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fernsk

'roses that bloom on old wood'

fernsk
17 years ago

Hi all

I didn't want to hijack another post but saw this comment and realized that I have no [zero] idea what roses bloom on old or new wood - I'm assuming that means that if a rose died back to the ground and bloomed on old wood that you wouldn't get blooms - correct?

I have 4 roses - 1 is a mystery, Lambert Closse, JP Connell, Prairie Joy - since they are all "hardy" does that mean that they bloom on "new wood" - I hope?

Also if they bloom on new wood should one cut back the plant in the spring or can they bloom on both?

Fern

Comments (7)

  • northspruce
    17 years ago

    Fern, good question and I wish I could answer it more fully. The ones you have all bloom on new wood. A lot of roses that supposedly bloom on old wood, actually bloom best on old wood but new growth will bloom too.

    Many of the old-wood bloomers are climbers, as well many are older roses and members of more obscure groups that you're not likely to run into. Very generic but I hope that helps!

    If you have a particular rose you want to look up, Helpmefind.com will tell you which roses bloom on new wood, under the "Growing" section. Unfortunately, there isn't a feature to search this trait. (Example, look up New Dawn)

    Here is a link that might be useful: Help Me Find - Roses

  • northspruce
    17 years ago

    Just noticed the rest of your question... in general you shouldn't cut anything to the ground just to get it to bloom. Heavy pruning can be necessary in the south States but mostly we just prune if necessary, for shape and size. Pruning on new-wood bloomers can be done in early spring, removing any dead wood and shaping the bush. Whether you prune or not, for our purposes you will get (roughly) the same amount of bloom on your new wood.

    People will argue this, but I don't prune roses much. Winter does enough of that around here.

  • fernsk
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Thanks for the explanation but a new question arises - if the roses only bloom on "new wood" does that mean that you end up with no flowers at the top of the rose bush?

    I know I'm kind of dumb about these roses but... I'm trying to learn

    Fern

  • sazzyrose
    17 years ago

    Fern, as the year progresses, your roses will keep growing.
    The flowers will be mostly from about the middle of the bush and up. And yes you will have flowers on the top.
    I do prune my rose bushes. My rule of thumb is to prune off all that is dead first. Then I prune off any smaller side branches and leave the ones that are about the size of a pencil and larger. This will force the bushes to send out new branches that are larger. I've found that the spindly branches will not produce blooms. Plus if you get rid of the branches that will not bloom you will have more air circulation and less chance of getting diseases. Mostly it will depend on how big you rose bush is. On my newer or less vigorous plants, it isn't always possible for me to prune this hard.
    I also get rid of some height if mother nature hasn't done it for me. I like my rose bushes to be full and this helps.
    On my older bushes I get rid of some of the older canes as well even if they are bigger.

    One thing to try to do once they bloom, is to remove any old blooms. Just like dead heading annuals. It will make the plant want to produce more blooms.

  • fernsk
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Thanks everyone for the info and tips. My Lambert Closse actually has green leaves at the bottom now that it has come out from under the snow bank - the JP Connell also has a few green leaves on it - that must be a good sign

    Fern

  • northspruce
    17 years ago

    I just re-read my previous post and I made a mistake... Helpmefind.com will tell you if a rose blooms on old wood, but does not mention anything if it's new wood. As most of them are.

    I agree with Laurie about stopping deadheading in August, also stop fertilizing and don't prune. Many roses don't actually set a hip so just leave whatever's left on the plant.

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