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To cut or not to cut ? Roses

KCMM09KCMM09 WalesPosts: 43
in Plants
Hi , 
I have DA William & Catherine shrub roses and they’ve grown taller than predicted! I had supports around them but they sort of bend over as they’re so tall above the support. I was wondering if anyone cuts their taller roses to keep them as smaller shrubs or not? I wouldn’t want to ruin their potential but they look out of place in my sleepers. 

I considered obelisks but they may be too wide for these 

thanks
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  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge South LondonPosts: 1,734
    Can you add a photo to elaborate? Shouldn't be an issue with tidying up overlong stems, but the main annual pruning should take place in early spring. But it sounds to me that this may be the wrong plant for the location. 
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • KCMM09KCMM09 WalesPosts: 43
    @amancalledgeorge
  • amancalledgeorgeamancalledgeorge South LondonPosts: 1,734
    Thanks. It doesn't look it has grown out of control...but wonder if any Austin rose would look tidy enough in that location. Maybe a spot for a more compact type of rose. Austins need a lot of space to reveal their glamour, trimmed too tightly misses the point of them, in my eyes. But let's see what everyone else thinks. 
    To Plant a Garden is to Believe in Tomorrow
  • KCMM09KCMM09 WalesPosts: 43
    What you’re saying makes sense. It would be annoying to have to move things about ( I’ve been doing up my garden for past 6 months ) but do you think they’d suit this spot better ? 
    I have a cone buxus and small smoke tree bush either side 
  • KCMM09KCMM09 WalesPosts: 43

  • PianoplayerPianoplayer Posts: 217
    Hi. First of all, according to DA web site, this variety grows to 4ft tall and 4ft wide, so it might be the wrong rose for the position. Secondly, your roses look very healthy, and as they develop they do throw out long canes - I think this is what you have. It is a sign of health, so that's good! You can cut the long canes back, or you can wait until after the flowers have gone over and deadhead them. When you prune in the spring, you can keep them trimmed, but it is likely that the long canes will continue to appear. So I guess you need to decide whether you are going to try and constrain them or not!
  • KCMM09KCMM09 WalesPosts: 43
    My gut feeling is that it’s a waste of a beautiful rose if I cut them small and they fight against it. Maybe I do need to move them... 

    is this part of everyone’s gardening experiences ? It’s very new to me and within the past year I have dug up and moved plants so much... I always read around them but find I make mistakes or they don’t look right etc ...


  • PianoplayerPianoplayer Posts: 217
    Well, they do look great. I wish my new DA roses (Susan Williams-Ellis) looked as good...

    I'm new to gardening and have moved several things - reading on here, I think it is all part of it, although I have felt like an idiot on several occasions! Good luck with it.
  • K67K67 Leicestershire Posts: 1,744
    edited September 2020
    You say small  cotinus or smoke tree bush but they do get very big, anything up to 5m x 5m according to Crocus website although they can be pruned. I think your rose would struggle there.
    You could wait until pruning time and then put in an obelisk. I have a rusted iron one which disappears much better than the black or green sort. I bought it to contain a Gertrude Jekyll rose but it hasn't sent out any long stems this year!
  • KCMM09KCMM09 WalesPosts: 43
    @Pianoplayer I always feel like an idiot as I’m moving things all the time ! Thank you 

    @K67 I’ve planted them on the wall and they look much better already. The smoke tree I read can be pruned and kept small. I’ve planted it back for now and will move it to a more isolated spot at some point. 

    Messy as I’ve just finished but here you go 
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