Andrea - what kind of rose is it? Different types of roses act differently, and if we knew what type (or the name of it would be better, if you know it), we will be able to better answer your question.

Jackie

I've been wondering about this same issue, too.

Seems the more I cut back my Charity (an Austin shrub) roses, the more long canes they send right back up.

Ideally, I'd like the bushes to be between 4 and 5' tall.

Is this what is known as "octopus" growth?

This is what vigorous shrub roses do, at least for a few years.

There are latent growth buds at every leaf joint and on bare canes at the spots where leaves used to be (look for small bumps on the bark). So you can prune to any length.

After the cane blooms, or you decide it is not going to bloom, cut it back to 3' or so. It will make two or three lateral shoots near the top. Cut these back after blooming to maybe three leaves and get more laterals. Etc. This is how you develop a bushy, well-branched shrub.

This advice applies to most vigorous shrubs, but not to the old tea and china classes. These should not be pruned much. Also, in zone 7a and colder, do not prune severely during the fall.

Canes do not elongate after being cut back, but they make lateral (secondary) shoots from the bud sites.

This post was edited by michaelg on Sat, Aug 24, 13 at 13:16

It depends upon why the plant is throwing long canes. If it's genetic, there isn't much you can do about it. A more vigorous plant, selected for that vigor in a shorter, harsher climate is going to get even larger when released in a milder climate. That's the issue with MANY of the Austin roses. What remained "mannerly 5' shrubs for them, quickly exploded to 10'+ monsters in longer, milder climates. Graham Thomas demands to climb in my garden. I have the choice of either training it like a climber or whacking the heck out of it. The latter simply results in a spurt of new growth (presuming it receives the extra water necessary to produce it) pushing it to become the huge plant it demands to be in my climate.

If it's due to stretching for light, the best you can do to prevent it is whatever is necessary to increase the direct sun so the plant doesn't have to "reach" for it.

The best answer will depend upon what the rose is and why it's stretching. Kim

It's not a shrub or an Austin. It's a HT named Pristine.
She wants to be 7 or 8 ft tall and I don't want her to be!

I just thought that if I pruned her to where there were no bud eyes, the particular cane I pruned would not sprout new growth that only lengthens the cane. As it is, it does. Right out the end of the can. NOT laterally.

Thanks for the input,

andrea

Sorry I gave you a rant about shrubs. With hybrid teas it's very simple. Just take as much stem as you want when you deadhead. Leave at least two leaves on the stub.

The secondary shoots are called laterals even when they go straight up. Shoots of HTs will always grow straight up, and there is nothing you can do about it. But you can control the height at which the rose blooms by taking long stems when deadheading. Of course some varieties will be taller than others. And the initial pruning height will play a role. If California growers start the year out by pruning 3' high, it will be hard to keep the plant at 5' after several flushes.

Andrea, Pristine is a big girl here. No matter how much you whack her, she is going to demand to be tall, period. If she's too tall for where you want her, you'd both be best off moving her this winter and putting something shorter in her place. Kim

Kim is right. Pristine is a bean pole. That's how she likes to grow. Most HTs will tend to be tall and narrow in growth. There are a few exception like Pope John Paul II and Hot Romance, which tend to grow out side ways instead of up, but they are rare in the HT class. If you want something shorter and bushier than you need to plant a floribunda or shrub rose there. There are also some Grandifloras that will have that HT bloom form but are a bushier type of plant. If you are looking for that bloom form you might want to try one of those instead. But they will still tend to be taller than the floris and shrubs.

Yup. That's Pristine. She wants to be very tall and very upright, and she's either going to be that, or die.

And Seil is right, that this is the normal habit for modern HTs.

How could it be otherwise?

They have, after all, been bred for the characteristic of having very long, straight stems!

This is the reason why my DH said upon early consideration that he did not care for roses. When asked why, he replied that they were "ugly plants with bare bottoms," and that they all looked "like they went to Military school."

The solution is to select those HTs that are not so upright -- or other sorts of roses entirely.

Jeri

Thanks all.

Pristine is my favorite rose in the world. I gave my mother a Pristine tree about 35 years ago. And everyone that ever saw her said that hers were the most beautiful blooms they had ever seen. My mother is no longer on this plane, which is why I purchased this bush. She is truly gorgeous...Not so much pink, but more ivory with tinges of pink.

Sorry, I do ramble sometimes

Thanks again and I will leave her where she is. She likes it there. I'll just keep pruning.

andrea