We have some very old Roses that need help. Fat woody bits at bottom, few spindly shoots. How to prune?

We have hacked away for years, not knowing what we are doing. Now they need serious help. One or two are sentimental, so we would like to preserve them and get them back to life if possible. Can anyone help? Or better, a good reference book that we can get to sort the problem out.

We have some very old Roses that need help. Fat woody bits at bottom, few spindly shoots. How to prune?
My roses are poor this year too, except for a recovered rose (but that's another story). I have hybrid tea roses and a couple of climbers, and one that started off as a HT rose and is now along the top of my 12 ft hedge. See the David Austen roses site to identify your roses and pick up extra care tips.



With mine I just prune them in November - to prevent damage in the winter, and /or in March to tidy them up to a nice shape to start growing. Then I find as much horse manure as I can for feeding them - laying it around the plants but not touching the stems. About half a carrier bagful at a time, per plant. In the summer I cut the dead-heads off, cutting back to the next strong bud.



For simplicity you can just cut everything back to 3 ft (1 metre) in November, but check that you have a couple of potential shoots on what is left. (Not suitable for roses at the top of a single stem, obviously.)



The only other thing is to make sure the knobbly bit at the bottom of the stem is actually below ground level -or the frost gets into the roots and weakens the plant over several winters.
Reply:This is not the usual time of year to prune,it is autumn or

Feb.If they really need doing cut of spindly bits at

the base,these are no good,the stronger stems,

prune to about 6/9 inches from the base,cut just above

an outward facing bud.Cut or saw any dead wood away.

Feed with bone meal and blood or a good Rose fertiliser.

Like any thing else rose bushes can get old and need

to be replaced,Tea roses give lovely shows of flowers,

even miniature rose trees are good for the small garden,

bought five last year and am getting lovely show from them now.
Reply:hacking won't really hurt them. I would prune them - get someone to show you how, theres bound to be an old gent in your road who loves his garden and will come over f you offer a cup of tea. Then spray them with rose gun stuff, and give them cow manure and mulch - from B and Q. Easy
Reply:STOP CLIPPING... allow new green shutes to grow and grow and grow, let it get bushy. Don't over trim, and make sure you give it plenty of rose food, which is best if it is a liquid fertilizer.
Reply:You need clippers and to be more gentle
Reply:Cut them diagonal, when u cut them, They will not grow back if you cut them strait across.
Reply:Just cut branches just above the "V" points and dont be shy. I use cow manure mixed with wood chips from a local dairy farmer and I don't think anything could possibly be better as in a very short time my rose bushes come to life beyond any expectation. Best of all the stuff is free. I think it has to do with nitrogen and of course water.
Reply:I agree with Silent Eagle... stop cutting!



Now. The first thing to do is to try to figure out how old they are? 10years? 50years? older? Different types of roses grow differently, and need to be pruned differently. I have a white rose called "Frau Karl Druski", the size of the plant is 8' tall by 5' wide. I could try to make it 'smaller', but probably could only keep it at about half the full size. That being said, start conservative, and become more aggressive as you learn your plants behavior.



This year, leave-em be. Next spring, cut back any dead wood, and reduce the length of the canes so that each is at least as thick as your thumb. Large canes produce larger flowers. Cut the rose back when the Forsythia bloom, or another early spring plant really starts to 'grow'. That's a good indicator that the chance of severe frost is slight.



This year, fertilize your rose with Espoma 'Rose Tone' or a similar fertilizer. Follow the directions on the label. I like this fertilizer because it's highly organic.



Be patient. The plants will recover. Roses are actually tough cookies, especially the older varieties.



I hope this helps

Good luck!

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