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Pruning skinny canes
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Posted by frank_l AZ (My Page) on Sun, Nov 15, 09 at 1:14
| For my first year with plants in the ground I thought I was getting good growth and fair blooms; plants were fairly leafy. But after being stripped to almost nothing by rabbits and javelinas I find that most of the canes are quite thin - perhaps pencil thickness. In the desert we prune in Jan. or Feb. and I'm not too worried about freezing. But what should I do about these skinny canes? If trimmed only slightly will they thicken with time, or should I only leave the major canes? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Pruning skinny canes
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| (cont.) The rabbits usually make neat cuts but the javelinas just munched and crunched. In those places where I neglected to trim off the rough edges the new growth is gnarly and distorted. |
RE: Pruning skinny canes
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- Posted by jim1961 5/6 central pa (My Page) on
Sun, Nov 15, 09 at 21:55
| i'll bring this back to the top, it may of got missed by others. |
RE: Pruning skinny canes
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- Posted by jont1 Midwest 5b/6a (My Page) on
Mon, Nov 16, 09 at 4:47
I would prune off any cane thinner than a pencil--they won't get larger.
Pruning harder-lower down the cane-will result in new larger canes and growth as a general rule.
Just my two cents and experience.
John |
RE: Pruning skinny canes
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| I have exactly zero experience with gardening in a warm weather climate. Having said that, I will share an experience I had a few years ago. I live on the property of a small urban mansion converted into condos, and on that property were three climbing roses along a fence where they were in far, far too much shade and hardly bloomed even in June. About three late Junes ago I transplanted them to another fence where they received full sun. All established themselves successfully. In the following growing season (& mind you, in my climate "winter" begins around Thanksgiving and extends until sometime in late March or early April) they all threw up a handful of canes that were about pencil thickness. The following growing season they threw up more canes, but this time they were the normal thickness for their respective varieties (City of York, Dr. Van Fleet, Tausendschön), and they continue to do so now. Since you have a first year rose I won't be surprised if next year you see your rose pushing out a new set of canes that are much thicker than the ones you see now. Those ones you see now probably won't change in diameter at all. I won't offer advice about what you ought to do, or not do, with the canes your rose now has because I've never gardened in your climate, but I won't be surprised if the next set of canes you see from your rose is a set of thicker canes than the ones you see now. |
RE: Pruning skinny canes
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| Rabbits eat the newest growth so cutting the bush too short puts the buffet in their reach. Since the rabbits and javalinas have already done your fall pruning, expect them to continue your winter pruning. Personally, I would leave the longest, best looking canes and only trim off the squirrely end-growth at the appropriate time. Have you put up rabbit fencing, applied a chemical deterrent or taken other steps to keep the rabbits away? This is why I love my block walls here in the Valley. The closest rabbit is only 2 houses away now but I'm hoping that five cats will discourage the little stinkers from burrowing under the gates. I've underplanted the front roses with sweet white alyssium and left them purposely taller. While rabbits can and will stretch to feed on upper canes, at least I have blooms. For some reason, they don't like the allysium. |
RE: Pruning skinny canes
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| First-year roses really don't need to be pruned anyway. I'd leave the canes, just trimming off the damaged parts. In general such thin canes would be removed at pruning time, but not the first year when that's all the plant has. If they have multiple good thick canes that's a different story, then you can safely remove the thinner ones. |
RE: Pruning skinny canes
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| Just take off the ragged edges where they've been gnawed. Poor little plants need all the photosynthesis they can get and will even get some strength from photosynthesis at the canes. Don't prune more than you have to. Keep everything that's green and photosynthesizing, leaves, canes whatever. You need roots to get new canes, and you need photosynthesis to get roots. |
RE: Pruning skinny canes
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| I agree with kstrong. It's contrary to the basic laws of nature to think that cutting a weak plant back will make it stronger. Leaves in the sunlight manufacture the energy that the plant needs to make stronger canes. If you cut them way back, they will have to use the small amount of energy stored in the roots to grow back out. Ro-Pel and similar bitter sprays are effective against rabbits, maybe the pigs too. It sounds essential that you give the plants some protection, at least for a while. |
RE: Pruning skinny canes
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| Thanks for the comments. Liquid Fence worked for a while but now I think they're immune to it. I put up an electric fence, which works for the javelinas but not the rabbits. So now it's going to be rabbit fence with wood posts. I never wanted a fence, the idea was to blend in to the natural landscape, but... oh well. Plants individually surrounded with wire are coming back nicely. (Out of spite they totally destroyed a very nice Jasmine, which they had never touched before.) |
RE: Pruning skinny canes
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| I had the same problem with Liquid Fence. After a while, they just seemed immune to the smell....unlike me . Unfortunately, you'll need to bury part of the fencing so they can't burrow under it. |
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