ITS A GOOD TIME TO PRUNE YOUR ROSES

Discussion in 'Roses' started by wiseowl, Jul 8, 2023.

  1. wiseowl

    wiseowl Admin Staff Member

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    Good afternoon @Perki my friend I always say that in the garden rules are meant to guide you and not to bind you especially with Roses but I still make a cut at a 45-degree angle about 1/4 inch above the bud, slanting away from the bud and I still teach my students that an angled cut allows water to run off, rather than collecting in the cut end of the stem, which can encourage the spread of disease.I guess it was the way that the then head Gardener taught us (and you didn't go against him) ;)but I could add that in the mid 1960's in Greenwich Park Rose gardens we did in fact experiment one year I remember we completely pruned one Rose bed with a chainsaw at the same level all over and it hardly made any difference that year with the flowers :smile:
     
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    • ClematisDbee

      ClematisDbee Gardener

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      Thankyou very much, @wiseowl . I am wondering if it is safe to keep cut back foliage in, say, double-bagged strong rubbish sacks, tightly knitted, in order to compost down in a corner of the garden, mainly in order to save space when disposing.

      Or, could potential spores infect the garden somehow in this situation, assuming the bag doesn't become punctured.

      Thanks in advance!
       
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      • Busy-Lizzie

        Busy-Lizzie Total Gardener

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        I put rose prunings in the garden bin but if it's full I put them in garden rubbish bags in the small shed (big shed for tools, small shed for rubbish) until the next bin collection.
         
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        • wiseowl

          wiseowl Admin Staff Member

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          Good afternoon @ClematisDbee you do realise that this thread and the advice appertains to the months of Jan/Feb/and March at the latest this is not hard and fast advice its just the time of the year that I prune my Roses I personally never put my Rose pruning's on my compost heap its just a personal thing , and as you say they could be carrying spores , but the answer to your most relevant question is in my opinnion is yes it would be safe but it could take 6 /12 months to compost,if there is anything else I can help you with please don;t hesitate to ask,enjoy the rest of your day:smile:
           
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          • Allotment Boy

            Allotment Boy Lifelong Allotmenteer

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            Yes as mentioned above, these are not hard and fast rules. When I did the RHS level 11 course at Capel Manor, our lecturer (who also taught level 111 at two other sites) said he noted at Regent's park they began pruning in November and went right through to the end of March. Speaking to the head gardener there he said that they had so many to do they didn't have time for the traditional "cut one third in Autumn to avoid wind rock, then again in winter." Even with the floribunda Roses if it was a frost free day, they cut them right down in one go. Anyone who has seen the rose beds at Regent's Park will tell you how magnificent they are.
             
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            • Butterfly6

              Butterfly6 Gardener

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              I always chop up the prunings and put them straight on the compost. I gave up worrying about blackspot, rust etc some years ago after spending several years been ultra careful and tidying up any dropped, infected leaves and so on. It didn’t seem to make much difference. I did get rid of a couple of inherited roses which seemed to be particularly susceptible.
              In my experience since then, blackspot comes and go from one year to the next, sometimes there’s a lot, sometimes hardly any
               
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              • wiseowl

                wiseowl Admin Staff Member

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                Good afternoon @Allotment Boy when I was at Greenwich park Rose garden we experimented one year we pruned one bed of roses with a chainsaw all the same height it really didn't make much difference in the Spring:smile:
                 
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                • Allotment Boy

                  Allotment Boy Lifelong Allotmenteer

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                  @wiseowl , yes I believe they tried a similar thing at the garden of the Rose in Hertfordshire ( closed some time ago now). I'm not certain but I think there was a decline after two or three seasons though. Did you repeat your experiment or was it just a one off?
                   
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                  • ClematisDbee

                    ClematisDbee Gardener

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                    Thankyou @wiseowl, for your reply. Yes, I do my main rose pruning in late winter, but I have now got into a regime of cutting back older, leaves in early autumn, once all the flowers have finished - which they have. I have also cut back any dead canes at this time, but not healthy canes, leaving that for late winter.

                    I have previously composted the leaves and canes in an open heap, but I became a bit concerned about spores, especially with the rainy year most of us have had. There is a damp sense to my garden this year, which has built up quite a bit.

                    I don't seem to bother worrying about other leaves, but a lot of my shrub roses died off over last winter, and I feel a bit cautious.


                    My older climbing rose seems ok without much intervention, but the shrub roses give me more worry.

                    Thankyou for your guidance on composting times too.
                     
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                    • ClematisDbee

                      ClematisDbee Gardener

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                      Interesting replies, thankyou all. Has anyone had a bad blackspot year recently? Or should that be another thread?!
                       
                    • wiseowl

                      wiseowl Admin Staff Member

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                      Its alright here as you started the thread carry on :smile:

                      This year its been alright at the Cathedral gardens mostly (Chinatown)but at the local surgery it has been bad all different varieties :smile:

                      It was just a one off the powers to be didn't approve:smile:
                       
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                      • Butterfly6

                        Butterfly6 Gardener

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                        We have had hardly any blackspot this year
                         
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                        • lizzie27

                          lizzie27 Super Gardener

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                          we've had blackspot on nearly all our roses this year.
                           
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                          • Meomye

                            Meomye Gardener

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                            Hi @wiseowl, thank you for your interesting information on pruning roses. May I just clarify, that the information regarding starting pruning next month, included Floribundas? (which I tend to have most of) thank you.
                             
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                            • ClematisDbee

                              ClematisDbee Gardener

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                              Hello @Meomye, I am pruning off old leaves and buds and diseased canes, in order to reduce fungal foliage infections through the damp autumn. I do my main pruning in February or March. Hope that helps?
                               
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