How mature are the plants? How long have they been planted where they grow? How has the heat been in comparison to the amount of water the bushes have received and the moisture retention of your soil? What have you fed them and when? Kim

One bed is 14 months old and one is only 2 1/2 months old. They are all Dr. Huey. The heat has been in the last month, from high 90s to high 80s. I have been watering them just a little more than when the weather was cooler. I have watered them for the last year, twice a week, from 3 to 4 minutes per plant. I have turned on the hose at about half power when I water them. If it is hotter, I water them more. (They sometimes show that they are thirsty by drooping a little)

The soil drains well but not TOO well. I have fed them Dr Earth rose Fertilizer Tea, once a month and have given them about 2 Tbsp per plant Bloodmeal in between twice.

The Pristine plant that I spoke of first, has not had this spindly cane problem The new canes and limbs have all been substantial and the blooms large and lasting.

help, andrea

How close are the spindly roses to a wall, sidewalk or drive way?

I'm impressed by your description they are receiving too much heat with too little water. I'm also wondering if they might not be receiving enough food for the growth rate? I'd look at reflected/radiated heat sources; water and nutrient levels. Kim

If you are growing Dr. Huey, you need to be aware that the Doc blooms only once a year (in the spring), and that after it is done blooming, it is plagued by every disease and problem in existence for the rest of the year. In other words, it will not look like a flourishing rose once it passes it spring blooming period.

How do I know? Years ago I tried for 3-4 years to grow it. Kept beating myself up that it had so many problems--what was I doing wrong. Someone finally told me that ALL Dr. Hueys have those problems. It is not the gardener.

That is why most gardeners do not grow Dr. Huey--even though it produces quite lovely blooms during its one bloom cycle each year.

Kate

Kim,
No reflected heat and besides deep watering twice a week, I water them lightly in between. I am feeding them once a month with Dr. Earth (more than the product directs) PLUS bloodmeal or something extra in between.
The plants looks green and healthy and thriving. JUST too many long (18 to 24 in) skinny branches and small buds. Several bushes had 20 new shoots.

Kate,
Sorry I wasn't clear. I meant that they were all grafted onto Dr. Huey Roots. And these are not suckers, they are exactly the roses I planted, , , just too many long, skinny shoots.

Thanks, andrea

Ok--let's consider this possibility. If I understand your last post correctly, your roses are deep watered twice a week, with light waterings inbetween.

If so, I suspect they are much too wet. How about it, other posters? Too much water? Excessive water can lead to leaf drop.

And you say that you feed the roses monthly but in excess of what the product specifies, plus giving them extras in between (like bloodmeal or other food).

If so, I suspect you are over-feeding--which is not good for a rose. I've forgotten exactly what negative effects over-feeding produces, but it will have negative effects. Perhaps some other posters can explain this better than I can. For instance, it's quite possible you are giving them too much nitrogen--which can inhibit bloom development.

So, my recommendations, based on your last post, are cut the water in half and lay off the fertilizer for a month or two and then continue feeding no more than the product specifies (and with no extras) .

Perhaps that will help.

Kate

It may be nothing more than young roses reacting to hot weather. Perhaps you worry too much? Also, don't prune your first year plants. They need leaves to keep growing.

Kate,
No leaf drop. And the extra waterings are only to wet down the compost. Also, I don't give them too much food, I just do it more than every 6 weeks. I feed them once a month with the fert and then 2 or 3 TBSP of Bloodmeal mid month. Now that it is getting cooler, I will reduce the water. Maybe they liked the water TOO MUCH!

Michael,
I hope your answer is correct. We only get maybe a couple of weeks of hot (95+) temps a year. We just had them. We are now cooling down. So We'll see. About the pruning, my new plants are already large and very leafy. The Francis Meilland is 4 feet tall and very bushy. I have seen where in prior posts you have recommended NOT pruning new plants too much. I know I said I pruned the ridiculously long and spindly canes, but I won't even do that again. They just looked so goofy and the flowers were also tiny.

Thanks for the suggestions,

andrea

Andrea, as an added recommendation I would suggest you take off the buds, that you say are small anyway, on all of the canes. It might encourage these canes to get thicker. It might encourage the canes to get thicker......or not. I would, if I were in your place, quit fertilizing for several months and see what happens. These are two things you can do that will not harm the roses and just may cause a change in the condition you're describing.

Ingrid

Ingrid,

Thanks for the suggestion. Unfortunately, I pruned ALL the tiny canes already....I'm sure this was a no-no, (Michael let me know that) but it's already been done.. . . .(or overdone!) Oh well, the new spindlers didn't have a ton of leaves anyway. (I know, I'm rationalizing).

