Hi,
This rose bush is on my condo property, and I am looking for ways to keep busy while quaranteened.

Can someone tell me what this is, and also suggestions on pruning to make it look less scraggly and get more flowers.

I am in Charleston, SC, and it is quite warm here already

Thank You!

Maureen

I'm going to assume that you're not very familiar with roses in general. Please forgive me if that's incorrect, but I'm doing so based on how your question was written, and because I can't find any other posts you've written here. So if I'm over-explaining something, keep in mind that I'm just trying to be sure I'm being clear.

:-)

OK, so looking at the pic, I already see some dead twiggy ends. You'll probably recognize that they should go. But look at that as a sign, and instead of just snipping it off, get down on the ground and look at it. Trace a dead twiggy end down the stem until you see what looks like a "replacement" shoot. There will be an intermediate zone between the dead and the replacement, and in that intermediate zone, the stem will look "wimpy" or "worn-out" in comparison to the replacement. You may see multiple shoots at each growth point -- normally, only the central shoot should be growing, and if you see two or three, it means that something went wrong, and the central bud was no longer able to keep the two side buds asleep.

Basically, for whatever reason -- damage, disease, etc. -- the stem leading to the dead twiggy ends was on its way out, and being on the way out, was no longer able to keep quiet a bud lower down, which awoke and became that replacement cane. You'll notice that the replacement is taut, or "inflated" in appearance, compared to the "on its way out" segment above it. You'll notice that it's the only shoot at that point -- you won't see two or three coming out there. It'll seem "further along" than shoots immediately above it. Get familiar with those signs, because I'm pretty sure you'll find them in abundance as you work your way through the rose. Now, beginning from the base at the ground, trace stems upward until you get to a strong new replacement shoot. Look at what's above it, and if it matches what you saw before that led to the dead and scraggly ends, make your cut. Start there -- remove all those "on its way out" stems by cutting just a half inch or so above that strong new replacement shoot. This should remove a log of scraggly bulk by repeating one basic step throughout the rose.

Once that's all done, look at what's left. You'll notice that new shoots grow in the direction they're pointing from the stem. If you cut back anything else after removing the "on its way out" stuff, do it so that the top shoot is pointing away from the center of the plant, and try to avoid having two nearby stems be cut back so that their shoots will grow into each other, or cross and rub. Repeat through the plant.

Now, you're basically done. Just go over to make sure you didn't miss any dead nubs at the base of the plant, clear any weeds that might have taken residence at the crown, and neaten up the mulch again.

Good luck!

:-)

~Christopher

Thank you Christopher for your very detailed explanation. I am going to print out your "roadmap" and take it with me outside tomorrow. Just one more (ignorant) question....I have a few roses, so I was wondering if this is an okay time of year to do this pruning, or I have to wait until some time later?
Stay safe and I'll let you know how this experiment turns out!
Maureen

The old adage is to prune roses when the forsythia blooms. Since it's been at full bloom for a couple of weeks here, I'd assume that where you are, it was doing the same a month ago. We had a mild Winter and early warm-up, which typically has people afraid to get started early, in case there's a late freeze. Well, it's April now, and I think that chance has passed. But keep in mind that's the EARLIEST to prune (well, for most modern roses.....many old roses and species can be pruned earlier because they simply WON'T wake up early from pruning). You can get to it a little later -- all you'll do is delay the first flush a bit.

BTW, what I suggested in my first reply is actually how I attack basically any rose when I set down to prune. It all begins with removing the stuff that's one of the four Ds -- Dead, Dying, Diseased, or Damaged. It's just that under "Dying" I include stuff that's still alive, but clearly on its way to being replaced by a newer shoot lower down. I find that by approaching pruning this way, I end up much how "the books" say you should finish, but "the books" didn't explain WHY certain canes were removed and others were kept.

So when I prune a Hybrid Tea, I find that there's typically so much damage and disease after Winter that all I have left are the three or so strong canes -- that the books say is what you want to have -- and then I cut them down to an outward-facing bud eye. When I prune a shrub, there's typically less damage and more vigor than on Hybrid Teas, so I end up with more canes that are also longer.....and again prune to outward-facing bud eyes. I've also come to find that, usually, when you see crossing canes, at least one of them is already on its way out. It's as though the rose is no longer getting a strong signal that there's something there, and so sends something new to replace it -- even though the older bit is still there.

With climbers and ramblers, same thing -- after untying them, if possible. The extra point there is that I shorten flowering side shoots to about eight to ten inches first, to make things less chaotic, and snip ends of growth shoots (from which flowering shoots emerge) so that nothing is thinner than a pencil. What I have left is then tied back up how I want, and I snip laterals again to leave the last bud facing where I want. That's why I leave them a little bit longer before tying back up -- I don't know if I'll have to snip again in case the bud is not pointing where I want.

One last bit of advice -- when you set down to prune, begin from the bottom. I suggested seeing the dead bits and tracing them down to you so you can get a feel for what's on its way out and what's the replacement. But before you make any cut, clear the crown, and start from the base -- anything dead or damaged or diseased lower down will not result in something healthy and strong above. If you're concerned about taking too much, or that the rose will "heal" the diseased/damaged/dying parts, don't worry. There will be a replacement. And when you start from the bottom and see a strong new shoot emerging from low on an existing cane, you'll be able to see how the new part is much nicer than what is above it -- and how what's above it is likely getting in the way of other new growth. That's how you learn what to remove.

:-)

~Christopher

Excellent tutorial on rose pruning. Thank you, Christopher.

Thank you again Christopher,

You have given me a lot of confidence to get started with this, and I have the comfort that no matter what I do, it can't be much worse than what is there now. So, tomorrow is the day for getting down low and starting to snip, snip, snip!

Be well,
Maureen

Great tutorial Christopher! Thank you! I am going to cut and paste this to a word document so I have it for future reference next year.

I agree with MBN that your posts are an excellent tutorial even for experienced rosarians, Christopher, @AquaEyes.

I hope you have time to add how Maureen might identify a Dr. Huey sucker to this tutorial because I thought I saw a couple of reddish blooms in her photo.

@Mustbnuts ... if you click on the little icon next to the acorn on a post, it will be saved to your profile and it's easy to look up posts you have saved for reference.

Thanks Lyn for the great advice! I never knew what that little thing that looks like the back of a phone was for!

Great job Christopher!

Maureen, my guess, because it's a condo landscaping job and seems to be growing low and horizontally, is that your rose is one of the ground cover type roses. There are several families of those like Drift roses, Flower Carpet roses, etc. Or possibly one of the Knock Out roses. In any case they would fall into the shrub category. Those are easy to prune and care for (I know people who have actually used electric hedge trimmers with good results). Which is why landscapers use them. Don't be afraid to prune. You can't really kill any rose by pruning it. They ALWAYS grow back, lol! And sometimes better than ever!