How do I prune a tree rose for shape?

10 years ago

I have a Strike It Rich tree rose. For the past few years its been a vigorous grower and bloomer -- very pretty. But it tends to shoot up very long healthy stems with multiple, large blooms. These get heavy, and when it rains, they either break or just cause the rose to look unkempt.

That being said, I see pictures of tree roses online that have a nice, compact, round canopy with many roses.

How do I achieve the same shape/habit with my standard? Is there a specific way to prune throughout the summer that will keep its growth more compact and manageable? I already prune it pretty heavy in the spring.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Comments (3)

User
10 years ago
Yeah, I don't really bother with standards because they do require extra pruning, particularly after the first flush of flowers to head back those growing laterals. Because standard roses will bloom on new wood, you can be fairly harsh with the pruning and shaping, just do it between flushes. Basically, like all pruning, you are doing it for shape and size control (which is why little and often is better than stimulating the rose into overdrive with a hard prune), control of disease and passage of air (take out tiny twigs, inward growing canes to keep the centre open). Usually, the rose trunk should be clear so you may have to pinch out developing buds along the trunk but as a rule, it is the same as pruning hybrid teas but just do an extra summer cut to shape - and with some vigorous weeping types, you might need to trim throughout the year, just to maintain a compact shape. Winter pruning is when you need to consider the whole bush since this is the time we can take off extra wood without the rose immediately breaking into new growth-you can really cut the head of the bush tight while keeping an open centre. A bit like pruning for fruiting spurs on apples, I do the pruning in dead of winter rather than spring, when I am attempting to keep a plant a bit more compact and neat.
Much also depends on your climate (which I have moved the page on and cannot recall) so someone near you may well chime in with a more considered and nuanced reply.
seil zone 6b MI
10 years ago
I prune my standard the same way I prune all my roses. Dead wood first and then prune for shape. If it's too big cut it deeper than you want it to get to.
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kittymoonbeam
10 years ago
Some of them make better trees than others. I like the smaller floribundas and the bushier HTs. Some of the newer HTs are really big plants on their own and want to make the huge shoots. The ones that are smaller and bushier are easier to keep looking rounded. Some pictures are photoshopped too so beware of perfect catalog images.

I like French Lace as a tree rose. Sexy Rexy was a great tree rose in Fantasyland at Disneyland. Sadly, they were removed.