Oh My Sue! Those are wonderful photos. You can tell they are well maintained in order to produce those beauties.

Yippeee! Brass Band is alive! Gorgeous photos, Sue.

Wow.. Brass Band never looks that good here.. I've seen it a couple of times and it's always more apricoty colored than that warm salmony color. Does it smell spicy? It looks like it would...

Question. I transplanted a rose about 3 hrs. ago. and the newly developed leaf tips on one of the canes is drooping. I am reading now that I should have pruned the rose bush first - which I did not do. Do you think it's alright now to prune it after it has been replanted? Or leave it alone? Thanks for your expertise.

Not sure what the real question is, would it make any difference in pruning three hours later? I don't think so.
Would it have made a difference to have pruned it several days before moving it? Maybe.
Will it survive if you don't prune it ? Probably
Will it survive if you do prune it? Probably

If my understanding of botany is correct, the purpose of pruning before transplanting is to reduce the number of leaves involved in transpiration, because disruption of the root mass allows for less water uptake. So by all means you should prune the plant, even if it's after you've transplanted it.

It is also important to deeply water a rose a few days before digging it up and transplanting it. That way it has plenty of moisture in its main canes to survive the disrupted intake of moisture while it settles into its new hole.

To clarify: I was not sure to prune or not to prune. There are a lot of misconceptions/myths floating around. You can't believe everything you read. Mike, thanks for the explanation. I always like to know "why".

Transpiration is the most quoted reason for the pruning, don't really think it would matter too much if done right before or right after moving the plant. For me the main reason normally for pruning before moving is just to make the plant easier to handle and keep the wind from blowing it around before it gets settled in good.

Mike,

Your advice about hydrating a plant well before transplanting is right on, in my experience because it is an effective way to compensate for the fact that the root system of newly transplanted rose is not fully efficient.

Margie, I am fairly certain you are growing roses in a colder zone than mine, but maybe not.

To prune or not to prune should be based upon the botany of the plant, what kind of rose you are transplanting and the weather conditions at the time of transplant in your garden.

Re: botany.... No matter how careful you may have been in keeping the root mass together to move the rose from one place to another, you will break of a lot, if not most of the feeder roots that function to transfer moisture and nutrients up to the top growth.

* The rose needs to re-grow those roots for the root system to work efficiently.
* A rose will abandon any growth that it cannot support, the top growth.
* Roses grow their roots first before they send moisture or nutrients to the top growth.

Since it is most likely, that the rose will not support the top growth well since its root system is not fully functioning, pruning the rose is just going along with what the plant will support naturally, but that depends on where you are growing your rose, the class of rose you are transplanting and more.

Re: Kind of rose you are planting ... if you are planting a rose that normally slows down at this time of year, it will abandon the top growth more quickly. For example, if your rose naturally goes deciduous during its dormant period, it is already slowing down the transfer of nutrients and moisture to the top growth.

Re: Weather conditions at the time of transplant .... There are two botanical triggers that slow down the support of top growth of all roses, deciduous or modern evergreen, which are the length of daylight available for photosynthesis and temperature. Photosynthesis in roses slows down at about 70F. When the plant slows down due to these triggers all cellular activity slows down within the plant, especially in the top growth of the rose. Studies have shown that roses will continue to grow roots at temps of -15F. Since roses grow their roots first the slow down of cellular activity does not adversely impact the growth of new feeder roots significantly unless the soil is frozen.

Modern roses never go fully dormant and store their nutrients in their canes. They will pull those nutrients down to the root system during the colder season. That is the theory behind not pruning modern roses in fall. However, they are more vulnerable to die back in colder climates and may not be able to provide the nutrients necessary to keep the rose alive during cold winters because, in a sense, they do not know how to go dormant.

OGRs, the albas, damask, many species roses, etc., on the other hand, know how to go dormant and pull all of their nutrients into the root system. Again, it depends on the botany of the plant.

I hope this helps answer your question.

Smiles,
Lyn

My newly planted Bonica (Meidiland) isn't a large shrub to date. It had to be relocated because it was getting smothered by adjacent plants (too shady and no air circulation). I sprayed it a few days ago with Oxidate to rid it of BS. Believe it not, this was the first time I ever had to transplant a rose. Thank you for guidance.

Lyn, I rained pretty good a couple days ago, therefore the soil was moist to begin with. As far as the temperature is concerned it dropped considerable in the last week between 55 and 70 degrees. The weeks prior were hot and extremely humid. I was out working with 3 hoses the entire summer - my water bill was twice as high this summer. I noticed when the temps dropped all the roses Hybrid teas, Floribundas, grandflorias , climbers and shrubs generated new growth. I think they were waiting for a break in the weather.

Margie ....

The same is true in my garden, but my temps dropped from the triple digits to low 90s. This week they are moving into the 80s for a few days. I am living in an area where we are in the third year of extreme drought, so even tho' I've watered, the roses look stressed.

