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Pruning roses

Blue OnionBlue Onion Posts: 2,995
in Plants
We inherited three roses from the previous house owner.  Usually the hard winters kill them back to the roots, and they don't bloom that year.  Sometimes there is enough snow to insulate the lower parts of branches, and we get some flowers.  This year was a mild winter, so only limited die back.. and the plants are well on track for an amazing color display.. for the first time in the six years we've been here.  The problem is that all the new growth will cover the flower display.  Do I just trim it back?  Will those parts eventually flower?  

One of the flowers at the bottom has already opened, if that helps with a type ID.


The branches all above the bulk of the plant are the bits I am considering pruning back.  There is no evidence of flower buds forming on them.  Will they do a later flush of flowers?

Utah, USA.

Posts

  • FireFire Posts: 19,096
    Are they ramblers?
  • Blue OnionBlue Onion Posts: 2,995
    edited May 2018
    No idea.. there was no existing structure for them when we moved in (and no evidence of one).  They are just in a corner by the house.  
    Utah, USA.
  • MarlorenaMarlorena Posts: 8,705
    Which country are you in please?
    East Anglia, England
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    Blue Onion is in Utah, USA, Marlorena.

    Your roses are much older than mine, but mine often throw up long shoots like this - mine are David Austin shrub roses and they are well known for doing this in warmer climates - how hot do you get?  I have a few at the moment that have started blooming from below, but the long stems do produce flowers too and yours might. So far I have left them be and after the first flush has finished, prune back by half the long shoots to encourage a bushier shape. Here is a young un with the first bloom buried in the middle:


    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • MarlorenaMarlorena Posts: 8,705
    Oh ok.. well I think the rose he has might be 'Henry Kelsey' which is a Canadian bred rose, so would be popular in the States with colder winters,  supposedly hardy to zone 3,  but I'd like to see another photo with more blooms, as some of them should be a darker colour.
    An image on this link below shows what I mean.    This rose is mainly a once bloomer with little in the way of later blooms.  I might prune off those tall shoots at the front  but leave the ones at the back..

    http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=21.317361 

    http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=21.126954 

    East Anglia, England
  • Blue OnionBlue Onion Posts: 2,995
    Thanks @Marlorena.. that may be it.  A climbing shrub rose?  Does it need support, or do I just leave it to get on with it?  Like I said before, it often dies back to roots.. so it will never fill an arbor or frame.  
    Utah, USA.
  • MarlorenaMarlorena Posts: 8,705
    I think I would just leave it, but it's difficult for  me to say, I've not grown this rose and I don't know your climate.  I'm surprised it dies back, if it is that rose, I would have expected it to be cane hardy for you.  I imagine it must be own root, not grafted..

    It looks happy and doing well..   be good to see it when full flush..
    East Anglia, England
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