skip to main content

Roses Organic Rose Growing

What should I do to these rose bushes?

6 years ago

It's a warm November here in zone 9 California. Warm enough that, in the last couple weeks, a handful of fallen sunflower seeds have sprouted!

I inherited a beautiful old rose bush when I bought this house 3 years ago. The first 2 years I lived here I never pruned it. I was afraid to, being a total novice. It was verrrry leggy. Then we had our fence done and the workers cut it down to almost nothing. It took off growing after that, getting so huge and dense my husband took issue with its tremendous size (5'x5'x5') and cut it back a bit early summer. It didn't bloom this year. Going forward I want to prune it at the right time and the right amount to keep it healthy and blooming, and so far the internet tutorials haven't been a great help! Any advice is appreciated!

I enjoyed the blooms from the old bush so much I bought 3 or 4 bare root bushes earlier this year. They haven't gotten very big, im assuming they'll take a few years to get to the size of the inherited one. Is there something I should be doing for them as well?

Here are photos of the old bush and one of the new ones (surrounded by bean vines)
Thanks!

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (4)

cecily
6 years ago
Hi Tristan, welcome to Garden Web. I'm sorry that you haven't received any replies to your query. This is the organic rose forum, there is another general rose forum which is MUCH more active.

In California, hybrid tea roses are pruned down to three feet tall in January. Only the strong canes are left - any twiggy growth is removed and old leaves are pulled off. After pruning, they are fertilized (I think Whitney Farms is the brand of organic rose fertilizer available on the west coast). Continue fertilizing every six weeks or so throughout the growing season per instructions on the fertilizer bag. Set up drip irrigation if you can - water is directly related to the number of blooms you will get.

In August, trim back your roses again to about five feet if they are taller at that point.

Since your "old" bush didn't bloom after early summer pruning last year, it may not be a hybrid tea. On that one, wait until after it blooms this year to prune.

If you repost this question on the general Roses forum, you will receive numerous responses from Californians. If you can add a photo of the "old" rose, they will probably be able to identify it for you.
Tristan
Original Author
6 years ago
Thanks for the information, Cecily! I'll follow your advice.

This post was supposed to be in both the general roses forum and the organic rose forum. I don't know if it appeared in both places but I checked both boxes!
0
Related Discussions
How should I prune this? Thick trunk/stalk rose bush.
Q
Comments (20)
I'm sure it won't hurt, just build up your trough with the mulch and don't lay it too thick on the inside so water can easily get through it, maybe an inch or so? Mom always did that with hers, keeps the roots cool and wet. You can also find some type of ground cover to plant around it next season, or whenever you are done moving it around lol. Something that can handle being trimmed if necessary is and fast growing, but won't take all the food from the rose. There's this stuff here in Indiana that's got little yellow flowers and creeps over the ground, grows like a weed just about anywhere and can take over if you're not careful, really resistant to both wet and dry weather and can handle hard freezes and blaring sun with no worries; we put it in all of our empty-looking flower beds that have big, tall plants but it chokes out smaller things like hyacinth (don't know if I spelled that right... oops). After a quick Google search I found the name of it, Czar's Gold Sedum. The link is a place to buy it and the only one I could find that looks like ours, not sure if it will grow well where you're at but hopefully it will help give you a place to start looking if you want to give something like it a try. :3 Here is a link that might be useful: Czars Gold Sedum, takes a bit of scrolling down to find it This post was edited by SasorisPuppet on Fri, Apr 11, 14 at 11:15
...See More
worm invasion!! they are chewing up my cannas
Q
Comments (2)
There are soap solution cures for insect pests. The soap doesn't kill the plants, but the pests die. For some insect pests, it doesn't work and you may need to use something more lethal. The worms gotta eat. True, they're eating your Canna, but if you taint their food, you may be rid of them soon. You are in TX, so don't expect Winter to rid you of the problem. These may be some sort of beetle larvae and if you don't kill 'em, it'll just get worse and be perpetual.
...See More
How should I prune these rose bushes?
Q
Comments (4)
elleni, Best way to know exactly what is dead? Wait a couple more weeks! I have many rose bushes - the best way I have found to decide where and what to cut is to wait until they have leaf buds on them and cut off anything beyond those - it'll be dead. Then, it's a matter of shaping to what you like. "Knock out" tends to be kind of a pillar rose - long whippy stems that kind of waterfall - make sure you cut just above bud unions at a slight diagonal and it should start to bush out more. Best gloves? More expensive - but the best rose gloves are real kidskin at least on the palms. Rose thorns'll go through regular leather and any cloth. I hear that "Foxgloves" work too, but I haven't tried those. I use GardensAlive! rose food for mine, though I seem to have a wonderful compromise with the wildlife in winter. I let the bunnies and snowshoe hares trim the bottoms of the bushes and they leave me - well - the bottoms of the bushes in one of the best forms of fertilizer there is: bunny poo! :) -Marie
...See More
Very lopsided Dream Come True rose bush (Grandiflora?)Should I p
Q
Comments (8)
Thanks Jim!! What a head-slapper! Makes perfect sense that the part of the rose that grew was the part that got sunÂÂ.. And yes, it is a new rose Â only in the ground for a year now, so I take it the short side will catch up this year since I learned not to let it get totally buried under burgeoning summer annuals? Below is a photo (woo-hoo!! I figured out how to embed a photo!!) of what the rose had to contend with last summer, and the rose canÂt even be seen! The only reason why I knew it survived during the summer was because now and then a lovely rose would poke through the canopy of tomatoes! The roses in the picture you posted are beautiful!!!
...See More
mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
6 years ago
Forget about 'boxes'.

