skip to main content

Shovel Pruning vigorous roses?

8 years ago

last modified: 8 years ago

I know it sounds bad but I have Alba Belle Amour and Blanche de belgique . There very healthy and vigorous till August then naked from b.s. the rest of the time. I'm no spray. I think I'm gonna get rid of them and try some healthier OGR for my area. It's just there very nice before they turn into sticks.

Featured Answer

Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR

8 years ago

Could you plant some annuals or perennials in front to hide the bare canes late in the season?

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (9)

User
8 years ago
...or grow some clematis with them,so the leaves of the clematis can hide the bareness?
Related Discussions
Shovel pruning a heritage rose?
Q
Comments (13)
If it's possible to propagate some of Frances Grate's Tea for Kippy to try, that would be the best thing, then she can how it does in her setting. I have a similar dilemma with Homere. I really don't like its little flowers and the way that they ball, but it's a gorgeous healthy plant and there are very few sources in the US. Take it out of my home garden or not? Every year, I consider doing it, and don't. The cemetery specializes in found roses, and I bought this from Paul Barden years ago. If it weren't a commercial rose, I'd dig it up, plant it in the cemetery and be glad that it's gone! (Peggy Martin said that she once saw a Homere that had huge flowers and she's coveted it ever since - mine are about the size of Mlle Cecile Brunner. Since Homere was another popular buttonhole rose, I think that my blooms are the right size...) Anita
...See More
WANTED: Any roses you're planning to shovel prune
Q
Comments (7)
Redsnowflake. I just wanted to say you don't need to apologize to anyone for your asthetic preferences when it comes to roses. Certainly learning the history of roses and their development through hybridizing can be fascinating and worthwhile. But I, for one, have known all that for quite some time and still greatly prefer the hybrid tea/florist rose types. I call that "Progress!" Just kidding. I know its simply all a matter of personal preference. Too bad you aren't closer. I posted a few days ago that I have 4 roses that I'm looking for homes for, but so far no one has responded. But I'm not prepared to ship any of them. All but one are at least 3 years old and have grown beyond any convenient shipping size. : ( I think people often shovel prune out of convenience. Sometimes its actually hard to find people ready to take our cast-offs. I could talk to plenty of folks who would like free roses, in theory, but to actually take time to transport them, prepare a site, and plant, etc. they aren't always up for it. Too bad. Also, sometimes "shovelprune" is used in a broader sense of just getting rid of. People may say that but actually find adoptive homes for them. Finally, some bushes are just weak, and its reasonable to want to spare others the disappointment of trying to care for and nurture them only to have poor performance. Mike, in New Orleans
...See More
Wanted: any roses you're planning to shovel prune
Q
Comments (1)
I have a beautiful old fashioned rose bush that loves to sucker. I usually shovel prune. The bush is over 6' tall (I like to prune) and has clusters of small white flowers. They start out with a pinkish tinge, but once they're open, they're whiter, with a yellow center. Very fragrant. I'd be happy to let you have them, the only thing I'm worried about is getting them to you. Do you have any suggestions? The USPS has flat rate boxes for $8.95. I thought I might be able to use that. Let me know your thoughts.
...See More
Wanted Anyone Pruning Or Shovel Pruning There Roses?
Q
Comments (1)
posting so this will drop down in list
...See More
User
8 years ago
How old are your plants?

If it's the first year, give them sometime.....
bmanz5
Original Author
8 years ago
When I say bare I literally mean the entire bush. Not just the legs. There a couple years old one bareroot the other grafted.
User
8 years ago
I say them give them at least another year or two to mature, unless you don't like them for some reason or that they in a very prominent spot and that visually disturbs you...
bmanz5
Original Author
8 years ago
My front yard by the road for all to see lol.
User
8 years ago
I'd follow Sheila & Bart's advice by putting either annuals/ August flowering perennials/ or herbaceous clematis / or small clematis at their feet.

I had a herbaceous clematis Arabella at the feet of my Ballerina. Arabella is always in flower, so I draped it around Ballerina's limbs, whenever Ballerina was out of blooms.....
mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
8 years ago
If you have an out of the way place they won't bother you, you could move them there.

If the own-root roses have gotten established, they can be a horrific task to remove. Don't replant soon so you have a chance to clear out *all* the suckers first. This can take a while, but if you don't, they can come back and take over from a new rose trying to get established, and you may not be able to tell the difference.

While some of the albas are great shrubs, some of them blackspot as badly as any HT out there.
bmanz5
Original Author
8 years ago
Mad as always I think your right. I have a more private place to try them. Wouldn't wanna give ogrs a bad name by leaving them in most public location.

Related Stories

WINTER GARDENING Pruning Secrets for Exquisite Roses

By Annie Thornton

Encourage gorgeous blooms year after year with this time-tested advice on how to prune your rosebush in winter for health and shape

GARDENING GUIDES Learn the Secret to Bigger and Better Roses

By Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Grow beautiful roses using both ordinary and unusual soil amendments

GARDENING GUIDES What Kind of Roses Should You Grow?

By Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Want to add the beauty of roses to your garden? Find out which ones, from old-fashioned to modern, are right for you

GARDENING GUIDES 5 Sweet to Spirited Pink Roses for an Enchanting Garden

By J. Peterson Garden Design

Whether you go demure or daring, there's a pink rose here to make you flush with garden pride

GARDENING GUIDES 5 Favorite Yellow Roses for a Joyful Garden

By J. Peterson Garden Design

Make 'cheery' the name of your garden game when you order your roses sunny side up

GARDENING GUIDES 6 Wonderfully Easy Roses for Any Gardener

By J. Peterson Garden Design

Look like an expert even if you're just starting out, with these low-maintenance gems of the rose world

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Rosa Banksiae a Low-Maintenance Beauty

By Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

This thornless, disease- and insect-resistant rose brings showers of white or yellow flowers to the spring garden

CALIFORNIA GARDENING California Gardener's February Checklist

Celebrate 5 California classics: plants that defy winter with bright flowers, luscious fragrance and, for some, delicious taste

SPRING GARDENING Enjoy the Peak of Spring Gardening — Here’s What to Do in May

By Annie Thornton

Bid the frost farewell and treasure the blooms. No matter what U.S. region you’re in, one of these guides will help your garden flourish

LANDSCAPE DESIGN 6 Great Ways With Garden Ground Covers

By Matt Kilburn

Use them as problem solvers, weed killers, color and texture providers ... ground cover plants have both practical and visual appeal

Sponsored

More Discussions

A few fun results from minis X OGRS

40

Madame Berkeley - some roses just need more time....

5

Banksiaes . . .

4

Paul Barden's Unnamed Gallica

1

My Visit to the Huntington Library and Gardens

11