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jnelson
Winter rose pruning
We bought a home and have been so busy we have neglected the rose bushes. Now winter is almost here, should I prune them back before snow? Some of the shoots are almost as tall as the house.
Hi Jnelson,
Congratulations on your new home! Unfortunately you aren't registered so we can't check your profile to see where you live. You also don't mention it and that would be helpful to be able to best advise you. A quick look at the other posts here and your answer awaited you!
https://helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=221
Any more questions, don't hesitate to ask, but do fill in your state and hardiness zone when you register so we can better help you.
Newt
Congratulations on your new home! Unfortunately you aren't registered so we can't check your profile to see where you live. You also don't mention it and that would be helpful to be able to best advise you. A quick look at the other posts here and your answer awaited you!
https://helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=221
Any more questions, don't hesitate to ask, but do fill in your state and hardiness zone when you register so we can better help you.
Newt
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The Helpful Gardener
- Mod
- Posts: 7491
- Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 9:17 pm
- Location: Colchester, CT
Hey, newbiE here,
So I read previous post really quiclky (have a test tommorrow!!)
I live in Vancouver, Canada. So I'm in zone 9/10. I havent had time to trim my roses back (not sure what type of roses they are). It's too late to trim them down to the 6 inches or so? It recently snowed here. If I do trim them, this would not be healthy for the roses?
They seem a little out of control thus wanted to trim them down.
Thanks!
So I read previous post really quiclky (have a test tommorrow!!)
I live in Vancouver, Canada. So I'm in zone 9/10. I havent had time to trim my roses back (not sure what type of roses they are). It's too late to trim them down to the 6 inches or so? It recently snowed here. If I do trim them, this would not be healthy for the roses?
They seem a little out of control thus wanted to trim them down.
Thanks!
Hi Virus,
Welcome and good luck on your test! I was looking at a hardiness zone map for Canada and I don't find any zones 9 or 10. The warmest zone I find for Canada is 8, and I suspect that is where you are. Just click on the map.
https://atlas.gc.ca/site/english/maps/environment/land/planthardi
If you aren't sure which type of rose you have I would suggest that you gently prune off the longest canes to a point where they are more in control for the winter. Rose pruning is best done in late winter before spring growth begins. If you cut back to 6" now, you risk freeze dieback which could kill the plant.
Here's how to tell which type of rose you have.
Rambler or climber:
"...Ramblers put out many long,thin, flexible, whip-like canes that can be bent, where as climbers canes are shorter, thicker and brittle and will snap easily when bent too much.Ramblers when happy can grow to 30 feet and bloom once with a mass of blooms. Climbers bloom continually but have less flowers (although more like hybrid tea shapes) and are usually around 15 feet."
Rugosa:
"Rugosa roses are from Japan and are found growing happily on seaside sandy soil. The name rugose comes from the wrinkled leaves which are unique to this rose. They are repeat blooming, fragrant and have very large hips in the autumn. The stems are dense and very thorny making them a good choice for hedges."
Modern Shrub Rose:
"Modern shrub roses are a very diverse group of roses with very little in common except that they are usually hardier than hybrid teas and floribundas and were introduced in the 20th century. Most, but not all, are repeat flowering and the shape of the blooms are usually modern. They can range from 2 feet to 6 feet and come in all the rose colours."
Generosa Roses:
"These are very full, old fashion type roses that are being created by the French firm of Guillot. Their main purpose is to bring back the beauty and strong fragrance of yesterdays roses. Some of their best known are, Martine Guillot, Claudia Cardinale and Sonia Rykiel. Some are floribundas and some are shrubs but they are all classed under the name of "Generosa"."
This should also be helpful.
https://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/roses/kinds.html
https://www.mc.edu/campus/users/nettles/rofaq/rofaq-faq.html
Pruning roses:
"There are four main steps to pruning.
1) Cut out all dead canes right to the ground
2) Cut out all diseased canes or ones damaged by rubbing against others, back to healthy wood. Healthy wood when cut looks like a green apple.
3) Remove any stems thinner than a pencil thickness as they will only produce poor blooms.
4) Prune back the canes left according to the type of rose. A general rule of thumb for most bush roses is cut back by one third."
