Return to the Roses Forum
| Post a Follow-Up
Ugh! Time to Prune, but they're still blooming
| | |
Posted by
mike_in_new_orleans 9a/ coastal LA (
My Page) on
Sat, Jan 28, 12 at 5:06
I hate it when this happens. We've had such a mild winter, the roses are confused. Most are still blooming, a few blooming their fool heads off, but here we are at annual pruning time. I hate to wack them back like this. They haven't gone dormant at all. But I know from past experience they'll end up leggy and underperforming this year if they don't get pruned. I just hate chopping them when they haven't pulled their energy reserves back into their roots. Oh well, some at least are between bloom cycles, so I guess I'll prune them this weekend and wait another week for the rest. I guess there are worse problems then roses that don't know when to stop or a year-round growing season. Actually, I just have to enjoy this time a little bit, because come June, I'll be whining about the dog-days of summer and my roses just trying to hold on for early fall when it starts to be tolerable again. ; )
Mike |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Ugh! Time to Prune, but they're still blooming
| | |
| I'm not sure, but I question whether fully repeating roses ever pull energy back into the roots. The chinensis roses are naturally evergreen and bloom all year unless they have freeze damage. So zone 9b and 10 growers see what you are seeing every normal year. Therefore the only thing you need to worry about is wasting flower buds. Prune individual plants (or canes) when they come to the end of a bloom cycle. |
RE: Ugh! Time to Prune, but they're still blooming
| | |
- Posted by seil z6 MI (My Page) on
Sat, Jan 28, 12 at 12:13
| Cut yourself a big bouquet for the house and just cut deep, as in prune. That way you get to enjoy your roses and still get your pruning done! |
RE: Ugh! Time to Prune, but they're still blooming
| | |
| That's what happens most years in Wasco, even with the extreme (for them) winter temps before harvest. As long as there is sufficient moisture, they keep trying to grow and flower until checked by either extreme enough freezes or sufficient drought. The plants frequently have to be sprayed with a heavy oil concentration to burn the foliage off them so they can be forced to stop flowering for harvest. It hurts us, but the plants endure it every year. Kim |
RE: Ugh! Time to Prune, but they're still blooming
| | |
| This is one of the reasons I grow mostly teas and other old roses like chinas and bourbons, because you don't often have to prune them, and they do much better in the summer heat (of which I have plenty). Of my 86 roses I had to prune about eight and let the remainder bloom and put out new buds without having to worry about cutting away all that new growth. Since I don't spray it's also nice that they have a lot less disease (or handle it better) than the modern ones. |
RE: Ugh! Time to Prune, but they're still blooming
| | |
Yeah, I'm pretty much doing just what Michaelg said, that is, pruning the individual bushes as they are between bloom cycles. Still hate to lose promising buds, though, which usually ends up happening one way or another. I've got a big vase full of blooms on my kitchen counter right now. I've just finished the first fourth of my rose garden. I hope to have about two thirds done this weekend; others will have to wait; they're full of blooms.
Mike |
RE: Ugh! Time to Prune, but they're still blooming
| | |
| Mike----When I lived in Fl I always had that problem. What I did to slow things down was stop feeding them the middle of Oct. Water the crap out of them Nov & Dec. Usually by Jan I had a lot of blind growth with just a few blooms on all the bushs. Didn't bother me to prune & strip all my bushs come Feb. One year I didn't prune or strip my bushs and they looked ugly and the blooms were pathetic all year. I never did that again. Now when I pruned, I NEVER pruned hard. Just cleaned and shaped the bushs. Even the ones I had on Dr. Huey responded very well. |
RE: Ugh! Time to Prune, but they're still blooming
| | |
| Love Seil's advice, which I followed. Figure the image of that bouquet will have to last me about 2 months until the first signs of flush come. Pruned all 80+ last Saturday, and now glowing thinking about being blessed with the reward. Then in seeing the hyacinth bulbs I planted in fall start to push through the ground, and the few daffodils I planted already blooming, I went crazy with about 100 misc. bulbs planted everywhere (not too close to the roses). Whoppee!!! |
RE: Ugh! Time to Prune, but they're still blooming
| | |
- Posted by hoovb z9 Southern CA (My Page) on
Wed, Feb 1, 12 at 1:01
| Yes, make "pruning bouquets". I had like a dozen of them this year all over the house. It was kind of fun. |
Post a Follow-Up
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in.
If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Roses Forum
Instructions
- You must be a registered member and logged in to post messages on our forums.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review the contents and make changes.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- It is illegal to post copyrighted material without the owner's consent.
- HTML codes are allowed in the message field only.
- No advertising is allowed in any of the forums.
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.
