jsh
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Are these roses helpless?

20130820_181605.jpg
I just moved into ths house last weekend. I don't know jack about roses. I really like them and thnk they are very pretty and would like to keep them around. However, I don't know what to do to make these sickly things look good. Please help. I want them to be level with the bottoms of all the windows. I can't have these as my neighbors eyesores.

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applestar
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Location: Zone 6, NJ (3/M)4/E ~ 10/M(11/B)

I don't think you can. Distance from the ground to the bottom of the window is very short, and I can't really think of any rose that would only grow that tall or that can be kept that short.... Maybe miniature roses, but even miniature roses grow quite a bit when planted in the ground.

You may want to move these when they go dormant after frost, and plan on planting something else here.

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rainbowgardener
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I agree with applestar. I have a mini rose bush that isn't even in the ground, it's in a big pot and it would be above your window sill. That's just too tiny a space for roses. If you tell us where you are located and what direction that window faces (when you are looking out of it), we could probably make a suggestion for dwarf shrubs you could use there.

The roses do look a little sickly, but we would could help more if we knew more about how they have been treated (weather, sun, fertilization, watering, any sprays, have you checked for insects, black spot, etc). Since next to a house isn't a full sun location, they should do better once moved into full sun.

imafan26
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Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

Since you just moved into this house, the roses may or may not have had much attention for a while. It does look like they would be better transplanted out to the sun. Some roses are tall growers and even landscape roses that grow only three feet tall have a spreading habit up to 5 feet.

It is better to wait till spring to transplant the roses to the new location.
https://www.heirloomroses.com/care/transplanting-roses/

Roses need to be pruned and dead headed regularly to keep them neat and blooming, but there is a proper way and time to prune. If you need help and are really interested contact your local rose society.

https://www.rose.org/pruning-roses/

jsh
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Joined: Tue Aug 20, 2013 10:57 pm

The front of the house faces South. The owner of the house has not taken care of the roses at all. In fact they didnt get watered until 3 weeks ago. He said he coukd care less about them. There are 3 others to the right of these 2 are huge and green with no roses and the other only has 2 stalks that are green and the rest are gray. Shoukd I just rip them up and plant new ones next spring and run a drip line to everyone of them?

imafan26
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Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

Roses are surprisingly hardy. Once established they only really need deep watering once a week, a bit more in summer. They are also very long lived and can live on for years. If you like the flower colors, it might be worth keeping since they were survivors. Even large roses will tolerate transplanting. They will look a lot better when they are cared for.

If you want to keep the foundation plantings below the window sill, there may be better choices. I would keep plantings at least 18-24 inches from the foundation. It makes it easier to do maintenance on the house like painting, cleaning the windows, and inspecting the foundation. Around here it is recommended not to have roots or water around the foundation within that zone because it just helps ants and termites invade the house.



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