, after the first flush of bloom, is a good time to get more 'control' over bushes that tend to exceed their bounds. The new growth they make now should have sufficient time to ripen/harden off in order to survive the upcoming winter in optimal shape.

You will also have less work next spring

The probability of repeat bloomers continuing to do so after a hard pruning, cannot be discounted, either, especially if they were repeat bloomers previously, who generally bloom on new or old growth.

Many rose experts recommend any hard pruning be reserved for just after the first flush of bloom is done...so your timing is 'right on target.'
julieste
Original Author
10 years ago
Thorntorn (love your name)--

Thanks so much for the help! I've got Marie Bugnet, Henry Hudson, Charles Albanel, Frau Dagmar Hastrup, and (what a misnomer) Dwarf Pavement roses. All of these are thriving, but it is the Dwarf Pavement that are in need of the most radical pruning--perhaps cut down a third to a half. The Frau Dagmar are next in need of pruning and the other varieties need more of some minor cutting rather than a radical hacking.

Does this additional information help? The roses are so lovely now that I definitely want to see them bloom again this year so don't want to completely ruin the chances of that occurring. But it sounds as though I may be in luck after all with plans to prune this year. Thanks again.
Related Discussions
If i cut back roses for size will i lose buds/flowers?
Q
Comments (24)
Dale........ When I first started growing miniatures, it was in southern California where there is no real winter. Since then, I have moved to the mountains of northern California. The first year I moved here, I was gifted with more than 60 miniature and miniflora roses in April 2004. Since I was working on the house I just purchased, I potted the roses up in the largest pots I could find because I didn't know a thing about over-wintering roses and figured that it would take longer for soil in a large pot to freeze than a small pot. It turns out that was a very wise decision. Some of those roses have been in pots for four winters. So far, I haven't lost one rose to winter even tho'temps have gotten down to the low teens one winter. (Most of the time we can expect low 20s) All of these gift roses came in 2" to 4" pots and, like I said in my other post, I just put those tiny little plants into the big pots. The roses were full size by the end of summer. Then I had to learn about over-wintering roses in pots because I didn't have time that first year to plant anything. I suggest a spring order. Now that I have experienced over-wintering roses in pots, I know it's easier to work with a plant that has already developed a root system. You can pot up in your new roses in smaller pots than I did, if you plant to put the roses into the ground in the fall. Mad-gallica - Micro-minis might get lost in the grass, but I have tucked them into the rose bed in front of larger roses and they can really add to the look of the bed. I have also planted them in a cluster of small plants in one bed and it seems to work. There are miniature roses that can grow to 5' tall... those plants do not get lost and can be quite lovely. And, of course there are roses in both the miniature and mini-flora classes that are taller than the micro-minis and shorter than the big mini roses. Deb and Dave Boyd, who often post here, have a garden listing on HMF. You might want to check out some of his photos of minis. He grows several of my favorites in a zone that is similar to yours. Lyn Here is a link that might be useful: Deb & Dave Boyd's Garden on HMF
...See More
Hardy shrub roses all died back to the ground...
Q
Comments (25)
The winter was very cold and long here in Ontario. Here's an update about how things did in my neck of the woods... My two Morden Sunrise died down to the ground, but they're sending out some nice shoots with buds on the ends. (Maybe 6'' long now). My Champlain had a few inches long left alive, it's an own-rooter too... Marie Victorin had quite a bit of dieback, it had gotten about 4' high, now there was maybe 7'' long of green canes left... John Cabot surprisingly died to the snowline, shich we had alot of, so he had about 4' high of cane left. The flower carpets (my first roses, about 9 years old now) died to the ground, as usual, and are sending out good, but short shoots... rosa glauca barely had any dieback, it did awesome... the wild roses - acicularis and virginiana - did really great, no dieback at all. Even, in one exposed spot the other (hardy zone 3) perennials all died completely, except for good ol, acicularis, with again, no dieback. The rugosas had little dieback... Quadra had very little dieback, although it was about 3' high in the Fall, so it was under snow... Martin Frobisher had most of his tall shoots die completely back, now all I have left are two tall 4' high twigs that look like they're gonna look like awkward lollipops! Emily Carr died to the ground, but has nice shoots now, a few inches long...Alexander Mackenzie did well, with a little bit of dieback, but it was a short bush still, as did Morden Snowbeauty. But the rugosas, even the zoned 4 rugosa 'Belle Poitevine' had very little dieback. The potted roses in the shed are long long gone... I gotta say, though, those wild roses did really well! Here I'm days to a week to having some buds open.
...See More
Cutting back KO roses now
Q
Comments (1)
all of the pros say to wait until around February to cut them back, if you do it now and get a warm snap, you could stimulate new grown that could damage the plants during a hard freeze. I lost several KO's last winter from the single digit cold snaps. I agree that they get can get really ugly when the flowers drop but to me thats the price you pay for 6 months of nice flowers
...See More
How long are hardy hibiscus seeds good for, also must i cut them back
Q
Comments (3)
tlbean, Your hardy hibiscus seeds don't need chilling. I collected some from mine last summer of 2014, and 2013, I keep them in a paper bag over the winter in a closet. They grew good after both winters. You aren't going to have seedlings that look like the parent plant. A lot of mine were all white flowers. Personally, I don't think they are really worth growing from seed, unless you have a huge area that you want all hardy hibiscus growing. Then I would grow from seed. They get very big after a few years, just to warn you, and if mulched and fed well, they will take up quite a bit of room after a while. But I love them, and they aren't expensive to buy nice hardies at local nurseries.
...See More
michaelg
10 years ago
Thorntorn's advice sounds good to me. If you need to prune, go ahead.

