Prune and fertilize rose for late Fall bloom now?

12 years ago

Most of us didn't prune and fertilize in August as we usually do for a fall flush because of the intense heat and drouth. However, the weather is predicted to get cooler in San Antonio next week with days in the low 90s and nights down to 62 -- HEAVEN! Color coordinated or not, LOL ... I'll be SO happy to take the tents down and be comfortable working in the yard any time of the day.

So how about light pruning and fertilzing for some fall bloom now? I'm thinking we should go for it. We don't ordinarily get really cold weather until Jan. and Feb. anyway and I've never had roses damaged by cold weather, not even in last winter's low temps. Some rose bushes never even lost their leaves! Whaddaya' think?

Comments (11)

carrie751
12 years ago
I am going to do this, Roselee................nothing ventured, nothing gained, I say.
bossjim1
12 years ago
I'm going to prune, fertilize, and anything else I can think of, to have a good October. This year has been lots of effort for very little reward, well, except for the reward of being out there in the garden everyday.
Jim
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thanks Karl. That was the information I was trying to figure out. I will get it done in the morning. We planted 8 shrub roses this afternoon and pruned all of them to a degree and it is HOT so I am going to wait until in the morning to attack the Grafted one. It is funny to me that the shrubs I just bought for less than $5 each look better then the Knockouts the landscaper put in earlier this year....at a much higher cost to me I might add. I am headed back to our local Kmart for 4 more to finish edging my parking lot at work. MUCH better than paying the landscaper. I used to grow Dahlias in MA but I had no luck with them here in GA and switched to Roses which I could not grow in MA. I am learning and they are looking good (except that one). The video links were really great as well. Thanks so much!
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Greetings sweet_pea - I am pretty new to this forum! - I have been growing miniature roses and other roses for a while, BUT just from reading the posts there are far more knowledgeable people than I. Also, some people tend their roses more carefully than I do, I just do what I think more or less as basic care. Soooooooo: 1) Don't be intimidated by what seems to be complicated rose care. I may be wrong, but I am going to guess that the roses you inherited are probably some basic hybrid teas or climbers that the "average" homeowner plants, and maybe fertilized every now and again (that's what I inherited from a previous owner). Although possibly you inherited some real gems if the former owner was a gardener, and it really is worth bringing neglected bushes back most of the time. You won't really know until they get a little care and flower, unless you can identify the bushes - did the previous owners leave any plant markers behind? 2) There are various opinions on pruning and when, but I follow what seems to be standard advice - this time of year don't prune at all unless you are taking off dead growth. Also, your climber/rambler is handled differently than a bush! Pruning encourages new growth, which is soft, so leave that until spring. In the spring, when the buds swell, is when you shape the bush. Here is a link on spring pruning for "bush" roses: http://www.rosemania.com/Basic_Pruning.htm Some folks living in high wind areas will shorten really long canes if they are whipping around in the winter wind. For climbers, here is a link on pruning: http://www.rosebuddies.com/prun_climb.html. I am not sure what to do with a rambler (if that is what you have) My best guess though, is whatever "climber" you have, if the plant is doing well and you are in doubt about pruning - don't! Also don't fertilize until spring, as again you want the bushes to go dormant and get a rest, and not produce new growth. But always cut off dead canes, they are not going to come back after all (: 2) Winterizing - for me, I just follow what seems to be standard advice - AFTER the first hard freeze I mulch 4 inches thick. The point is to maintain the ground temperature Some people don't winter protect at all, others in severe areas use rose cones and other kinds of protection. In the spring, you can cut back winter-killed canes to healthy wood. In any event, it sounds like your bushes have been living through everything up to now. 3) Fertilizer - well, there are all kinds, but if you Miracle_gro in spring, again after the first flowers or flush, and once more mid-summer, you can get by. I never fertilize after September. That's the most basic care - roses are heavy feeders and appreciate dressings of compost, fish meal, banana peels dug into the ground, fish heads in the ground, mushroom compost, coffee grounds, through the growing season - you may fall in love with roses as we all do, and the more care you give, the more they respond. A lot of the folks here have really interesting fertilizers and you can learn a lot. 4) I've read a lot and there are books that contradict one another, but for beginners I think the Ortho (as in the pesticide) book on roses that you can get in most bookstores and at Home Depot is a good start - easy to read and completely illustrated, and not too expensive - of course, if you search the Net there are lots of articles to sort through. My best quick advice - there will be more for you to do in spring and summer starting with the spring pruning, and come back to the forum often!
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Seems like Tyler prunes them in early September. In general it takes 6 weeks to go from pruning to bloom. Some do it in as few as 3 weeks (single petaled roses), some take as long as 8 weeks (big fat chock full of petaled roses). I pruned mine hard last year around this time in preparation for my wedding in October. (That's how I figured out exactly how long it took them to bloom!) None of the roses were damaged by the winter any more than they usually are. So I hope you can rest your mind on that part. Maybe if we lived up in Yankeeland we would have to worry about that. I just pruned some of mine, but it was just because they had gotten too tall to smell the blooms. You can get just as big of a flush by fertilizing and keeping them well watered as you can from pruning. I always hate to prune them during the growing season because you miss out on so many weeks of blooms while they are growing back. Mine bloom from April to November pretty much continuously and pruning puts about a 6 week gap where I don't get to enjoy the roses.
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Sarah, You need to take notes this year and then make decisions for next year. Timing bloom is such a variable, based on rainfall and temperatures. Take really detailed notes and treat your garden two or three different ways. And note how late the garden blooms, not just frost date, but sets blooms. Ann (been there, recorded that)
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Buster01
12 years ago
Should I do this for my wild roses, or should I leave them alone? I have no idea what type they are, but they are about 4 feet long... I'm a renter so I want them to bloom but I am also afraid to I'll end up killing them. The previous renters did absolutely none of the needed maintenance, and I am also not familiar with roses.
plantmaven
12 years ago
How wonderful to step ou this morning to 77 degrees!

