Climbing Rose Pruning Suggestions
I have mature 'New Dawn' climbing roses which have formed thick, woody canes with all upper growth. I would like to prune this year to rejuvenate lower growth,encourage new cane production?
Should I cut them to the ground and feed heavily? How would you handle these very old roses which have grown over 20 feet and need to be controlled? thanks
June 2022.. the New Dawn roses took over my trellises and now need to be contained...What should I do?
Comments (6)
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Over-Pruned Climbing Rose?
Comments (6)Not to worry. It will probably send up new canes from the graft. Also, if you can get that last existing cane as horizontal as possible it will send up laterals off of that that will bloom this year. For future reference, never take off more that 1/2 to 1/3 of the oldest canes in any one year. And any dead wood, of course. So if you only have 3 canes only take one off. But you really don't need to take any off if the rose is still young and the canes are healthy. That's more for very old climbers that might need rejuvenation....See MorePruning climbing rose dead canes
Comments (4)Let the canes with new foliage bloom before pruning. Those canes with no foliage on the lower portion can be cut back to 12 inchs or so to promote growth from the lower portion. In our growing zone, Don Juan is not a good choice. It is very tender and an extremly cold winter will result in a dead Don Juan no matter what winter protection you provide. although not as fragrant, Dublin Bay is a hardy red and a better choice for zone 5. Mine stayed green over more than two thirds of the bush. Don't fret the loss of canes. Repeat blooming roses bloom on new wood. Pruning promotes new wood. Aside from a shorter climber for awhile, the bush will recover and grow quite large before next winter when the exercise will begin again....See MoreHow do you prune rose clusters on a climbing rose? please.
Comments (8)Glad to help! If you're happy with how the rose looks there's not usually a wrong way to do such things. In my yard, I probably am not as enthusiastic about cutting my laterals way back unless they're actively annoying me, since I want to keep the laterals as the blooming canes when convenient. I just bend those laterals sideways like I bend the main cane sideways, and then the laterals put out more laterals that put out more laterals...and the climber starts building that fan shape. You don't have to do that, but it helps increase the blooming over time. Those skinny lateral canes will fatten up if you leave them, rather than making that cane start over to produce new blooming canes. Not wrong to remove them if they bug you, but there's a tradeoff in blooming profusion and frequency. I also don't cut back canes where the leaves are unsightly since you want maximum canes to support more leaf and bloom development. If you can't stand the sight of the leaves it's OK to remove them, but the plant still benefits from the leaves even if there are holes. There's some sort of formula for maybe 35 leaves to support one bloom to keep in mind to increase blooming. Not set in stone of course, but I like to leave as many healthy canes and tolerable leaves as possible when pruning. Sounds like you did a great job getting things tidied up. Having a garden that brings you joy is part of the point of the activity and it sounds like you were getting tired in a good cause. Cynthia...See MoreHow to fix badly pruned climbing roses?
Comments (15)I've grown my Eden in the ground for ~20 years on the north side of a 6" wooden fence. I've never trained it, nor pruned it much. It grows as a 8-10 ft shrub and blooms ~ 4 times per year. It has gotten shaded recently by a 20-25 ft ficus tree in the neighbor's yard directly over the fence, so my intent was to really hack it back this winter for renewal and to remove dead canes. Alas, I have had major health issues that has prevented that so far. Fingers crossed for still pulling it off in March once I regain the sight in my left eye. The weight of the canes makes it a really good prospect as a large shrub, with most of the blooms at eye level....See More
Feiy (PNWZ8b/9a)
last yearWow your New Dawn is phenomenal! Mine is in a awful spot since the previous owner planted it aside our shady porch and it really doesn't have much space to grow. We decided to keep it, so we would have to find a way to manage it. I don't know where you live. We don't have much cold (z8) so it grows like crazy. New Dawn is so tough that I prune it differently than my other climbers and it responses surprisingly well. In order to control its size, after it finishes the first flush, usually in mid July here, I take out about 1/3 to 1/2 flowering stems and retie them. This is my major pruning of New Dawn, mostly because it takes a long time and I can do it in a warm day. I may lose some fall flowers, but it is REALLY thorny, no kidding, so I don't think it's a good idea to prune it in cold early spring with frozen fingers. Not to mention I need to move the ladder several times trying the best angle to stretch my arms properly among those evil prickles to the point to cut off. Lopper helps, but for a huge rose like New Dawn, with the stems growing almost 10' long in one season , I don't have many choices. Just laugh at me for doing too much for a rose, but having it and seeing and smelling the blooms is so enjoyable. A bloody sweet. LOL.
BTW, mine have several basal shoots coming out every year, but I'm not sure if that has something to do with the heavy mid-season pruning I do.
It looked a bit sad after pruning in July 2021.
The first flush in June 2022.
escolat thanked Feiy (PNWZ8b/9a)
Moses, Pittsburgh, W. PA., zone 5/6, USA
last yearlast modified: last yearescolat thanked Moses, Pittsburgh, W. PA., zone 5/6, USAescolat
last yearlast modified: last yearThanks for all the kind words and suggestions. The climbling roses had grown so much that they prevented me from cutting the grass( evil thorns on New Dawn) So I decided to cut them back, feed heavily.
June 2022...New Dawn was actually climbing up the tree! ( This is the view from the outside wall)
I just pruned and fed the roses to give me room to cut the grass.
I'm hoping the roses will respond nicely.I will lightly prune inside the courtyard/feed and hope for new cane production) I hope to create more light which might encourage lower growth. Thanks again!
Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR