I was gifted three roses this spring, they look good and have roses blooming. It is mid September in zone 7 and the roses are 6 feet tall. I have read that I should cut them back until Spring 2025. Does anyone have some advice for me?
1 Like
Itās not time yet. For roses that are tall, I like to cut them back about half when the weather starts being consistently āfallā - windy, rainy. Then, I will do the rest of my pruning in late winter. The general rule of thumb is to prune them by Presidentās Day, but honestly Iāve done mine around Christmas and theyāve been fine.
Hi Donna, I see that many have read your message but not yet responded. I grew roses for years in the hot desert climate of Las Vegas, but am new to zone 7-8 in North Georgia, where they grow 6-7 feet tall by August-September and require stakes to keep them safe in the wind. Yikes. I wasnāt ready for this!
There is a big difference between "cutting back" and "spring pruning". You were told not to cut them back until spring. That spring procedure is "spring pruning", and is more severe than just "cutting them back" in Aug-Sept. Aug-Sept is a good time to just cut longer stems and even cutting into the canes that have grown his year... shortening the bush by as much as 2 feet (and sometimes more). With first-year bushes, you don't want to go over board, but you should also cut off the twiggy growth and any dead twigs near the bottom... which are normal. This helps direct the plant's energy to new, healthy growth going forward.
In the spring, you will do the āspring pruningā, which cuts the plants back to maybe 2-3 feet (for NEW plants), cuts out all the twiggy growth again, and gets the plant ready for another great growth and lots of BIG blooms!
I hope I have been able to clarify a bit of this rose jargon for youā¦ where do you live? And which roses were you gifted? What an awesome giftā¦ and please ask more questions! Thatās why weāre here.
1 Like
Thank you for your advice, I really appreciate this. The roses are from David Austin, I live in Richmond, VA.
1 Like
Welcome to ARS rose forum, we are glad you are here. When your roses are over six feet, it is a good practice to prune them back to 4 feet, but do this after the leaves have fallen off your deciduous trees. The logic behind this practice is to prevent the winter winds from heaving up your rose roots. Your major pruning, for ex., cutting down to 2 feet tall, should be done late February or early March for more frost sensitive Hybrid teas, Grandifloras and Floribundas, depending on your climate. Shrub roses are typically more cold tolerant and can be pruned earlier.
Welcome to growing roses - the fact they are so tall says you are treating them well.
A couple of things to add - when a cycle of blooming is over, you have a chance to do some shaping of the plant when you cut off the spent blooms - you can take a larger or smaller portion off the plant as desired at that point.
As mentioned, once the season is over, and fall/winter weather sets in, many people will take off a good portion of the plant. This can prevent it from rocking around in the wind and loosening the soil around the roots, or even opening up holes that could hold water and then ice. Also a good time to stamp on the ground around the base of the rose, firming in the soil. Then, at the time appropriate for your area you can finish the job of āsculptingā the skeleton of the plant you want for next year.
I should add that if they are David Austin roses, they are usually fairly large shrubs, rather than ābetter behavedā bedding roses. A few, like Olivia Rose Austin, are smaller and fit in smaller places, but it sounds as though yours are of a mover vigorous variety. If they are too big for where they have started off, you might want to think about moving them to a larger space. The time to move them is when the roses are dormant, but the ground remains soft enough to dig. Cutting them back will not change their nature, and they will continue to try to grow to the size their genes are designed for.
If you do move them, that leaves some space to buy some more roses!
2 Likes
Thank you for this information, it is very helpful
Donna Selden
Thank you John, I am so glad that I found this site I have received information that is so helpful.
Donna
I am learning so much about roses, one of the David Austin roses is Double Delight that is about three feet tall, the six foot rose is Gertrude Jekyll and is a shrub rose. I had no knowledge of that variety.
2 Likes
Hi again, Donna! So glad youāre enjoying this site!
Double Delight is not a David Austin roseā¦ it was hybridized by Herb Swim in 1976 (well renowned in rose circles) in USA. It has creamy white centers with brilliant raspberry red color that develops on the petal edges after theyāre exposed to the sun. It also has EXTRAORDINARY fragrance! When it was in the breeding program, it almost got trashed because they thought it was ājust another white roseā. In several days they realized what they had! Iām thankful for that, because Iāve never been without a bush or two! It will fragrance a whole room! It only grows to 3-5ā tall, but can spread to 4-5ā wide, so plan accordingly.
Growing it in the desert in Las Vegas I had no issues with mildew or blackspot. In North Georgia, however, it does get some blackspot.
When it was hybridized in 1976, they were looking for form, color, and fragranceā¦ not so much worried about disease resistance. Today, hybridizers are looking for more disease resistance, which seems to compromise FRAGRANCE. Apparently the genes for those two features donāt play well in the sand box. (Can you tell Iām not a hybridizer/botanist/etc.?)
Anywayā¦ enjoy our site and especially your ROSES!
1 Like
Wow, that is it. It has the white/ raspberry color and I think I have seen a small touch of yellow. It has stayed small unlike the 6 foot tall one. Also so fragrant! I think I will move the tall one and let that one have the space to grow. That you for the additional information I really appreciate this.
Donna, just to give you something else to think about-I do what I call my āwind pruningā (cutting back the really tall canes that the wind may rock around and damage the roots) in the fall or winter but after a couple of hard frosts when the roses are really starting to go into dormancy. Much less chance of encouraging new growth then. I cut everything to ~about 3 - 4 feet.
1 Like
Thank you for that information, I think I may prune a little bit tomorrow on the branches that have gotten so long
Donna
1 Like