When I once used to word "bonzai", I got howls from posters, and cries of "tortured". Nothing like those empty winter gardens with rows of jagged rose sticks.
location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand. "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
It depends what you want from your roses, but I like to see them as large shrubs, and in the case of these particular 2, neither needs hard pruning, as they will develop their own characters and bulk out, without any help from us.. in fact I found 'TAM' to resent hard pruning and it sulked for some time and ruined the rose for me. 'Kew Gardens' grows angular at first, as you can see, but the lower parts in the centre soon catch up.
I think they look best as big bulky shrubs that rarely see the secateurs except for deadheading and some light pruning, Spring and again at midsummer. A generic style of pruning - one size fits all - doesn't always suit these types of roses in my experience..
'Kew Gardens'.. 3rd Spring, the centre has caught up with the outer parts..
..about 8 x 8 feet in this picture.. which is how I liked to see it.. minimal pruning.
'The Ancient Mariner' left to grow into a 6 x 6' shrub..
..at this size, some staking may be required if heavy rain.. but hard pruning results in a short dumpy plant..
..good luck with your roses, and do what you think is best for your purposes..
Gosh, thanks so much for your help Marlorena! Good to know that Kew Gardens starts out angular, as I was already convincing myself it was somehow a bad sign Your pictures are really helpful and highlight the roses beautifully. Have busied myself with other garden chores today so the roses have won a reprieve! What a wonderful forum this is, especially for novices like myself. Happy gardening everyone
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When I once used to word "bonzai", I got howls from posters, and cries of "tortured". Nothing like those empty winter gardens with rows of jagged rose sticks.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
Your pictures are really helpful and highlight the roses beautifully. Have busied myself with other garden chores today so the roses have won a reprieve! What a wonderful forum this is, especially for novices like myself. Happy gardening everyone