@PeterAberdeen Hi Peter.. yes as cooldoc said, usually we cover the graft so it's about an inch below soil, or at soil level, but you can still find advice to the contrary, and to plant above.. in the UK climate, and against a wall with support, it's not an issue really. If you were in Canada, I'd advise differently.. .. The other 2 are fine, it's just the first one is a bit exposed but as I said, this is nothing to worry about, and some types of roses are best planted with the graft above soil level like you have there, but this is not one of those..
You may find you get the odd sucker on that one due to the exposure, but you will see that and just rip it out. It may not happen but graft exposure can encourage suckering.. .. just one of those things.. but your roses came from TCL and therefore we cannot be sure what rootstock they're on.. some are more prone than others.
All well and good, topping up with soil or mulch later..
@zugenie Ok, just going over your pics, other members might have advice on these too, but here's mine..
1. City of York.. all ok, I might defoliate those old leaves but you don't have to .. 2. V di B.. I see you have an obelisk.. I would try to bend that tall cane a little more around the support.. as you can see new buds breaking further down.. the more you bend it the more you'll get, being careful not to snap it off.. 3. Blue Moon.. sorry, that needs a very hard prune, the kick up the backside bit.. but you may not want to do this. If mine I'd be cutting those stems down to about 4 inches in early March.. 4. Mary Delany.. just snip off some bits of dead wood, otherwise ok.. 5. BMS.. that's a shame.. you might get a replacement for that if you send those pics to DA under 5 year guarantee.. I've never found them to quibble..
Personal opinion is, yes. I hard pruned Lady EH last year and it remained within a feet. Which is quite small for a shrub rose. So this year, I am planning to just clear off some dead bits and crossing stems if any.
I am going to leave my Summer Song roses without pruning. May be remove some very thin and dead bits. I had pruned it hard last year after flowering in the hope it will branch or throw some basal cane but then it didnt put any growth after that. Anyway it is known for not growing well so even group of three isnt looking like much there.
@cooldoc I don’t think it was waterlogged, soil looks very wet now but that’s because we had a lot of rain recently, it never really took off and I was pretty sure it was dead by the end of the summer but I figured I’d wait and see if it showed signs of life in the spring!
@Marlorena thank you, I was thinking I will defoliate city of york as it does have some blackspot. I’ll try bending the vdb cane and tying it into the obelisk! Ok hard prune it is for blue moon!! I think I’ll give DA an email, it’s a shame to lose it as I have a place for it in the front garden this year. If they won’t replace it I think I’ll get a different yellowy orange rose as I wasn’t overly impressed with bms!
I bought a weeping standard from Styles last winter and they pretty much say "trim lightly only, check for dieback, prune to shape" @Nollie
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That was my instinct WAMS, a light hand with new weeping standards to give them a chance to grow those long canes first, so glad to hear Styles saying the same. I since found this article, mostly an advert for their rose stand, but with similar pruning advice at the end:
@Tack Your Strawberry Hill has come on leaps and bounds, surprised so many leaves are still left.. bit of a pain defoliating that.. going to look great this summer I should think..
@zugenie OK, I just did this, if you want to do something similar, you can leave until late Feb/early March..
This is a similar rose to your Blue Moon and I've pruned it back to within an inch of its life.. in March I will sprinkle with fertilizer then thick compost mulch around the base 2 or 3 inches thick.. any cheap Multi Purpose will do for this.. if you can, consider the same treatment for your rose, but that's up to you.. if using manure, keep off the stems..
If you want a different yellow/orange rose I recommend 'Golden Beauty'.. have a look at that one..
Weighing in on grafts, for most roses it’s always better to bury them an inch or two if you can. Helps firmly anchor the rose, prevents wind rock and suckers from the rootstock and encourages the development of vigorous basal canes. For climbers, more basals means more new canes to train along your wires 😊
@zugenie it does look as if your City of York is hauling itself out the ground there and would benefit from a mulch of compost to cover the exposed root. I do hope your BMS recovers.
@cooldoc Marechal Niel is somewhat tender and prefers a warm, sheltered spot and a dry climate, since it can ball. There is a lady on Crete that has a fabulous specimen I always admired, but I resisted getting it. I did try the not dissimilar Duchesse d’Auerstädt but that also proved too tender for my winters, sadly.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
Been out all morning cutting back plants before I started on the roses. All the verbina bonariensis cut back, three big clumps of it, and other things, so now have a clear picture of my white climber the next one to do. I noticed just how much budding has appeared on all the roses, even though its been -5 here most nights. I think I will have to speed up on their trims, as I usually leave it till late February . I keep hearing you say to defoliate the roses, is this just a hygiene thing, or does it help with new growth?