Newt
Welcome and good luck on your test! I was looking at a hardiness zone map for Canada and I don't find any zones 9 or 10. The warmest zone I find for Canada is 8, and I suspect that is where you are. Just click on the map.
https://atlas.gc.ca/site/english/maps/environment/land/planthardi
If you aren't sure which type of rose you have I would suggest that you gently prune off the longest canes to a point where they are more in control for the winter. Rose pruning is best done in late winter before spring growth begins. If you cut back to 6" now, you risk freeze dieback which could kill the plant.
Here's how to tell which type of rose you have.
Rambler or climber:
"...Ramblers put out many long,thin, flexible, whip-like canes that can be bent, where as climbers canes are shorter, thicker and brittle and will snap easily when bent too much.Ramblers when happy can grow to 30 feet and bloom once with a mass of blooms. Climbers bloom continually but have less flowers (although more like hybrid tea shapes) and are usually around 15 feet."
Rugosa:
"Rugosa roses are from Japan and are found growing happily on seaside sandy soil. The name rugose comes from the wrinkled leaves which are unique to this rose. They are repeat blooming, fragrant and have very large hips in the autumn. The stems are dense and very thorny making them a good choice for hedges."
Modern Shrub Rose:
"Modern shrub roses are a very diverse group of roses with very little in common except that they are usually hardier than hybrid teas and floribundas and were introduced in the 20th century. Most, but not all, are repeat flowering and the shape of the blooms are usually modern. They can range from 2 feet to 6 feet and come in all the rose colours."
Generosa Roses:
"These are very full, old fashion type roses that are being created by the French firm of Guillot. Their main purpose is to bring back the beauty and strong fragrance of yesterdays roses. Some of their best known are, Martine Guillot, Claudia Cardinale and Sonia Rykiel. Some are floribundas and some are shrubs but they are all classed under the name of "Generosa"."
This should also be helpful.
https://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/roses/kinds.html
https://www.mc.edu/campus/users/nettles/rofaq/rofaq-faq.html
Pruning roses:
"There are four main steps to pruning.
1) Cut out all dead canes right to the ground
2) Cut out all diseased canes or ones damaged by rubbing against others, back to healthy wood. Healthy wood when cut looks like a green apple.
3) Remove any stems thinner than a pencil thickness as they will only produce poor blooms.
4) Prune back the canes left according to the type of rose. A general rule of thumb for most bush roses is cut back by one third."
Newt
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grandpasrose
- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 1651
- Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2005 12:21 pm
- Location: Quesnel, BC, Canada - Zone 4a
Great advice Newt, thanks! 
Welcome to the forum Virus! I have looked you up on the Canadian Hardiness map and Vancouver is Zone 6b, further to New Westminster is 7a or b, and towards Chilliwack is 8A.
I use a Canadian site that lets you zoom right in to your exact area. The address is:
https://sis.agr.gc.ca/cansis/nsdb/climate/hardiness/index.html
Good luck with your roses, and if you have any more questions, feel free to drop in!
Val
Welcome to the forum Virus! I have looked you up on the Canadian Hardiness map and Vancouver is Zone 6b, further to New Westminster is 7a or b, and towards Chilliwack is 8A.
I use a Canadian site that lets you zoom right in to your exact area. The address is:
https://sis.agr.gc.ca/cansis/nsdb/climate/hardiness/index.html
Good luck with your roses, and if you have any more questions, feel free to drop in!
Val
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grandpasrose
- Greener Thumb
- Posts: 1651
- Joined: Tue Jun 28, 2005 12:21 pm
- Location: Quesnel, BC, Canada - Zone 4a
Hi Virus! It's me again! I just thought I would note too, that there is an excellent book written by a rose breeder in the lower mainland that you would probably find quite helpful, as it is written for your type of area.
The book is "Roses for British Columbia" by Brad Jalbert and Laura Peters, Published by Lone Pine in 2003. The book is full of information that is quite specific to the unique issues of our climates in BC.
I am a fellow BC'er - in Quesnel, there are a couple of us on here. Hope you enjoy the forum!
Val
The book is "Roses for British Columbia" by Brad Jalbert and Laura Peters, Published by Lone Pine in 2003. The book is full of information that is quite specific to the unique issues of our climates in BC.
I am a fellow BC'er - in Quesnel, there are a couple of us on here. Hope you enjoy the forum!
Val