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| I neglected to cover and protect my Westerland rose over winter. Bad momma! The rose did so well over the 5 years that it was in the ground (still is in the ground). I thought like a dummy that winter would be as easy as the previous ones but no... All the canes even the main one are dead I think and black or brown to the ground. There is a couple very tiny shoots poking up from the ground though. It was an own root rose. I will take a pic tomorrow but I wonder if I will kill the rose comepletely if I prune off all the top growth and main cane almost all the way to the ground? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| If there are shoots coming up the root ball is still alive and it is possible for it to come back. It will, of course, take time for it to regrow to it's old stature but it can. |
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| Thanks seil! Should I try pruning the dead wood out now then? How close to the ground should I go? |
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| Are any of your roses starting to bud out yet? If not then wait until they start. If they are and you don't see any leaf buds fattening on it yet I'd go ahead and cut the dead canes right out. But be careful. Towards the bottom the cane may look dark brown and barky but still be alive. Old canes will get that bark look but still be viable. So go by the inside of the pith and cut down to where it is a clear white with a greenish ring just inside the bark. |
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| My William Baffin just laughed off the cold and is leafing out wonderfully. My Livin Easy rose is growing from the ground as all the upper canes look dead and my knockouts are doing the same. All upper canes above the ground look dead with new growth coming from the ground level |
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| Westerland endured a tough winter here. Not as tough as yours though. Some dead cane. Some alive to the top. What's important is that the regrowth has been uneven, Some canes looked bad but had late growth. Others looked OK, then died. Meanwhile, there is lots of new growth coming from the base. I agree with Seil. Give it a few more weeks. Then prune out the dead wood. Even if you are down to 6", Westerland will recover quickly and add 4 or 5 feet of cane by mid summer as mine does every year here. |
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