I pruned mine last week but would have left it later if I could but I've had foot surgery again this week so needed to get it done before I got laid up for a few weeks. After this winter there was more dead wood than usual and not a leaf on any but some good looking buds starting to swell so fingers crossed. I didn't do the ones over on the more exposed east side as they risk getting knocked back by a late frost so will ahve to take their chances with a late prune.
You definitely have to go with weather conditions and not calendars.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
Help I pruned my roses yesterday in warm sunshine and a good week of warmer weather and behold a heavy frost here today. I am mortified should I wrap them up in bandages or will loving words of encouragement be enough I always pruned them before in Autumn but all advice says Feb to get the best blooms so thought it OK What a mistake
Too late for bandages. Frost expands the cells which can lead to damage in unhealed pruning wounds and introduce die-back or disease.
Cross your fingers, feed the roses and keep an eye on them for a few weeks as any problems won't show immediately. Then, if they do look damaged at the ends, prune back to healthy outward facing buds when there is no frost forecast.
Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
"The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
I also was wondering about the pruning as my roses are shooting lots of new growth, much earlier than usual. I do them in March each year but as most stuff in the garden is ahead of itself I wondered if I should do them. They are in a south facing bed so they get lots of sunshine all day.
Each year seems different. In 2013, when this thread started, the spring was very cold. We went to Hever Castle for the rose week and there were no roses out so it was cancelled. Last spring 2014 was very mild and wet. Roses were 3 - 4 weeks earlier than 2013. This year has been quite cold, with snow, but it seems as though it will be earlier than 2013 too.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
I did mine today as they had quite a lot of new growth and they weren't well pruned last year due to my lack of knowledge. One of my climbers has stayed in full leaf all winter, it is in a sheltered spot mind.
I have pruned roses at all times during the winter months from November right through till yesterday. Unless it's a prolonged spell of really cold weather, i.e. below freezing throughout the day for days on end, which it hasn't been this year, the roses will be fine, and those I pruned back in December now have lovely fat new buds.
For the first time I have just bought 5 rose bushes which have loads of new shoots and leaves. If I plant them out side now will the frost kill them off? When is the best time to plant the outside and what is the best soil the use :}
Newbe, no the frost won't kill them roses are tough. Avoid planting if the ground is waterlogged or frozen solid. If not, a big planting hole, add well rotted manure and a handful of bonemeal. Sprinkle some rootgrow over the rootball or roots of the rose and plant with the graft 2 inches below the soil, infill, leaving a shallow depression around the rose and water in with 2 gallons of water. Water every 2 weeks if there's plenty of rain or weekly during dry weather and keep well watered throughout the summer months in the first year. You may not get the best out of them in the first year if they're bare root. Potted roses fare better in the first year.
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I pruned mine last week but would have left it later if I could but I've had foot surgery again this week so needed to get it done before I got laid up for a few weeks. After this winter there was more dead wood than usual and not a leaf on any but some good looking buds starting to swell so fingers crossed. I didn't do the ones over on the more exposed east side as they risk getting knocked back by a late frost so will ahve to take their chances with a late prune.
You definitely have to go with weather conditions and not calendars.
Thank you everyone for the replies.
I hope your foot recovers quickly Obelixx, very inconvenient time of year!
My roses are all shooting like mad now, finished pruning by end of March.
Help I pruned my roses yesterday in warm sunshine and a good week of warmer weather and behold a heavy frost here today. I am mortified should I wrap them up in bandages or will loving words of encouragement be enough I always pruned them before in Autumn but all advice says Feb to get the best blooms so thought it OK What a mistake
Too late for bandages. Frost expands the cells which can lead to damage in unhealed pruning wounds and introduce die-back or disease.
Cross your fingers, feed the roses and keep an eye on them for a few weeks as any problems won't show immediately. Then, if they do look damaged at the ends, prune back to healthy outward facing buds when there is no frost forecast.
I also was wondering about the pruning as my roses are shooting lots of new growth, much earlier than usual. I do them in March each year but as most stuff in the garden is ahead of itself I wondered if I should do them. They are in a south facing bed so they get lots of sunshine all day.
Each year seems different. In 2013, when this thread started, the spring was very cold. We went to Hever Castle for the rose week and there were no roses out so it was cancelled. Last spring 2014 was very mild and wet. Roses were 3 - 4 weeks earlier than 2013. This year has been quite cold, with snow, but it seems as though it will be earlier than 2013 too.
I have pruned roses at all times during the winter months from November right through till yesterday. Unless it's a prolonged spell of really cold weather, i.e. below freezing throughout the day for days on end, which it hasn't been this year, the roses will be fine, and those I pruned back in December now have lovely fat new buds.
03/01/16 - Help
For the first time I have just bought 5 rose bushes which have loads of new shoots and leaves. If I plant them out side now will the frost kill them off? When is the best time to plant the outside and what is the best soil the use :}
Newbe, no the frost won't kill them roses are tough. Avoid planting if the ground is waterlogged or frozen solid. If not, a big planting hole, add well rotted manure and a handful of bonemeal. Sprinkle some rootgrow over the rootball or roots of the rose and plant with the graft 2 inches below the soil, infill, leaving a shallow depression around the rose and water in with 2 gallons of water. Water every 2 weeks if there's plenty of rain or weekly during dry weather and keep well watered throughout the summer months in the first year. You may not get the best out of them in the first year if they're bare root. Potted roses fare better in the first year.