# Rose Bush Trimming



## beardizzle1 (Jun 13, 2019)

@HoosierLawnGnome I saw in your Lawn Journal something along the lines of rose trimmings? Would you care to explain how you manage your rose bushes? I have one and have no clue how to keep it looking nice. I don't do anything to it, but I'm sure I could get it turned around with a little guidance.


----------



## bernstem (Jan 16, 2018)

How you manage the rose depends a bit on what type. Assuming it is a Hybrid Tea, Grandiflora, or similar, they respond well to pruning. In the fall, you want to Prune them back to prevent wind damage. If you can, cut the canes back to 12-18 inches, remove old or dead canes, remove crossing/rubbing canes, and prune for shape. In the spring, you want to cut back anything that dies over the winter once it starts to leaf out and you can see where the living canes end. Throughout the growing season, you should deadhead as needed. You can cut back canes when deadheading to the first 5-leaf cluster. You can cut them back farther if you want.

If you have a shrub rose, then you generally want to prune less - though you can prune them just like other roses. You can even take a shrub trimmer to them in the spring like you would for a boxwood. Knockout roses are a common shrub rose.

If you know what specific rose you have (they usually have names like Chrysler Imperial, Double Delight, Distant Drums, etc.), I can give you better advice.


----------



## beardizzle1 (Jun 13, 2019)

@bernstem I know nothing about roses or flowers/plants in general. How can I identify which rose bush/plant I may have?

Also, you being in St. Louis you probably got the same hard frost I received a couple days ago here in Indianapolis. I didn't cover any plants. Most seem to be OK, but I have two butterfly bushes that look like they're wilting. Are they goners? Anything I should be doing to try to save them if so?


----------



## bernstem (Jan 16, 2018)

No frost here. Roses can tolerate a mild frost/freeze as long as they aren't just starting to leaf out. Butterlfy bushes can be more fragile, but should also be OK. It may not be its best year though depending on how much damage it took. There really isn't anything to do but wait at this point.

Take some pictures of the roses when they start blooming. Include the entire plant and the flowers and stem. I can probably get you to at least the type of rose (Hybrid Tea, English Rose, Grandiflora, Floribunda, and shrub are common types). If you post on a rose specific forum with pictures, they can probably identify the specific rose or get close.


----------



## HoosierLawnGnome (Sep 28, 2017)

@bernstem is your guy for Roses. I'm not a beginner but I'm not an expert.

I cut back the dead wood in the late winter, work compost and pest moss into the soil, then apply mulch. I put a handful of milo and starter around as well after they leaf out.

This year I put too much fertilizer out and curled the edges.

I spray with dawn solution regularly to keep rose slugs off. So far it's working pretty well.

Tonight i sprayed with a fungicide. I have to use chemicals they get black spot easily.

The trimming I referenced the other day was to shape them better. I was going to let them go crazy but changed my mind and am much happier with how it looks.

P.S.
I have some knockouts. I let them grow for a year and thereafter I trim them back to about a foot or two.


----------



## gm560 (Feb 22, 2018)

Hope its okay that i hijack this a bit. I have grown plenty of stuff but don't know much about roses. I have some knockouts and drifts, but I hardly consider them roses.... at least from what I read. Roses intimidate me. With that said I just ordered my first english climbing rose from david austin. Hoping for some advice from anyone more experienced. They wouldnt sell it to me with the normal 5 year warranty due to being outside the prime planting. I bought it anyway. Hopefully that wasnt a mistake. @bernstem Any tips on planting and caring for it knowing I am likely planting when a little warmer than optimal? Here is what I bought. Chose the bare root option which I believe is grafted on stock.

https://www.davidaustinroses.com/us/teasing-georgia-english-climbing-rose


----------



## bernstem (Jan 16, 2018)

Austin roses are very pretty. I have two Lady of Shalott climbers. Austin roses tend to be disease susceptible, though it can vary by roses and climate. Climbers like a bit more fertilizer than other roses. They also don't get pruned in the fall unless you don't want them to climb. Prune them in the spring for shape and to removed dead canes/parts of canes. They will need to be trained (tied) to a trellis/fence/hooks/etc. as they won't naturally climp up them.

