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Over loaded rose
Guernsey Donkey2
Posts: 6,713
in Plants
We bought a new rose shrub and planted it April - called Ruby. It looks so healthy, but is overloaded with buds, which are far too heavy for the stems. I have removed about one third of the buds but there are still too many. The rose is planted in a big tub in peat and manure.
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Young roses sometimes have thin stems that take a year or two to stiffen up. Other roses are meant to be more informal in appearance, and the branches are supposed to bend a little. Do you have any idea how yours should be?
There's no need to remove buds unless you think the branch is going to break or be damaged; if you do have to, take the whole bunch of buds off back to a leaf junction. If you remove just a few buds from a group, you'll channel the energy into the remaining ones and probably make the flowers even larger.
Rather than cutting off buds, have you considered constructing a temporary frame around your rose to stop it splaying out and offer some support?
A final point is that if you have planted te rose in a mixture of a fibrous compost and well-rotted manure, you might want to think about changing that next spring - roses are better inb a heavier compost such as a mixture of John Innes 2 or 3 and a fibrous compost if you intend keeping them in a tub for long.
Thanks Alina, your first sentence put me at ease, I must admit I am not sure whether this Ruby rose should be loaded with buds that flop slightly. I have already nipped a few buds off, but will stop fiddling with it and see what happens during the rest of the year.
I have another rose which was given to me last Christmas - the pot was stuffed full of shoots which I planted it out in the flower bed. The foliage is good but the roses are far too big for the stems and the stems have subsequently arched right over so that the rose heads are touching the soil. It is a mess.
Thank you again for your constructive advice.
I think the problem is the planting medium which sounds too rich and will encourage soft, sappy growth The best medium for roses in pots is a John Innes no 3. You'll need to top dress every spring with some fresh compost mixed will pelleted chicken manure or blood, fish and bone and give liquid tonics of tomato feed from March through to June.
I will take your advice along with Alina, Obelixx thanks. We had one miniature rose with 54 flower heads the first year - this has dropped down to 30+ flowers this year - still plenty for such a small rose - I changed from cow to horse manure a year ago - it certainly seems to be making a difference - but perhaps too much as you have suggested.