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Pruning roses
susiejennie
Posts: 20
Very elementary to some I know - but ... I am not brave enough. I have a one year old shrub rose, Jacques Cartier and two weeks ago I trimmed it back by a third. Shall I now leave it till end Feb/early March. I live in Dorset. It is part of my 'net curtain' shielding me from the road (luckily not busy at all) and my front door so want it to be BIG. I read of someone putting a tripod structure round theirs and then just tying ihe branches in to it was supported. Help please.
0
Posts
SJ, that variety is one of the 'Portland' types, so you know which pruning method is needed if you look this up on google or in books.
Portland types are repeat flowerers and are normally pruned in late winter. Have a look at the RHS guide (scroll down the page to 'Repeat flowering shrub roses':
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=178
Many thanks Bob. Will look it up. It did well this summer so dont want to do anything wrong.
I also have a 'Compassion' climbing rose that I have neglected. It is up the wall in the front of the house and I want it down so I can smell the lovely flowers. Feel I should be drastic. Again should I cut it back a little now and then severley in March to make it sprout further down.
That one is a climbing hybrid tea rose. You can prune them hard when needed and do that over the winter. Start by cutting out any damaged or diseased bits, then cut some of the oldest stems right down to the ground and prune the remaining long ones by about a third. For more details, look under 'renovating overgrown climbers' on this RHS page:
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=189
Step back a few times during any kind of pruning to make sure the overall shape seems balanced. In general, hard pruning leads to new strong growth so don't worry too much about a good cut-back which will likely do much more good than harm.
I live in the north of the UK and have a mixed variety of roses, when should I prune them? also I have clematis growing up a fence should that also be pruned?
thank you
Shirley Robinson