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Carol Davis, September 24, 2005 I bought two robusta rose bushes at your rose sale last year. I do not know how to take care of them. Do I cut them back in the spring or fall? Can I spray them with insect spray? They are beautiful in bloom but are very tall. I wondered if I cut them back if they would fill out more or if they fill out with age? I also have some Alexander Mckenzie Rose bushes which have done super well. Are they climbers? Am I suppose to cut them back? Can I dead head a Henry Hudson rose bush? I would really appreciate it if you could give me some advice on how to care for my rose bushes. Thank you.
Carol Davis |
| 9/25/05 Good morning, Robusta and Henry Hudson are both Rosa Rugosa hybrids. As such you need to be careful of the types of spray that you might use on them as Rugosas do not do well with some harsh sprays. . At our home we use a spray of concentrated K-Neem oil that you can purchase and mix with water since we have many bushes. If you only have a few roses there are prepared products with Neem Oil that you can buy off-the-shelf. Safer products has some of these as do others. You will need to read the label to find which products contain NEEM oil, as opposed to reading the brand name. Home Depot and Walmart , as well as local nurseries carry these products. Henry Hudson reblooms so you can dead head it to encourage rebloom. It will set hips if you do not deadhead. Stop deadheading in late August to allow the plant to begin dormanacy as it prepars for winter. Alexander McKenzie is a tall shrub but not a climber. It is a hybrid created in the Canadian Explorer program and is very hardy. You cut try cutting your Robusta back to see if they fill out. I suspect that their may be some winter kill in any event that you will need to prune in spring. All of these roses rebloom, so you you can cut them to shape if you desire. You most likely will need to prune some in spring so that is a good time. Fall pruning is not necessary unless the canes are long enough and situated where the wind will pull the roots from the soil by blowing in the wind. Hope this helps!
Jerry Cinnamon |
| 9/27/05 You made a great choice with the Robusta Roses. You never prune roses in the fall, wait till spring to do that. Robusta is a Rugosa, and most rugosas do not like to be sprayed. I almost killed a Pink Grootendorst by spraying a bush next to it and the breeze carried the spray to the Grootendorst. It died to the ground, but since it was a own root plant, it was able to send up more shoots. As for pruning them back, a Robusta is a tall shrub attaining a possible height of 5 to 7 feet at maturity. You can prune your bushes if you want shorter plants. Keep in mind, with a small plant you get a small amount of flowers compared to a plant of full size. It should force new shoots from the existing canes and from the base of the plant (these are called basal breaks). I personally would not cut the canes back too far, even just taking a couple of inches off every so often as the plant is growing in the spring will help it to become rounder and shorter if that is what you are looking for. You will most likely get winter kill to some extent, that will show you where to prune back in the spring. The more you can protect and cover of your roses, the more canes you will most likely be able to save from the winter wind. Alexander McKenzie is a tall shrub at 5-6 ft. tall. You can dead head and prune all roses up till about the middle of August. Then just leave them on the bush. You can take the petals off, but leave the hip there. By doing this you are telling the plant to start it's process for it's winter nap. Likewise you do not fertilize after the first to mid August. By fertilizing you are telling your rose to push new growth that will not be able to harden off before killing frosts. There is a chemical change inside your rose that is preparing it for winter, you want this to happen so your rose can store all of the energy in the roots that it can, not push new growth and using it's energy for that. Henry Hudson is a shrub also, and should have a height of 4' and as wide. This is not a tall bush, and I personally would not cut it back unless, as I said, you want small bushes. Perhaps what you need is low growing roses if your roses are too tall for the area you wish to grow them. There are lots of very nice low growing roses to choose from. It is wise to check the expected size of the roses you are interested in, and avoid the plants that will be too tall. This can save you a lot of grief and work in the long run. If there is anything else I can help you with, please do not hesitate to email me. Happy rose growing,
Joan Gotlibson |
