Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
ingrid_vc

Deadwood on Tea Roses

I have twelve of them along Tea Rose Row and six more teas scattered here and there, and the older roses are all collecting deadwood. The worst by far to work with are my two Le Vesuve, both hanging over a steep hillside and clothed with vicious thorns that will shred your clothes and poke your eyes out. My neck is not the greatest and bending down for any amount of time is painful, so all in all getting rid of dead branches in some cases is almost impossible. Even where it's a little easier it's deadly boring. My question is whether they can prosper and bloom in spite of not being groomed. I know Jackie had a huge and gorgeous very old Le Vesuve and, looking at the picture, I imagine in would have taken a suit of armor to approach that giant. How do you all handle this problem?

Ingrid

Comments (19)

  • jacqueline9CA
    9 years ago

    I have learned over the years that large tea roses (such as Le Vesuve) build up dead wood underneath as a structure to support themselves as free standing bushes. I used to crawl under my LV to remove it, but it did not appreciate that. So, now I just take dead wood off it is easy to reach, and caused by some sort of injury, but I leave the structure below alone - I think of it as if it was the foundation of a building. Without taking out the dead wood, my large teas just keep blooming and blooming.

    Some of the smaller and more open growing teas, such as Safrano, grow more vertically and less like a giant mound. On those, the dead canes are more visible, and occur more like they do on a HT, and I prune them off accordingly, although I do not prune the live canes unless they are invading a path or the driveway.

    Jackie

  • Marlorena
    9 years ago

    I use a bypass lopper like this one in the link... plus thorn proof gloves of course....

    whoops..no link... have to figure out how to do that...

    anyway, it's a long handled pruner essentially... that way I don't have to get too close...

    This post was edited by Marlorena on Mon, Dec 15, 14 at 19:20

  • jerijen
    9 years ago

    Actually, Ingrid, it's even trickier than that. Some of that "deadwood" has healthy wood growing out the other end of it. So, you get under it, and cut it, and there goes a big ol' hunk of good growth.

    I'm awful cautious about whacking Teas.

  • jerijen
    9 years ago

    Actually, Ingrid, it's even trickier than that. Some of that "deadwood" has healthy wood growing out the other end of it. So, you get under it, and cut it, and there goes a big ol' hunk of good growth.

    I'm awful cautious about whacking Teas.

  • floridarosez9 Morgan
    9 years ago

    That is so true, Jeri. I wish someone had warned me about that when I first started growing teas. I can't count the number of times I've done that in the past, and sometimes that hunk was a substantial amount of the rose. I'm very cautious about pruning now.

  • ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Jackie and Jeri, this is good news to me. Now I don't have to feel guilty about trying to get under roses like Le Vesuve and Mrs. B.R. Cant, which is pretty near impossible anyway since they hug the ground. I like the idea of "helping" the roses by not doing something I dread.

    Marlorena, I have those loppers but, with torn rotator cuffs in both shoulders, wielding those things while leaning forward is probably not something my doctor would encourage. My husband uses them to cut off canes that are too thick for my Felco clippers and other "manly" stuff having to do with large shrubs and trees.

    Ingrid

  • Marlorena
    9 years ago

    I'm sorry to hear of your shoulder problems Ingrid...so I can understand your caution... mine is getting up again once I'm down there... but I detest dead wood and have the urge to cut it out as soon as noticed...

    I think 'Mutabilis' is another of those roses that will have healthy wood from what appears to be dead growth at the base... as I cut a piece out earlier this summer and found half the bush came with it... it was quite a shock...

    I don't think we shall have the problems with Le Vesuve over here.... getting it to grow at all will be a positive...

    I've just planted a little China rose called 'Fabvier'.... not one I've grown before and another I suspect would prefer to be in Californie...

    This post was edited by Marlorena on Tue, Dec 16, 14 at 15:36

  • ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Yes, Mutabilis is another one with quite a bit of deadwood, but I'd have to lie on my back under mine to reach most of it, and it would have to be done very carefully for the reason you mention...

