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elisabeth_rose_gw

I should have listened....

elisabeth_rose
14 years ago

4 years ago I bought 7 tiny New Dawn bands from Heritage. I planted two in an enclosed court yard and 5 in my front yard, against the fence you can see in these pix. I nursed and babied and fretted over these things, and anxiously waited for them to bloom. They grew big and strong, but no flowers until last year. As you can see, it was very nice, but it did not repeat. Very disappointing!

Anyway, this was a very tough winter in this area and they lost a lot of cane. Untangling and trimming the dead stuff was a horrendous job. Those thorns are lethal weapons! Even though all the roses survived, they now look scraggly and just messy, with few buds, and trunk like cains. I wish I had listened to more experienced rose people, who said this many New Dawns would be too hard to manage. I am thinking about shovel pruning them but I know blood will be shed (mine) :) I am also worried about wrecking other plantings I have in that area, trying to dig those roots out. Hindsight is always 20/20 isn't it.....


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Elisabeth

Comments (15)

  • Terry Crawford
    14 years ago

    Elisabeth,
    I grew 2 NDs over an arbor for many years until they caught RRD and had to come out. They had huge deep roots and it took my husband's tractor to yank them out. So...word of advice...if you're going to take them out, do it while they're young. I'd cut down the canes to ground level with loppers, and then dig out the roots. And suit up, my dear. I have to wade in every spring to clean out my row of Sir Thomas Lipton rugosas and they are lethal also. I feel I should wear a suit of armor. I'm know I'm afraid of them also.

    BTW, your plantings are very pretty! I love your fences.
    -terry

  • michaelg
    14 years ago

    I'd dig up every other one.

    You need a denim shirt and non-threadbare jeans, welder's gauntlets from the box store, a hat, and loppers rather than pruners. With proper gear and a little caution, you won't get stuck much at all.

  • hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
    14 years ago

    I remember the pictures of your beautiful house and garden. I think it's gotten even more beautiful!

    michaelg has a good idea, try removing every other one. Add safety glasses to the outfit in case a cane whips you.

  • bellarosa
    14 years ago

    Elisabeth,

    You have a very beautiful yard! Years ago, I planted 1 ND rose and we had a very harsh Winter, and just like yours, mine had a lot of dieback. I ended up giving the rose away. I've since moved on to roses that are hardy for our region, like the Canadian Explorer roses. They rarely if ever suffer any dieback.

  • elisabeth_rose
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thank you for the compliments and the advise. Every other one would make the task a little less daunting. My biggest concern, (other than being eaten alive) is that I would probably be damaging or killing the other established plantings in that area, but what has to be has to be...
    I am wondering what would happen if I trimmed the New Dawns to the ground. Would they die? (and could I then leave the roots in the ground?) And if they survived, could I keep them more under control by trimming them down every year?

  • mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
    14 years ago

    I've never been able to figure out how to manage 'climbers' that die back. If New Dawn isn't going to die back for you, then those are much too close together. If it is going to die back, then it isn't going to be large enough to cover the trellises. Replacing every other one with something predictible is definitely a thought.

  • michaelg
    14 years ago

    You have to dig the roots out or they will sprout canes.

  • daisy735
    14 years ago

    {{gwi:266524}}

    Elisabethrose-Don't be so hard on yourself-we all have stories such as mine. I had started a wall of New Dawn myself a few years back, underneath my kitchen window of our new house. (Cozy,eh?) Problem:You cannot get BEHIND it to maintain her -at least an arbor can be accessed from all directions. Finally removed her-I became tired of the intense maintenance to keep her within bounds--today she has been replaced with (sorry) several climatis. No more battle scratches there! Now, my rose arbors, thats different.

  • allison64
    14 years ago

    elisabeth_rose, is there room for planting either another type of rose (or?) to fill in the lower/mid area you don't like the look of? If you had to remove a different plant at least you wouldn't need a blood transfusion and neosporin bath.
    Your garden looks lovely!!! WOW!

  • kentstar
    14 years ago

    What's the problem? Your yard looks lovely! I only wish I had a yard like that! Gorgeous roses!

  • harryshoe zone6 eastern Pennsylvania
    14 years ago

    Elisabeth,
    Why don't you just shovel prune the whole mess over to my yard. I would be proud to have a garden as beautiful as yours.

    Harry

  • elisabeth_rose
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Thank you everyone. After much work over several years, I am pretty satisfied with my yard. My frustration has to do with the ND's and the difficult task it is to maintain them. The pics are from last year, the first year they bloomed, and if I could keep them like that it would be worth the effort. This year they look different, with just tangled woody cains on the trellises, and some leafy ones at the top of the fence with very few buds. I think bush-type roses in their spots, with Clematis growing up the trellises would look just as nice, and be easier to maintain. I am just worried about wrecking everything else, trying to dig those roots out. Maybe I'll wait until after they bloom, and then just cut them down to the ground and plant Clematis, and deal with the roots later. Like I said before, I should have listened.....

  • opheliathornvt zone 5
    14 years ago

    Funny that you should have posted this now. This spring I dug out 1 of my 2 New Dawns. They grew well, but never repeated, had wicked thorns, and lost a lot of cane in bad winters. I decided to concentrate on clematis on my arbors instead. I'm keeping 2 Austin roses for them, but the rest are going. It wasn't too bad digging out the ND, but maybe those years of making it compete with clematis plants had weakened it some. The one on the other side of the arbor appears to be being shaded out by it's clematis, and may come up a lot more easily.

  • gardenfanatic2003
    14 years ago

    Instead of going to all the work to dig out the roots, you could cut it down to the ground and spray the stump with Roundup.

    Deanna

  • matt_in_mi
    14 years ago

    Thats what I was thinking. If you don't want to plant anything in it's place, then I would just give it a good shot of roundup, and then when it is completely dead, cut it down to the ground and leave the roots there.

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