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Tuscany superb rose

peteSpeteS Posts: 966
in Plants
I've just cut back my Tuscany Superb shrub rose back to about 18 inches, a bit late I know, but last year it grew unusually tall, to about 6 feet, and never flowered. It remained healthy, was watered, and fed once in Spring and Summer with rose fertiliser. Could anyone offer an explanation as to why it grew so madly and never flowered. Many thanks.
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Posts

  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Are you sure it wasnt a sucker?
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • MarlorenaMarlorena Posts: 8,705
    Oh dear, what a shame... Gallica roses like these should not be cut back like that... you have now lost all your rose blooms for this season... you might get one or two but they should not be treated like modern roses where you cut them back...  it flowers from shoots produced from old wood that grew last year, so if you left that 6 feet of growth, you would have masses of lovely blooms in June... now you will have few if any...

    Please leave your rose grow, and only prune it either after it has flowered, July time, or a very light trim over in Winter if the plant is too large..

    Lesson learned I hope, so best of luck for next season with your beautiful rose..
    East Anglia, England
  • peteSpeteS Posts: 966
    So all that non flowering growth it put on last year, which I've chopped back, would've produced flowers this year? Oh well, at least I'll have a nice tidy plant for when it does eventually flower. You live and learn as they say! Many thanks.
  • MarlorenaMarlorena Posts: 8,705
    Yes that's right... unless of course as B3 says above that it's a sucker.. without a picture we cannot see what you've got, so I have to assume it was your rose that grew 6 foot.. it is a tall grower..
    East Anglia, England
  • peteSpeteS Posts: 966
    What's a sucker? How can you tell?
  • MarlorenaMarlorena Posts: 8,705
    Suckers usually come up from the rootstock.. I assume your rose is grafted onto a rootstock which will be a different rose.. although Tuscany Superb can also sucker itself..  the difficulty is that the suckering shoots look quite similar so not easy to tell apart..
    ...without photos of before the pruning, and after, we can't see what you've got there..
    East Anglia, England
  • peteSpeteS Posts: 966
    I've managed to capture an image. One of the stems has it's original name label still attached, it looks old and grey now, but it must be a true stem. But it has a younger stem growing out from the side, this was one of the six foot plus stems (maybe a sucker) the rest seem to be growing directly from the the base, I know it's probably impossible to say one way or the other, but if nothing else, seeing that I've already spoiled this years blooms, I feel an opportunity to remove a stem or two wouldn't go amiss
  • MarlorenaMarlorena Posts: 8,705
    @peteS
    Thanks for the photo... no you're ok, none of those stems are suckers.... so take it on the chin, you've spoiled your rose for this year... never mind, we all make mistakes... it will grow back and you may have just enough canes there to still produce a few blooms this June... I'm not sure so wait and see on that.. 
    East Anglia, England
  • FlyDragonFlyDragon Posts: 834
    Oops, if it makes you feel better I’ve done exactly the same thing.  
  • peteSpeteS Posts: 966
    One thing I didn't mention, was the unusual nature of the growth of the said stems. Not only were they unusually taller than in previous years, all the foliage was on the top foot, and just bare stem below. There is not much competition for light, I have a rather lovely, very floriferous Gertrude Jekyll about a couple of feet away, and a number of perennials round and about, and that's it. As ever, thank you for any advice offered.
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