I'm far from an expert on Houzz, but in the current incarnation (which may change next week) there is a Houzz version of each of the Gardenweb forums. While all of the Gardenweb posts appear on the Houzz sites, the reverse isn't true. So if you post to the Houzz rose forum, https://www.houzz.com/discussions/roses-forum-dsbr0-bd~t_30004 that post won't appear on the Gardenweb rose forum, http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/roses. Since it is the Gardenweb version that gets all the traffic, that is where you want to post.
Vaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley
6 years ago
Thank you for this explanation, MG. I've wondered why I sometimes get a strange looking forum on my phone. I didn't realize there were two. P.S. I posted a new thread, but noone seems to come to the ORForum anymore.
0

Related Stories

ROSES Smooth Rose’s Arching, Not-So-Thorny Canes Provide Beauty All Year

By Pollination Press LLC

Plant Rosa blanda, native from the Great Lakes eastward, for its long bloom season, pollinator food and attractive red hips in autumn

FUN HOUZZ Everything I Need to Know About Decorating I Learned from Downton Abbey

Mind your manors with these 10 decorating tips from the PBS series, returning on January 5

GARDENING AND LANDSCAPING Reimagine the Rose Garden

By Kristy Woodson Harvey and Beth Woodson

No need for boxlike bushes. Modern roses are breathtakingly beautiful mixed casually and with less formal shapes in the landscape

Etsy Designers at Home: Jessica Rose from vol25

CONTAINER GARDENS Patio-Perfect Berry Bushes Like You’ve Never Seen

Small enough for pots but offering abundant fruit, these remarkable bred berries are a boon for gardeners short on space

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 Great Design Plant: Sally Holmes Rose

By Annie Thornton

This simple yet versatile climbing rose grows vigorously all year; plant now for abundant spring and summer blooms

SPRING GARDENING 5 Exotic Rose Colors for a Beautifully Different Garden

By J. Peterson Garden Design

Give red a rest. Let these daring hues take the spotlight instead for a rose garden that turns heads

PLANTING IDEAS Great Garden Combo: Rose + Clematis for Small-Space Impact

We all need somebody to lean on. And when a rose supports a climbing vine, the results can totally transform a small garden

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Northern Bush Honeysuckle, a Bronze Beauty

It helps control erosion and takes sun or shade. The butterflies love it. But the best part of this shrub may be the vivid foliage

Sponsored

Peabody Landscape Group

8 Reviews

Franklin County's Reliable Landscape Design & Contracting

More Discussions

Medium Pink Roses

51

Dark pink roses

31

White roses in honor of the snow many people are experiencing

60

Peach and Apricot roses

47

Very gloomy day so today is for the cheerful yellows

38