    Ingrid

  • jerijen
    9 years ago

    Florida rose --- no one warned me, either! DH andI had to find all of that stuff out the hard way. Knowing how to prune modern HTs and Florrie's does NOT prepare you!

    Ingrid .. Your HTs will stop hugging the ground and grow upward, as they really begin to mature.

  • nippstress - zone 5 Nebraska
    9 years ago

    Good heavens, Ingrid - how did you manage to have torn rotator cuffs in both shoulders together? I'm a week out from my surgery for rotator cuff repair from a fall I had a full year ago. I tried my darndest to get by on cortisone shots and physical therapy, but it just wasn't healing (couldn't be hauling those 50 lb. bales of alfalfa all summer, could it??). Before the surgery EVERYONE kept telling me how painful rotator cuff surgery was, both at the time and in recovery, but I've genuinely found it to be a breeze so far. All the exercise and flexibility you certainly get from your roses and the rest of your garden undoubtedly put you in good shape and well able to handle surgery if needed!

    Hang in there, but if the injuries limit your activities - particularly important things like gardening - you might consider that next step. Life's too short to be unable to do the things we love. Then you can wave your pruners threateningly at Mrs. BR Cant and tell her to shape up or else! I'll bet with the rain you finally got to some extent, she'll shape up in no time.

    Cynthia

  • ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Cynthia, I can't really tell you how I got the tears but the MRI showed them to be only partial, and cortisone shots and therapy have really helped. The problem is that I didn't keep up with the exercises as I should have after therapy and so the shoulders are bothering me again. I've gone back to doing the exercises to some extent, but I'm also trying hard not to aggravate the situation by straining my shoulders.

    I'm so glad the surgery helped you, and that you had a fairly easy time of it. That's good to know in case I ever have to go that route.

    Ingrid

  • ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    A little footnote to the deadwood pruning experience. Last night I just HAD TO prune out some of the dead branches on Mrs. B.R. Cant. I was in a somewhat awkward position and as I attempted to get up I lost my balance, fell backwards and crashed into Mlle. de Sombreuil and (much worse) the sharp edge of the concrete pathway. The pain was really quite something. This morning my husband said I looked as though I'd been sideswiped by a truck. Fortunately Mlle. de Sombreuil did not sustain any lasting harm.

    Ingrid

  • Marlorena
    9 years ago

    I'm so sorry to hear that.... we wish you a speedy recovery and a very Happy Christmas.... let us hope your roses repay you in kind for the trouble you've gone to....

  • jerijen
    9 years ago

    Yeah -- That's the trouble with planting things on odd levels. I have fallen right down the hill a few times.

  • titian1 10b Sydney
    9 years ago

    So sorry to hear you've been in the wars, Ingrid. I find that bruise cream really works (called Hirudoid here).
    Jeri, in my last house, the back 'garden' was a steep hillside, and I often narrowly missed tumbling. An unfortunate woman 4 doors up wasn't so lucky. She pulled out a weed and ended up several levels below with a broken wrist.
    Hope you have a happy Xmas, Ingrid, and anyone else reading this. I'll just be glad when it's over!

  • floridarosez9 Morgan
    9 years ago

    I think Ingrid tumbled down an embankment also some time back. In my part of Florida, there's nothing to fall down, except I did land in a ditch on my butt one time (stealing swamp roses down the road from me).

  • jerijen
    9 years ago

    I didn't mind falling down the hill when I was 50. At 71, I am far more cautious!

  • rosefolly
    9 years ago

    Yes, keep safe and well, everyone. We grow our roses to bring beauty into our lives, not hazard!

    Rosefolly

  • ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
    Original Author
    9 years ago

    Thank you everyone for your good wishes. I tend to get so involved when I'm gardening that I forget about everything else. These little reminders make me realize that almost everything out there is harder, tougher and thornier than I am.

    Ingrid