Pruning Golden Showers, Don Juan, Zepherin Drouhin & Mr. Lincoln

seil zone 6b MI

10 years ago

Hi Kelly

Now is not the best time to prune any of your roses in cold zones. They store energy to come back with in those canes so you want to leave them as much energy as possible. If those climbers are flopping around in the wind tie them up securely for the winter instead of pruning them. Next spring you be able to tell what is good cane and what has died back over the winter and that's when you can prune them.

Mr. L. is the same thing. Early spring when they just begin to fatten the leaf buds is the best time to prune all roses except for once bloomer which should only be pruned AFTER they bloom during the season. A general rule of thumb (often considered an old wives tale) is to prune when the forsythia start to bloom. For me I think it makes good sense because the forsythia won't bloom until the soil temperature is warm enough to promote new growth. Next spring when you see your first forsythia in bloom check your roses and I'll bet you'll see some new growth beginning! Then you can prune them.

dublinbay z6 (KS)

10 years ago

The pruning should be done in early, early spring, and NOT in the fall or early winter. If you are pruning fall and spring, that definitely is too much pruning.

I'm not sure what you are pruning for, so it is hard to give suggestions. You don't need to prune just for the sake of pruning. Here are some reasons I prune in my zone 6 garden in Kansas:

1. Prune out brown and dead wood.
2. Prune to cut off winter/freeze damage--I do a test cut near the end of the cane. If the center (pith) is a bright white, there is no winter damage and I do no more cutting back. If the center (pith) is "off" (kinda tannish), I go down the cane about 4-6 inches and cut again. If the pith is still not bright white, I go down another 4-6 inches and cut again--and so forth, until I reach bright white pith. This kind of pruning is usually limited to hybrid teas which, sometimes being a bit iffy temperature wise, suffer more from winter cold. The hybrid teas sometimes have to be pruned back nearly to the ground before good pith is available. (Check the hardiness number on your new roses--make sure they are winter-hardy for your zone.) Assuming most of your roses are hardy enough for zone 6, you won't need to do this kind of pruning for most of them.
3. Prune to control height--cut back at most by 1/3. But it is rare that height is a problem here, so I rarely prune just to control height. At most I may give the rose a very light "haircut" overall--a couple inches at most.
4. Occasionally I prune a bit for shape--a branch is jutting out too much, making the rose look lop-sided, so I trim back that branch a bit. I don't usually need to do much of this kind of pruning.
5. If a branch got broken off as a result of the winter winds, I make a smooth, neat cut immediately below the breakage. This rarely happens also.
6. With climbers, I avoid cutting back the long canes. Instead trim back the "laterals" growing off the long canes--make them about 6 inches long. It is those laterals that will probably produce the next set of blooms.
7. Occasionally a rose gets much too crowded in the center, so I thin it out. This rarely happens, however.
8. Prune to rejuvenate an older shrub. Cut out at ground level 1 or 2 old canes (they will often look grey and barklike). Do that each year for several years. New canes should be produced each year, and in about 3 years, you will have a "new" and "younger" rose bush.

Right off hand, those are the major reasons I can think of for pruning. And note that most of them are only occasionally needed. The only ones I regularly do every early spring are numbers 1 and 2: deadwood, and freeze damage.

Hope that helps.

Kate

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While it is upsetting to know that I may have roses dying in a short while, I have learned a good lesson. However, some of the unidentified roses which were purchased at Walmart are doing very well in my garden. Maybe l have gotten lucky. When I have my own place I will seek out the nurseries you have recommended. This is my mothers yard, and so I do hope the roses I planted will last. I just wanted to fill in her yard quickly since I am staying with her for a while and have the time to do so (new graduate that is job-hunting!). Here is what I gathered. I hope this is helpful. Portrait, Hybrid Tea Rose - AARS but grown in Canada Chuckles, Sub-zero Rose - Own root, product of USA Hansa, Hybrid Rugosa - Product of USA, potted in Canada (part of Pan American Nursery, Canada) ZÃÂ©phirine Drouhin, Climbing Rose - Humber Nurseries. Tag is missing. Climbing America, Climbing Rose - AARS, product of USA John Davis, Climbing Rose - Product of the USA, potted in Canada (part of Pan American Nursery, Canada) Pink Supreme, Flower Carpet - Pan American Nursery (Canada) Appleblossom, Flower Carpet - Pan American Nursery (Canada) The following are of unknown origin and type, but all purchased at Walmart in the GTA. Mini Kordana Roses, Various Unidentified, Red Climbing Rose (Blaze, Don Juan?) Unidentified, Yellow Climbing Rose (Golden Showers?) Unidentified, White Climbing Rose, sometimes soft pink (Iceberg?) My red rose, the one I believe is Blaze or possibly Don Juan is doing very well, it is pretty much to the top of my fence now, and this is its second year. My white (iceberg?) rose has been around for 3-4 years now and is doing well, although it is a bit slow to grow. The yellow was planted the same time as the red, but I have moved its location, so I think I may have hindered its growth, though it looks like it is about to bloom a good amount very shortly. All roses, identified or not, look healthy. I hope everything will be alright. Most of the roses seem to be products of the USA but have been potted or grown in Canada. Maybe they'll last? They came in large black squarish pots or long green ones with lids..

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Love these pictures! Up in the cold northern tier I've been a trial-and-error rose grower for years, but this year I'm hoping to be more scientific (and successful) with the help of a book called Tender Roses for Tough Climates. The Canadian author takes an interesting approach. I started with OGRs and did well with them for years. But between an errant snowplow and other factors, the only one left is the one that was here when I moved in 30 years agoÂand I don't know its name. Of the Austins, my Gertrude Jekyll is about 20 years old and doing well, although this past winter was hard on everything. Last spring I planted another GK, plus two more Austins, Grace and Golden Celebration. The latter two are still at ground level, and the new GK has canker. Not much good news there. My Explorer rose, Champlain, has remained very small for years but puts out some lovely blooms, including a heavy flush in fall. My White Meidiland covers part of the old rock garden, and will be joined by a Baby Blanket in a few days. This year I planted Abraham Darby and J&P's new Cherries 'n' Cream (blooming and gorgeous). Belinda's Dream and Angel Face are waiting to go in the ground. They will be planted deep, following the instructions in the book mentioned above. Susan Here's a few of last fall's Champlain blooms: No, I didn't grow this one (it was in a Mother's Day bouquet from my son)...but isn't it a great rose picture? LOL

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kelly922
Original Author

10 years ago

Thank u so much for your replies seil and dublinbay - appreciate your advice! I will look to prune for general health and vigor right around the time that my forsythia are blooming. Thx again!

Pruning Golden Showers, Don Juan, Zepherin Drouhin & Mr. Lincoln

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seil zone 6b MI

dublinbay z6 (KS)

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Pruning Golden Showers, Don Juan, Zepherin Drouhin & Mr. Lincoln

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seil zone 6b MI

dublinbay z6 (KS)

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