Roses grown from seed.
elizabeth cooley
Posts: 40
in Plants
Hi, i grew these two Rose bushes from seed in 2010.started them off in pots,then gradually increased the size of pot until they became potbound in the largest pot, and last autumn i transplanted them into the ground where they have put on quite a lot of growth since.They have nearly finished flowering with just a few flowers left at the top, the bottom leaves are yellowing.What i would like to know is when do i cut them back and how far.When they were in pots i just used to trim them a little and tidy them up because was afraid to cut them back too much, but they did look a bit straggley but since putting them in the ground they became bushier and i would like to keep them this way.so could anyone please advise. Many thanks Elizabeth.
0
Posts
First of all well done for having the patience to grow your own roses from seed. And nice roses too! Do you know who their parents were? If you do it will give you a clue as to what sort of shape they would naturally take. How tall are they and do you think that they have reached their adult height? They look either like floribundas or rambler/climbers. How you treat them depends on which they are - 3 possibilities.
Thanks for your advice Waterbutts.I think they are Floribundas,They are about 3 feet tall at the moment.I hav,nt got the instruction packet anymore and cannot remember how tall they grow.
Cut the flower heads off to an outward pointing bud just below what is left of the cluster. That way the plant will send out a shoot (hopefully!) in the direction of the bud and you will end up with a nice open plant.
In theory, the more you prune the rose the more vigorously it will react by sending out growth to compensate for what it has lost, but you can overdo it and it will lose heart and the will to live so use your judgement as to how much growth you want and of what kind. If you only take off the flower heads it will be less inclined to produce strong new shoots from the base and you will end up with a messy bundle of fairly useless shoots.
there are some good online videos showing you how to prune roses.
Thanks Waterbutts, i,ve just done what you said and they look much tidier now,so fingers crossed hopefully they will produce more blooms.