Unwieldy rose bush
I moved into a new house recently and I have a mammoth rose bush in my garden. It's probably over 8ft tall, leaning over, very woody in places, growing from one point in ground. It's still producing beautiful flowers but it is very tangled up and unwieldy and unshapely. How much should I cut it back and when? Many thanks!
0
Posts
Firstly see if there is any dead wood within the bush. It sounds like a rambler or short climber, difficult to tell without a picture. Cut any dead wood out first. You can do this now and it will look better for it. I'd then wait till say March before taking it on again. I'm reluctant to advise on further pruning as climbers and ramblers need different pruning. Could you post a picture as this will help with further advice.
To post a picture click on the green tree icon on the toolbar above the dialogue box, you'll get plenty of help once we know more.
Thanks Dave - I've uploaded a photo below.
The blooms at the bottom suggest that the variety isn't shy to produce new shoots from old wood, so I would cut the whole thing back to knee height next spring which should rejuvenate it.
It looks to me like a neglected climber - have a look at the video on this site http://paulzimmermanroses.com/care/pruning/rejuvenating-an-old-climbing-rose/ which shows you clearly how to rejuvenate an old climbing rose.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.