By Tobysmum
Derbyshire, United Kingdom
hi ihave more rose questions!Ihave two old climbing roses 15 years or so. one flowered well the other had very poor blooms.When and how should I prune them? I have already cut of stems whose leaves were covered in black spots do they need cutting down by half this autumn and again in March/ I Also have a tea rose hybrid (i think) again old how do I tackle this do I prune hard or not at all? sorry another long question love tobysmum
- 6 Aug, 2010
Answers
thank you. Yes i feed them with chicken pellets and home made compost.
love tobysmum
7 Aug, 2010
Well, for the first time ever, I'm going to disagree with you Fractal - climbing roses should be pruned properly in the Spring, not autumn - this time of year, usually just remove the longer growths to prevent windrock. Its ramblers that need a good prune in September.
7 Aug, 2010
Thats ok :-)
7 Aug, 2010
o.k i will try bamboo on one and fractals on the other. i like to keep good harmony
love tobysmum!1
7 Aug, 2010
Lol;-)
8 Aug, 2010
Previous question
The healthy climbing rose I would just prune normally late autumn by pruning flowering stems back to either good new stems or just back 2-3ft to a good part of the stem to regrow from. Old stems should be pruned right back to encourage new growth from much lower down. Any stems that can be tied into as near horizontal will increase their shoots and flowers too for next year.
The less happy climber I would probably take the stems back a little harder, perhaps a third to half all over. Do you feed them at all? Again, tie in as many to horizontal if possible. You probably wont need to re-prune in March.
Old bush rose, yes, just prune very hard back to completely renovate. I would two part this one. Half back in late autumn and hard back in mid spring.
All will need a good feed of slow release twice a year.
7 Aug, 2010