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garciafa

cutting back roses

garciafa
12 years ago

can you cut roses back in october i live in navasota,tx

i am taking vacation at the end of that month and i have some that havn't been pruned in years their about 5x5ft .

they are the knock out roses.

Comments (6)

  • melvalena
    12 years ago

    You can prune knock out roses anytime you want. :)

  • soxxxx
    12 years ago

    Would it be okay to prune a mutablis (butterfly) rose now?
    The bush is about 4x4 feet. The leaves have become so sparse and the woody stems are so noticable. It has had plenty of water.

    When I visited Fredericksberg recently, the ones that I saw there were so healthy. Is this a rose that maybe likes a more alkaline soil? My soil is East Texas acidic.

  • holleygarden Zone 8, East Texas
    12 years ago

    Soxxxx - My Mutabilis is a bit sparse right now, too. It think it's a bit too hot for it. (Nights in Fredricksburg are cooler.) I think it will bounce back when it cools off some. Not sure I'd prune a plant that's already a bit stressed.

  • denisew
    12 years ago

    I prune my shrub roses back towards the end of July by 1/3 to promote a flush of blooms in the fall. This is what a well known rose aficionado told me to do. I have two Knockouts, one Mrs. B.R. Cant, one Carefree Beauty and one Square Dancer in my yard that will look fabulous in the fall after a heavy pruning like that. I use my hedge clippers and then clean up a bit with my small hand held pruner. Any of the EarthKind roses (Mutabilis, Knockout, Carefree Beauty, etc.) should be pruned lightly in mid-summer and heavily in mid-February (cut back by 1/2 - 2/3) to keep them from getting too large and promote a heavy flush of blooms and still have blooms the rest of the season.

  • zippity1
    12 years ago

    i wouldn't trim them back in oct, but i would trim them back now
    i pruned an abraham darby about 10 days ago by well over a third of the bush it's putting out healthy new growth already, also i pruned a "la biche" last summer and it's looking great

    the july august edition of Neil Sperry's gardens recommends you prune them 1/3 to 1/2 NOW-- if you wait til oct it might not take to winter well on that new growth also i did some pruning a couple of weeks on an sdlm (another old garden rose) and it's very happy
    i do water them well and set up a drip irrigation system and keep it going til they get really good growth going
    my drip irrigation is a huge plastic bucket with a tiny hole in the bottom i fill the bucket every day and set it close to the plant and i put a tiny bit of miracle grow in the water just a very tiny bit

    my roses have never been happier not one bit of black spot or mildew this year but my water bill is huge

  • garciafa
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    thanks to everyone, will be getting out there soon to start cutting back

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