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Rose garden maintenance. Tell me I'm dumb and correct me.

Yota Up

Dull man
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May 20, 2020
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Got a few rose bushes and they are out of control. I neglect them too much and want to finally give them some love.
I've got a couple thoughts about them in respect to cutting/trimming and watering.

Watering. Rather than water every day, I'm thinking it's better to over water them every 2 weeks. This way the roots dig deeper rather growing shallow. Dumb or smart?
Cutting. I'm worried about cutting any stem below an existing leaf, afraid that if I do it will die. Does it matter how low you cut them and am I dumb for thinking I'll kill it if I cut it too low?
 
Not an expert, for my rose bush I water it every 2-3 days, sometimes more often when summer heat is at irs worst.

I also feed the root with banana peals, potassium is good for their growth.
Basically I toss them in there, cut up.

As for cutting, in the fall I trim them, they always grow out in summer.
 
Not highly experienced but on our I have found it’s much better to heavily soak them every 7-10 days vs a light daily watering. Cut them way back in fall. Nitrogen and Potassium are their friends.
 
If they are established you can cut them any time. They will come out of it.

We have 4 by our sidewalk and one for some reason grows like a weed and the others seem to be about perfect. So we are constantly cutting through out the year.

We water pretty much every day. We don't fertilize but we are in iowa, the dirt here will grow anything you put into it.
 
They’re stupid hardy. I had about 8 I tore out from my front yard at home. I used a chain to pull them out. Well I didn’t get all the roots and 3 are coming back. 3 would get almost no water from me all year only natural rain and they were healthy and thriving. I would cut them back to the ball or about to it and they always came back greener and more vibrant. No matter what you do it’s hard to kill them.
 
Mine won't die and I do nothing. If it doesn't rain for a few weeks it'll go dormant, but it always comes back the next spring.
 
Look at the main branches coming up from the ball. The ones that are hard and woody need to be cut back FLUSH with the ball. Aim to have 3-5 main branches coming up from the ball. If you want to cut one of the green fresh branches, cut 1/4” above a leaf chute with 5 leaves or more. That leaf chute will become your new branch so make sure it’s pointed where you want it to grow. Don’t cut above chutes that will grow into the bush itself or into a pathway.
 
Gtrplyr78 said:
I also feed the root with banana peals, potassium is good for their growth.
Basically I toss them in there, cut up.
Click to expand...

You can also bake those peels for approx 20 minutes to dry them out. Then toss em into your food grinder, add that powder to the water pot you use to water house plants and gtg for potassium on house plants.
 
I never water them, all I do is half them in the fall, and in the spring cut off any long shoots. They bloom like mad. The only thing getting water around here is a newly planted tree.
 
pdangerp said:
Look at the main branches coming up from the ball. The ones that are hard and woody need to be cut back FLUSH with the ball. Aim to have 3-5 main branches coming up from the ball. If you want to cut one of the green fresh branches, cut 1/4” above a leaf chute with 5 leaves or more. That leaf chute will become your new branch so make sure it’s pointed where you want it to grow. Don’t cut above chutes that will grow into the bush itself or into a pathway.
Click to expand...

This
I'll add...
On Tree roses he means the top graft junction :laughing:On bush roses they like 4 or 5 cup shaped leaders around the crown.
If you want it fuller let the 5 leaders get longer, then do the 5 bud trimming from said top down length..
If you let them overwinter with the 5 buds per leader intact then Prune in spring they will do better.
Also, leaving the woody growth and heading off at same place each time they are going to set budwood.
Tons more to say. But 2 weeks is kinda long shooting for 3-5 days probably is going to be good.
I worked with one of the authors of "All about roses" by ortho books once upon a lifetime ago.

You can study or butcher.
Roses are tough but really shine when you get it right...:smokin:


Eta NorCalJalopy
Don't be surprised if you get different colors from the rootstocks that come back up...
Modern hybrids are often 2 or 3 separate stocks root, caliper and color...
 
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pdangerp said:
Ain’t nobody got time for that shit.
Click to expand...
A good idea, though.
Will add it to the wife's chore list. Win win.


Is right now not a good time of year to prune? Should I wait until fall or next spring?
 
I can’t believe this is a topic. Planted some yesterday and was about to search for this. GCC truly has everything.

Transplant shock…is sugar water a good way to help them through it?
 
0-10-10 fertilizer
Or bone meal
or
25% strength miracle gro

Time and shade for a week or two
 
Cut at a forming bud, like 1/4” away, leaving the new bud. IMG_7821.jpeg
 
Trim off deadheads up from the bottom, 4-5 buds up to promote new groups of color.
Thining and reducing in the fall winter...
 
BigBurt said:
I can’t believe this is a topic. Planted some yesterday and was about to search for this. GCC truly has everything.

Transplant shock…is sugar water a good way to help them through it?
Click to expand...
Don’t know what sugar water would do, it’s a rose plant not a hummingbird :flipoff2: Vitamin B1 or super thrive are what I’ve always seen recommended for transplant shock.

I personally think transplant shock is way overhyped, never experienced it and have planted a wannabe jungle in our backyard over the last 7 years with mangos, guavas, plumerias, roses, etc.

Take a plant or tree out of a confined pot that gets hot and dehydrated quickly, and put it in a nice big hole with good soil & proper sun exposure, and the only shock is going to be the shocking growth rate :laughing:
 
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NorCalJalopy said:
They’re stupid hardy. I had about 8 I tore out from my front yard at home. I used a chain to pull them out. Well I didn’t get all the roots and 3 are coming back. 3 would get almost no water from me all year only natural rain and they were healthy and thriving. I would cut them back to the ball or about to it and they always came back greener and more vibrant. No matter what you do it’s hard to kill them.
Click to expand...

They grow in the woods and seem to drink Roundup and laugh at the bush hog.

Those and the other spikey shirs friggin suck. Poke right through pants and of course by the time I notice I'm tits deep in a fleet of them shits.
 
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