ZD is not known for being an enthusiastic re-bloomer. The big spring flush is the highlight of its yearly labors and I think from then on bloom production is sporadic. However, I haven't grown it, so this is all hearsay. I hope someone will come along to answer your question about pruning.

Ingrid

Dang it, I thought she bloomed all summer? Where did I get that idea? Thanks Ingrid.
Susan

My Zephirine Drouhin is in bloom today, September 4th.
I smiled :)

i bought a 5 gallon ZD earlier this summer, and like yours, it's put out long canes. I tied them horizontally and got a few blooms off laterals - maybe about 2 or 3 a week? Does that sound like your rose? Mine also produced new growth with red leaves and those turned into flowers, though that might have been because they were laterals.

Good luck! :)

Don't prune it unless you must. Mine rests between blooms. There is a big spring bloom and then smaller flushes. Yours looks very healthy.

The spring flush lasts a long time, maybe 6 weeks. After that I got very little bloom, usually at the end of new basals when they decided to stop growing.

It is a rampant grower that makes a thicket of 8-foot basals. You need to decide whether you are growing it as a climber on an 8 x 10 (or larger) trellis, a fountaining shrub 10' wide, or a large, rather unruly, pruned shrub.

Thanks everyone! I think my Zepphie is healthy which I am happy about. She really responded to fertilizing.
I think "fountaining shrub" wins the habit lottery today! Yes, it is busting out the basals. Do I need to "horizontalize" (ha...what is the correct term?) the canes to promote the laterals?
Michael, if growing it as a fountaining shrub, how is it then pruned?
I posted about my Geschwind Schonste. The picture on HMF seem to have it grown as a climber or a shrub.
How do I make a climber into a shrub? Lord knows I have so many books but have never seen this addressed...Do I prune to interior eyes to make it bushy?
Thanks! Right now there are 3 huge scary fat thorny canes "octopus style".
Susan

This climber's canes grow very fast. You might end up pruning weekly.

To get a fountain shrub, you leave the primary canes alone, and they will tend to bend over under the weight of bloom. After bloom, cut the laterals back to two or three leaves. Otherwise the stronger laterals will create a bad-hair look. ZD is lovely grown this way if you have the room.

To prune a climber into a shrub, you can cut the long canes in half after blooming. Laterals will form at the top of the stubs, and you cut these back to two or three leaves after blooming. Keep doing all that for a few years. Eventually you get a full, bushy plant that will be somewhat more compact than one grown fountain-style. I have not done that with ZD, but it works with other short climbers.

Thanks Michael! I put your advice in my "go to" rose tips book.
Susan

While this thread is going id like to ask a question about this rose to. I have zephy on my porch and the thing grows like a weed I can't figure out what to do with it. It puts out laterals that are 6-8 feet in length which makes it look rather hairy and messy. Last spring I tried trimming half the laterals back to 6-12 inches and the rest I just wove in like the main canes. The spring flush was lovely and the laterals wether they were cut back or not just bloomed on the ends. So my question is when this thing throws up these long gangly laterals should I just cut them back when they get ungainly in the summer or should I leave them alone until they are dormant before I remove the unwanted growth.

Grace e

Grace--Strong laterals that are vertical will bloom only at the tips. If they are near horizontal when new growth develops in spring, then, during the first flush, they should bloom on many short sublaterals emerging at leaf axils. In other words, strong laterals behave about the same as primary canes. In my experience with ZD, heavy bloom on short spurs coming off horizontal canes occurred mainly in the first flush. Later bloom, such as it was, came at the tips of new vertical growth, whether basal canes or strong laterals.

If you want a less ropy and more bushy plant, you can keep cutting back the laterals after they bloom (or stop without blooming, or get too long). Cut back to two or three leaves and continue doing that until early or mid August. If you prune in fall, you provoke new growth that may not winter in your zone. In spring you can tie or tuck in any remaining strong laterals to a near horizontal position and let them bloom before cutting them back. Treat the strong sublaterals the same way. The idea is to get as much branching as possible. Cut back the basals to get laterals, the laterals to get sublaterals, the sublaterals to get sub-sub laterals, with hopefully two or three branches from each cut.

I don't know whether these are helpful comments in view of how exactly your plant is growing.

This post was edited by michaelg on Sun, Sep 8, 13 at 14:54

Michael, does pruning basals encourage laterals? Also, how long should the laterals age before I try to bend them for subllateral production?
Thanks!
Susan

I grew mine as a fanned climber, but if you cut a strong basal to 3-4 feet, it will produce two or maybe three laterals from near the top.

So then you would bend those new sublaterals and attach? I have lots of low laterals on Zepphie and I'm wondering how long to let them grow before I attempt sublaterals...
Does that even make sense?
: )
Susan