Your rose should be fine, but I really don't know your climate, so I am just talking off the top of my head. You asked about the "why" of something and I felt comfortable passing along as much information that I could pull out of my tired brain today.

Bonica is a strong rose. The seed parent contains essentially three species roses. The pollen parent has a lot of modern roses mostly dating around the 1950s with a few older "modern roses". I doubt if it will go fully dormant, but I think your temps are warm enough for now not to set it back while it settles into its new location.

Do you have die back in your garden ?

Smiles,
Lyn

I recall seeing die back to what I believe may have been caused by winter frost??? And I have a old Blaze climber (out of control) that I pruned last year apparently incorrectly. I watched a video last night (Zimmerman) that showed the correct way to prune a climber. I learned to cut the laterals not the end of the canes. I learned that i have to train the canes horizontal, not allow them to grow straight up. To make a long story short, I bought some of my roses when I first move here about 18 yrs. ago. Then went back to work. Now I am retired and I am trying to straighten everything out. I did purchase new roses last year and ordered a few this year. I am eager to learn. Thanks for your time.

Margie ...

Where are you gardening ? I was assuming you are in New York because of your user name.

What zone are you gardening in is the real question. You will probably get more specific information if you can give a little more info about your location.

Smiles,
Lyn

I live on the northeastern shores of Long Island. According to the map I am zone 7. I am about 6 blocks from the Long Island Sound. I can see Conn. from here.

http://www.mapquest.com/us/ny/...


http://www.nybg.org/gardens/ro...
Many of the roses I have chosen are based on this list

"The Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden is being transformed into one of the most disease-resistant gardens of its kind. Roses have a reputation for being disease prone and difficult to grow. Over the past 20 years, rose hybridizers around the world bred and selected roses for disease resistance. Since 2009, high-maintenance roses in the Rose Garden have been replaced with more than 3,500 new, hardy roses, chosen for disease resistance, long flowering time, and easy care. In 2010 the Botanical Garden received the Rose Garden Hall of Fame Award from Great Rosarians of the WorldTM and the Most Outstanding Public Rose Garden Award from All-America Rose Selections. In 2012 the Rose Garden received the World Federation of Rose Societies Award of Excellence, which recognizes it as one of the world’s best rose gardens."

Margie ...

Although I have not visited the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden, I am very familiar with the people involved in the selection of the roses used to replant the garden with roses that do not require a lot of TLC in that climate and the how and why a given rose was selected for the Garden.

In zone 7 with the marine influence, you are actually gardening in a rose friendly environment as far as cold hardiness is concerned. That was the information I was seeking. That tells me you have enough time for the rose to settle in and get its root system established before the coldest part of the year.

The rose will probably put on some new foliage once the root system is working, but creating that new foliage will use up more of the stored nutrients in the canes than the new leaves will be able to provide to the plant through photosynthesis. Oh, well.

I don't think the rose will have any long term problems as long as you keep it moist and don't allow the canes to dry out. The top growth may look lousy at this time of year compared to your other roses simply because the plant is busy growing roots.

My preference is to remove very little wood from modern roses in the fall. There is always someone else who will tell you to cut it back because then the plant will have less top growth to support. Since I can't really see the plant ... even in photos ... I can't get a feel for it. I am certain you can and will let the rose tell you what it wants to keep.

It seems like you know what you need to do, but just came across something you had not experienced in the past.

Smiles,
Lyn

Ooops ... spelled Margie's name wrong. Had to fix that one.

It's raining !

Not a heavy rain. It's just a consistent rain. All of my plants are getting washed with pure, untreated water. It's enough to wet all of the needles of the fir tree and the junipers.

It's a small storm and will be gone within a day and temps will be back up to the low 90s by Friday, but it's raining !

The smell of the damp soil and wet grass is totally intoxicating.

I need to go to bed, but I find myself going outside to the patio to hear the rain and smell the damp garden. Such bliss. How can I even think of going to bed ?

It's raining.

Smiles,
Lyn

Rain! No thing like it. Rejoice!

Ah, RAIN! I'm enjoying imagining your rain, Lyn. We have an 80% chance of rain on Saturday, the day of our biggest crafts fair. I'll take it! Starting my rain dance today with enthusiasm. Come on, Odile!

Hey I have a serious question. I need to move 3 roses because they have grown too large for their location. Is now the best time? We'll have temps in the 80s for the next 3 or 4 weeks, most likely. We won't have hard freezes until December or January. I'll post a photo using my phone in a minute.
The largest one is Zephirine, and I don't know where I'll move her to.
The others are Cinderella Fairy Tale and Carmella Fairy Tale.

Zephirine


Overgrown and shaded Cinderella and Carmella Fairy Tale roses



Could the Fairy Tales be cut way back instead of moving them? I would like to keep them under 30".