Thanks all,

andrea

A funny thing. I was just thinking about having pruned the splindlers, so I went out and looked at my lovelies, and guess what? I did prune all the tiny canes, but there are still some normal sized ones on the bushes also. Firefighter for example, had a million scrawny ones, but further down on the plant are a few normal sized canes with normal sized buds on them. So maybe the plants were briefly 'possessed' and needed to be exorcised.

Sorry, I just can't help myself.

andrea

andreark,

So your rose flower petals were levitating & spinning.... LOL

The spindly one looked like snakes on the Medusa's head! Glad I didn't see them at night, they may have been livitating and spinning. Yikes!

andrea

New growth always varies with the weather conditions. If it's very hot or very cold the plant will produce different growth than when conditions are more temperate. My spring flush always gives me larger new growth and blooms. But come summer when the heat goes up the new growth will be much smaller in size. September will give me some nice ones but then going into October when things start to get cold the size reduces again.

I hope Andrea's roses can survive all this TLC :)

Seil,

I don't know when, in Calif, I should see a autumn flush. I'll let everyone know if Michael is right and I am just an overprotective mom.

Michael,

I am just a little OC. I play with and talk to my babies every day. I have told Pristine (Brandy #2) that she is my favorite rose in the world. And she has rewarded me
by adding a ton of new growth and new buds to those bare canes I wrote about. She is doing beautifully.

I am enjoying my new roses incredibly. Now I am looking for a large David Austin type rose that has a great fragrance. I will plant the rose in a huge Terra Cotta planter that I will put on wheels.

Thanks all and have a great weekend.

andrea

My long-distance WAG is heat stress on young plants. Mine do the same thing. We just continue to give supportive care & wait out the lousy weather. The spindly canes may not be much to look at but any foliage they produce helps shade the canes. Blooms don't benefit the plant at all & waste its resources, so I pinch them as soon as I notice them until around Sept, when the heat eases off.

Andrea, we are all crazy here :) But I'm serious, sometimes it's best to just let the roses grow (or even just sit there for a while) instead of trying to fix every little thing that isn't exactly the way we want. Excessive pruning, unnecessary spraying, excessive fertilizer, excessive soil amendment etc can set plants back. But any amount of sweet talk is fine.

The most successful "sweet talk" I've found is to remind them I HAVE a compost pile, then show them the Black & Decker electric garden shredder and the mulch resulting from other obstinate plants. Works every time. Kim

Bluegirl,

That is exactly what I wanted to hear!!! That someone else has had this scrawny cane experience. We are starting to cool off already. Thanks.

Michael,

You don't know me, but for me to sit still and 'let it be' is not something that is easy for me to do. I do want to FIX everything! But I will just drink a nice cab and chill.

and Kim,

What a meanie! I might use those tactics on a person (or even my obstreporous new 'recue' pup,) but NOT on one of my beautiful babies.

To all,

I have done more waiting than I usually do with my first rose bed. All have been doing great, except Oregold and First Prize. Both stayed at about 18" and gave me
only 2 or 3 blooms in a little over a year. Then 5 weeks ago, both started growing. Oregold is now about 48" with lovely long lasting flowers. And First Prize is about 30" with some nice looking flowers also. I DID wait for them and it was worth it.

hugs and smooches to you all,

andrea

Andrea, "babies" aren't so beautiful if they refuse to cooperate. At that point, they become mulch fodder. I refuse to waste precious real estate and other resources on another mildewy "juniper"! Kim

Mulch fodder....lol

I've yelled, screamed, and waved a spade shovel
at a few of mine... I've shoveled pruned a lot too... lol

I usually give them away...

Thank you Kim and Jim. (sounds like a comedy duo)
Sorry.

And Kim, could you look at my other post, (Carding Mill?). I would guess that you're familiar with David Austin roses. If not, sorry for bugging you. Have a great weekend.

andrea

You're welcome Andrea. I suggested Tamora there. Kim

Kim's method works for me usually. Fire up that chain saw and look at the avo tree....first time that thing ever produced a fruit (but the fruit was bad so it still met the firewood pile)

St Patrick and QE have had the shovel waved at them this week. QE will loose her head first I think.

Kippy,
I just wrote a long post that this stupid site decided to delete. I wish the web people would fix these problems.

Please let me know what is wrong with your St. Patrick. Mine is (at 3 months) doing beautifully.

andrea