@Marlorena I wish you hadn't said only five weeks till spring, now my fingers are itching to get into my seeds, still a bit early for me but ....
@purplerallim I thought I'd given up seeds but you remind me to order a few. I'll have a look at Chiltern's..
Defoliating roses is regarded as good practice if possible. The leaves will turn manky in Spring and make the plant unsightly when new growth appears.. hygiene reasons too, and it also gives the rose a bit of a rest.. but if it's too big to reach, and winter hasn't done the job, then best left to its own devices..
Posts
Hi Peter.. yes as cooldoc said, usually we cover the graft so it's about an inch below soil, or at soil level, but you can still find advice to the contrary, and to plant above.. in the UK climate, and against a wall with support, it's not an issue really. If you were in Canada, I'd advise differently..
.. The other 2 are fine, it's just the first one is a bit exposed but as I said, this is nothing to worry about, and some types of roses are best planted with the graft above soil level like you have there, but this is not one of those..
You may find you get the odd sucker on that one due to the exposure, but you will see that and just rip it out. It may not happen but graft exposure can encourage suckering..
.. just one of those things.. but your roses came from TCL and therefore we cannot be sure what rootstock they're on.. some are more prone than others.
All well and good, topping up with soil or mulch later..
Ok, just going over your pics, other members might have advice on these too, but here's mine..
1. City of York.. all ok, I might defoliate those old leaves but you don't have to ..
2. V di B.. I see you have an obelisk.. I would try to bend that tall cane a little more around the support.. as you can see new buds breaking further down.. the more you bend it the more you'll get, being careful not to snap it off..
3. Blue Moon.. sorry, that needs a very hard prune, the kick up the backside bit.. but you may not want to do this. If mine I'd be cutting those stems down to about 4 inches in early March..
4. Mary Delany.. just snip off some bits of dead wood, otherwise ok..
5. BMS.. that's a shame.. you might get a replacement for that if you send those pics to DA under 5 year guarantee.. I've never found them to quibble..
I am going to leave my Summer Song roses without pruning. May be remove some very thin and dead bits. I had pruned it hard last year after flowering in the hope it will branch or throw some basal cane but then it didnt put any growth after that. Anyway it is known for not growing well so even group of three isnt looking like much there.
https://www.classic-garden-elements.co.uk/tips-on-weeping-standard-roses-2/
Your Strawberry Hill has come on leaps and bounds, surprised so many leaves are still left.. bit of a pain defoliating that.. going to look great this summer I should think..
OK, I just did this, if you want to do something similar, you can leave until late Feb/early March..
This is a similar rose to your Blue Moon and I've pruned it back to within an inch of its life.. in March I will sprinkle with fertilizer then thick compost mulch around the base 2 or 3 inches thick.. any cheap Multi Purpose will do for this.. if you can, consider the same treatment for your rose, but that's up to you.. if using manure, keep off the stems..
If you want a different yellow/orange rose I recommend 'Golden Beauty'.. have a look at that one..
@zugenie it does look as if your City of York is hauling itself out the ground there and would benefit from a mulch of compost to cover the exposed root. I do hope your BMS recovers.
@cooldoc Marechal Niel is somewhat tender and prefers a warm, sheltered spot and a dry climate, since it can ball. There is a lady on Crete that has a fabulous specimen I always admired, but I resisted getting it. I did try the not dissimilar Duchesse d’Auerstädt but that also proved too tender for my winters, sadly.
I keep hearing you say to defoliate the roses, is this just a hygiene thing, or does it help with new growth?
@Marlorena I wish you hadn't said only five weeks till spring, now my fingers are itching to get into my seeds, still a bit early for me but ....
I thought I'd given up seeds but you remind me to order a few. I'll have a look at Chiltern's..
Defoliating roses is regarded as good practice if possible. The leaves will turn manky in Spring and make the plant unsightly when new growth appears.. hygiene reasons too, and it also gives the rose a bit of a rest.. but if it's too big to reach, and winter hasn't done the job, then best left to its own devices..