Pruning Roses

[NancyMcQ]

Where I live, I can only grow hardy roses. I have a lot of difficulty growing them, period and I don't understand why. There are in a VERY sunny spot, I fertilize them once a month with Miracle Grow rose food, I give them manure one year and bone meal the next. I cover them with straw in the winter. When hardy roses are pruned, is there a specific number of stems that should be allowed to grow?

 

[oneeye]

There's no need to fertilize your roses every month with Miracle Grow rose food. If you added manure last year and every year there's no need for synthetic fertilizer. I feed mine one time a year with a little poultry mix, top dressing around the base of the plants. The type of pruning will be determined by the type of rose you have. Also the the timing of pruning can be critical according to what type of rose. Post a photo so we and give you the best answer.

 

[NancyMcQ]

Do you think I am over-fertilizing? I will send photos later.

 

[lasunshine]

It sounds like it's a bit much.

 

[Sheal]

Roses in Britain are not fed more than three times a year. Early Spring, preferably with manure. Late May/early June usually with a general purpose feed and again in late July. Roses shouldn't be fed later than that as they need to prepare for the coming dormant period in Autumn and Winter.

Shrub roses should be pruned evenly in late Winter and the diagram below will help you. There is no need to remove any remaining leaves though. Interim pruning can be done if roses are diseased.

 

[NancyMcQ]

Thank you all for your help. I am attaching photos but I don't know how valuable they will be the first 3 are my front bed and the last one is in the back. There are about 14 in the front and about 8 in the back. Perhaps I am not being aggressive enough with my pruning either from looking at the sketch. What do you think?

 

[NancyMcQ]

Can't seem to upload the last two photos so will try again later.

 

[NancyMcQ]

First photo is the front bed and second is the back bed.

 

[Sheal]

It's difficult to see how they are pruned against the 'busy' background. There is no need to prune them during the course of the year as that will stop them flowering. However, when flowers have died they should be pruned off to encourage the plants to produce more. The soil in your last two pictures looks very dry. Roses are not only hungry plants but thirsty too, so give them a good deep watering from time to time.

 

[Sufee]

some problem seen in my roses (rosa centifolia ), please advice me about such problem.

thanks

 

[Sheal]

How old are the roses Sufee as the stems look very thin?

 

[NancyMcQ]

So, here we are coming to the end of the season and I am going to ask for more advice about my roses. I have to confess that I told a bit of a fib in the spring - I did not put manure on my roses in the spring, although normally I would, and of course, there was the monthly Miracle Gro in the past as well. I have not fertilized them at all this summer and have been rewarded with more blooms than I have ever had! So, as always I am planning ahead for next spring and am wondering whether, once again, I should do nothing with them in the spring, or should I apply manure? As always, your recommendations are most appreciated!!

 

[Sheal]

Yes, the manure is a good idea in Spring. I think the problem as the year progresses is that you've over fed them. Some fertilisers will produce foliage and no flowers as they force the plant to concentrate on growth.

This is what I wrote in an earlier post....

Early Spring, preferably with manure. Late May/early June usually with a general purpose feed and again in late July. Roses shouldn't be fed later than that as they need to prepare for the coming dormant period in Autumn and Winter.

Feeding three times during the growing season is enough. I would stop using Miracle Gro and use a basic blood, fish and bone feed for the later feeding. It's a granular feed and can be watered in or left for rain to do the job instead.

 

[NancyMcQ]

Thank you for the advice. My growing season will be much shorter than for you. I am in Zone 3b so for me early spring is May!! . I will do the manure as early as I am able and go from there. Thanks. I agree that I have definitely over fertilized in the past. Several years ago, my irises never bloomed, never bloomed. I was fertilizing them often and when I asked one of the experienced people at one of the greenhouses why my irises didn’t bloom, he told me to stop being so kind to them!! So I stopped fertilizing them and they have bloomed beautifully every spring since then!

 

[Sheal]

You're welcome. It's just a matter of spacing the feeding according to your growing zone. The early feed (manure) is normally used just as the leaf buds start to show. The other feeds can be spaced according to the rest of the growing season. May be just two feeds would be more suitable for your roses. Trial and error is the only way to find out.