Some roses that are light or reluctant repeat bloomers will repeat better if they are not pruned much. If you cut them back at this time they may respond by making extra vegetative growth to recover their size. But go ahead and prune now, and you can compare the summer performance with what they did last year.

Spring pruning is generally recommended for repeating roses. The best time to do this is when growth buds are just starting to break, but timing is not critical.

Don't just "trim them back." Remove crowded, twiggy growth and unhealthy-looking canes. As roses age (4+), it's good to remove a couple of the oldest canes at the base each year. Since you are pruning after spring flush, you may notice some areas that produced few blooms and weak, crowded growth because something is wrong with the underlying cane.
dublinbay z6 (KS)
10 years ago
I'm not sure rugosas like being pruned very much. Dagmar is the only one I grow, so I'm no expert on rugosas, but since Dagmar doesn't grow very large, I don't think you need to worry much about its size anyway.

Of course, dead or damaged canes should always be pruned off.

Kate
mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
10 years ago
Pavement roses aren't dwarf. IME, it is rare to find a happy rugosas that is less than 6 ft tall without regular pruning. If the current size is totally unacceptable, seriously consider moving them. It is going to be an ongoing problem.

Cutting them back now isn't going to be an issue. Thinning out older canes is necessary maintenance. If it isn't done, the whole shrub ages and a harsh winter can do a lot of damage to older canes. Thinning makes room for new canes.
julieste
Original Author
10 years ago
So, can I thin out the old canes and also lop off end growth on the longer canes that have just gotten too long and made the entire shrub too big for me?

Thanks again.
michaelg
10 years ago
Yes.

Can I cut back hardy shrub roses now?

Comments (7)

Thorntorn

julieste
Original Author

Related Discussions

michaelg

dublinbay z6 (KS)

mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)

julieste
Original Author

michaelg

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Can I cut back hardy shrub roses now?

Comments (7)

Thorntorn

juliesteOriginal Author

Related Discussions

michaelg

dublinbay z6 (KS)

mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)

juliesteOriginal Author

michaelg

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

julieste
Original Author

julieste
Original Author