What do you use for fertilizer?
carrie751
12 years ago
I use any good rose fertilizer plus I will also get help to get more donkey manure around mine. It serves as a fertilizer AND mulch.
roselee z8b S.W. Texas
Original Author
12 years ago
I'll be using some home-made organic fertilizer. Also will mix up a couple of trash cans of fish emulsion to pour on after watering well and will start some alfalfa tea 'brewing'. It takes two weeks so it would have been good to have right now as it really make plants grow fast. There was a discussion on one of the rose forums that the tea is far superior than using the dry alfalfa pellets.

Buster, I'd go ahead and cut the roses back by about a third and give them some fertilizer. Any kind will do, even lawn fertilizer formulated for use in the spring is good, about a cup of dry fertilizer scratched in around the top of a mature rose. Be sure that is has slow release nitrogen. It will say that a certain percentage is'urea coated' nitrogen. Fall lawn fertilizer has fast release nitrogen that could burn the roots. Water the roses before application and water well afterwards. Keep up the watering and the roses will probably surprise you with their beautiful blooms. Let us know, okay?

Incidentally, I use hedge shears for the main pruning and finish up taking out dead branches, etc. with hand pruners. It takes too long to do it all cane by cane.

Carrie, you can't do much better than manure. You get the alfalfa second hand which is much better. I have to fake getting it that way by making tea ... oh well :-)

Just found what's linked below. I hope it opens to 'Rose Care'. If not then you'll see 'Rose Care' on the left of the home page.

Going outside now to finish what the wind started ... LOL -- taking those sheets down!

Here is a link that might be useful: San Antonio Rose Society on Rose Care
roselee z8b S.W. Texas
Original Author
12 years ago
Sorry, forgot what I finally clicked on to get to the rose care page that had the information about pruning and fertilzing. It's at the bottom center and says this:

GROWING ROSES IN SOUTH TEXAS--
"A MONTH-TO-MONTH GUIDE"
flowerlover78
12 years ago
I put my fish pond water on them. In fact I have lots of parade roses potted that I am working on this weekend. I did some trimming of my roses and tried to take a few clippings. I did not completly prune yet- However I think I will do some this coming week. I plan on getting out in that early cool morning timeframe. Actually today has so much wind at my house it is not too bad, even though it reads 103 currently. I am welcoming the 90s for highs and I am sure the roses are as well.
pjtexgirl
12 years ago
Organic fertilizers from what I hear and have seen are always a good idea. I like Carrie's "................nothing ventured, nothing gained, I say."
It's a great motto.
soxxxx
12 years ago
Some of my roses were a sickly faded green with a few brown edged leaves. I have watered them often and deeply. They were not dying, just ugly.

I did not want to look at them that way, so they got pretty severe haircuts. They are putting out new healthy leaves. If they do not make it,Chamblee's Rose Nursery is only about 30 miles away.

I was at Chamblee's Saturday to get another Nacogdoches (Grandma's) rose. The one that I already have has been my best bush this year and it was planted in May. Strike it Rich has been a performer in the heat also. It was hard to leave Chamblee's with only one.
flowerlover78
12 years ago
I actually dug up 4 roses that were in full sun, and moved them- they have transplanted fine so far. It has been several days. I hope they take better especially if we are going to have weather like this for awhile.

Prune and fertilize rose for late Fall bloom now?

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carrie751

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Prune and fertilize rose for late Fall bloom now?

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roselee z8b S.W. TexasOriginal Author

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