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Summer prune; How late can I leave it!!!

21 years ago

Ok, now I know I should have chopped them back a little by now but at the moment nearly all my roses are bloomin their heads off and it doesn't seem right to tuck into them. I'm just wondering how long I can leave it until I REALLY have to cut them back to get another re-bloom later in the season. I know types of roses will differ and I'm not talking about the non recurrent climbers. Would middle of March be way too late because that's when these ones look like they'll last until??. Obviously the wet and relatively cold season has probably played a part in this...(Not complaining but!!)

Garry

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Comments (4)

kevarose
21 years ago
Thanks Garry - I also need to know the answer to this question. Right now is the best blooming I have had (apart from the once bloomers) and they are all putting up these strong straight limbs - are these basal shoots?

My 6 Graham Thomases are loaded with blooms - I am trying to train these roses up a series of sloping pillars that begins from where they are planted but these ?? basal shoots are heading up vertically upright and are so strong and dominant looking - several of them on each plant. Thought I might get out there tomorrow and put some string on them and try to gently pull them towards the pillars. Is this right? Should I prune off the smaller horizontal branches that are heading in a different direction to my pillar?
Fran_C
21 years ago
I'd just keep deadheading. Cut about the length you would to pick the roses for a vase, and don't bother with the big summer prune.
Treat roses as you like, just because "the book" says something doesn't mean you have to do it.
Train GT as oyu want, trim as you want.
the only time I reckon you need to go the whole hog is if you really really want a show say for a home wedding.
Allow 6o days ahead, and give them a good prune - feed them and worry about it for the next 59 days.. hee hee
enjoy them if they are blooming..
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Pinching to guide growth is the most efficient way to direct it and the sooner you pinch unneeded shoots the more efficient it is. If the tree has ample shoots to harvest light throughout the tree there is no way this should hurt a healthy tree. I prune this way throughout the growing season- especially with plums and peaches when they are young and in need of continuous guidance for best results. It is especially important if you use the strategy of starting open center trees as central leaders, as I do. Takes extra pruning up high to keep enough light on lowest scaffolds, particularly the ones that will become permanent. Pinching back oversized laterals (secondary wood) is also a good way sustain dominance of the central leader of scaffold branches and helps enforce development of secondary and tertiary wood. This is especially true with J. plums where you might pinch back the leader of a scaffold then use subsequent pinching to develop a new leader and secondary wood at point of previous pinch. J. plums often are reluctant to develop secondary wood off of scaffolds when left to their own whim. It is pretty hard to unintentionally kill a healthy tree by over pruning. I find excessive dormant pruning to be most likely way to cause sunburn. Once the leaves are fully formed they pull a lot of sap, helping to keep the cambium cool (my theory, anyway).
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IMO, not at all too late. For apples, I consider it too early since I prefer to wait until post-harvest. I figure as long as the pruning cuts have time to heal, it's not too late.
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You could do some maintenance pruning, but severe pruning back to a foot or so would probably cost you a lot of next year's blooms on the once-bloomer (CdR), and may compromise the health of the repeat bloomers over winter. RdR and RdV will likely get some winter die back, so you want them to go into winter with as much good cane as possible. Again, maintenance pruning only. Btw, I don't know about RdV, but RdR loves the autumn and you'll be getting blooms in September/October. The Cardinal, being a Gallica hybrid, might be more forgiving, but a severe pruning still would not be a great idea, especially if the plant is supporting lots of new growth right now. Wait for spring for the repeaters (RdR and RdV). You'll be pruning off some die back anyway, unless you have a very mild winter. For CdR a light pruning in the spring, if you must, but it's usually better to wait until after it blooms to do serious pruning, letting it have the rest of the growing season to recover. All the best!
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Marquest...thanks for sharing pics of your cypress. Yes...they can indeed "throw out some arms"...I've seen some that are downright monstrous in size where the "arms" are of huge octopus proportions. As I said early on, one of mine is right next to a walkway. So in homage to those who replied suggesting that I probably did not choose the right spot for the right plant, I guess that's true in sense, and yet, by keeping it at bay, I've gotten to enjoy the cypress where it is for probably the last 15 years or more. Eventually it'll have to go since you can only cut so far without it starting to look really stubby, but without the annual sacrilegious axing or slashing or whatever actually defines what I do (I guess the sacrilege part is relative to using the electric hedge trimmer!), it would probably already no longer be here. Thanks for all who responded...I think I'm done with this thread now, although I'm still undecided as to still doing some cutting, which was the purpose of the initial inquiry. With the extraordinarily strong El Nino we've got going on right now, I still have chrysanthemums and Russian sage growing out there...quite a contrast with getting ready to put out Christmas lights. Somehow, with this springtime in November scenario we've got going (my neighbor was actually out mowing his lawn yesterday...something I still have to do also), it still feels like it's not too late to get out the trimmer. And if I do so, I'll try to exercise restraint and cut in a conservative manner consistent with the implications of the lowercase 'c'.... :)
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brenton
21 years ago
there are twelve months of the year you can prune...take your pick.....if they are flowering their heads off....i wouldn't have thought that this would be one of them........longer answer......if you have ideal conditions......18c nights and 27c days and say 60% RH mr lincoln for eg will be about43-45 days from pick to pick......sooooo...if you hack everything back say in winter...thats why we get a "spring flush"....if you go by the "experts"...and prune after spring...you may get a summer flush...and so on and so on every 8 weeks or so....another idea is to prune or "top" say 20% of a rose bush every week...starting around august when the first shoots are 10-20cm long...this will spread the flush out over the season....you will have a rose in all stages....and blooms all the time....the downside is that you need to make the time to do it!
kevarose
21 years ago
thanks!!

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