Help Needed: Restoring Two Overgrown Rose Bushes

[BramblyHedge]

Hi everyone,

I've recently bought a house and it has two rose bushes that look quite healthy, but they've become very woody and have grown in a rather wild, untrained way. The variety is Albrighton Rambler by David Austin.

Does anyone have advice on how to train them when they're already this woody? What would you do if you were in my situation? I'd really appreciate your advice, your recommendations are always great!

I'll leave some photos of both here.

Thanks!

 

[Sheal]

I would start by pruning out any stems that look dead and those that are growing downwards. It might be a good idea to give both roses a fairly heavy pruning but not back into the older main stems. This will help produce new shoots which will fill them out in time. Ideally stems should be attached horizontally to a support and any new stems can be allowed to grow up from those.

Below is an RHS link that will give you some information about them.

Rosa The Albrighton Rambler ('Ausmobile'PBR) (Ra) | rose [The Albrighton Rambler] Roses/RHS

Find help & information on Rosa The Albrighton Rambler ('Ausmobile'PBR) (Ra) rose [The Albrighton Rambler] Roses from the RHS

www.rhs.org.uk

 

[BramblyHedge]

I would start by pruning out any stems that look dead and those that are growing downwards. It might be a good idea to give both roses a fairly heavy pruning but not back into the older main stems. This will help produce new shoots which will fill them out in time. Ideally stems should be attached horizontally to a support and any new stems can be allowed to grow up from those.

Below is an RHS link that will give you some information about them.

Rosa The Albrighton Rambler ('Ausmobile'PBR) (Ra) | rose [The Albrighton Rambler] Roses/RHS

Find help & information on Rosa The Albrighton Rambler ('Ausmobile'PBR) (Ra) rose [The Albrighton Rambler] Roses from the RHS

www.rhs.org.uk

Thank you so much, the link is brilliant. I already suspected that the only solution would involve cutting back a large part of the plant, and that can be very intimidating for people like me, who have a garden for the first time.

 

[Esther Knapicius]

agree with the above.

 

[Sheal]

You're welcome BramblyHedge.

 

[cpp gardener]

Be sure to show us how it comes out next Spring! If you want to show it right after you get done, that works too!

 

[Oliver Buckle]

that can be very intimidating

Roses are really resilient, they can take really heavy pruning going right back to three nascent buds just showing as bumps on the surface, but I would hold fire a bit this time of year, if we get a cold winter frost can cause die back on a cut stem.
Having said that the thing roses hate is ground movement. If they are rocked by winter wind and it moves the stem about at ground level making a hole round it that is really bad for them, so it is worth cutting off a lot of extra upper growth that can catch the wind at this time of year, then go back after your last frost and cut them right back to where you want them to sprout from, check the direction the bud faces. Don't be intimidated, as long as they have two or three buds to grow from they will treat it as a challenge, grow hard and bloom profusely, roses have beautiful, delicate flowers, but they are tough as old boots.