The rose should be fine even planting a bit late. Just make sure it gets enough water after you put it in the ground. If it does get really hot, you can consider using shade cloth to reduce the amount of stress it takes. I have only used shade cloth in the summer so you should be fine. Roses like well prepared beds with adequate organic matter as well so if your garden needs amendments, now is the time to do it.


----------



## gm560 (Feb 22, 2018)

Thank you!


----------



## beardizzle1 (Jun 13, 2019)

@gm560 @bernstem hijacking? No way.. thanks for adding to it.. what is the orange colored rose pic? (I'm assuming it's a rose)


----------



## gm560 (Feb 22, 2018)

Thanks. That's the David Austin Lady of Shalott Rose @bernstem mentioned he had two of.

https://www.davidaustinroses.com/us/lady-of-shalott-english-climbing-rose


----------



## gm560 (Feb 22, 2018)

@bernstem any particular products you have found to manage disease for your austins? Anything in particular to look out for? I pretty much always have on hand some Serenade. Danocil, something for the veggies like neem oil, liquid copper, and then prop 14.3 for the lawn. I always like to be prepared for these things. Thanks.


----------



## bernstem (Jan 16, 2018)

gm560 said:


> @bernstem any particular products you have found to manage disease for your austins? Anything in particular to look out for? I pretty much always have on hand some Serenade. Danocil, something for the veggies like neem oil, liquid copper, and then prop 14.3 for the lawn. I always like to be prepared for these things. Thanks.


I use Tebuconazole for disease prevention. It is sold at box stores under the Bayer brand. It is a systemic and lasts for ~4 weeks depending on disease pressure. In the spring I use it every 4 weeks. In the summer, I increase to every 2. I generally don't rotate fungicides on the roses and haven't had any issues. I use Daconil ocassionally, but it is a contact fungicide and can be washed off, though the new formulations are better at sticking through rain. I still have some Triforine around, but rarely use it. It can burn and is more toxic than the newer fungicides. Azoxystrobin, Cleary's, and Propiconazole are supposedly good, but I don't have personal experience with them. Propiconazole is the same class as Tebuconazole (FRAC code 3 - DMI) so isn't suitable for rotation with Tebuconazole. I was not impressed with Myclobutanil for Black Spot even though it is also a FRAC code 3 fungicide.

Other things to do are avoiding getting water on the leaves. Keep them happy, well growing and well fed. Removed diseased leaves from the mulch and plant to prevent spread. Consider replacing the mulch if you have a bad outbreak when you start treatment. Spores con survive in the mulch and re-infect the plant.


----------



## beardizzle1 (Jun 13, 2019)

@bernstem @gm560 This is good stuff. Do you guys use anything for insects? I'm now going to be stepping up all of my flowers. Quick question though, when I'm applying RGS and MicroGreene to my lawn, I usually give my flowers/plants a shot of it. Is this OK? I figured it wouldn't hurt anything, with also realizing it's probably not the best option.


----------



## gm560 (Feb 22, 2018)

I have never had big insect problems. In the event I have seen issues I have a spray bottle of Garden Safe Insect Killer for Garden and Houseplants. I think its some sort of pyrethrin in a super low concentration.

In terms of RGS, yea thats fine. In fact kelp, humic etc were used in the garden way before people started using it on turf. Microgreene is an iron supplement, too and could be used to effectively combat iron deficiency in plants, flowers and shrubs (aka chlorosis). It usually manifests as yellowing of leaves.


----------



## bernstem (Jan 16, 2018)

I have gone back and forth between spraying for insects and not. I do have issues with rose slugs and to a lesser extent leafcutters. The problems with spraying is that it is a broad spectrum and will kill lots of insects, not just what you want. I use Bayer 3 in 1 if I do spray (I did this year). It has tau-fluvalinate which should be easier on bees than some others.

If you don't spray, the insects will likely not cause significant damage, but can make the bushes ugly. You can also use Neem oil and spray the pests off with water in the AM. If you feel really motivated, you can pick them off manually. I have too many roses to go that route.


----------

