Are these plants dead (growing, Rose Bushes, pruning, growth)

[Tilt11]

http://imgur.com/jXewcwW.jpg


are these plants dead? One.is a Cytisus broom and the other a rose bush.
If they're most likely dead I want to remove them and plant something else.

[RVcook]

I'm going to say "no".

Since you will be pruning the rose stems back to green wood for the season, you will know for sure at that time. The Cytisus also looks like there is come green on it, but I would cut back one of the stems to be sure.

HTH

RVcook

[Tilt11]

Thanks. Im not much of a planter/gardener. How far back should I cut each? The Cytisus is very tall with a majority of the stems brown. I just want to cut back each plant without cutting too much.

[RVcook]

I found this for the Cytisus (since I don't know this plant) on http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/basic...shrubs1.shtml:
Cytisus

• Prune after flowering, shortening all young green growth by up to two-thirds, but avoid cutting back into the old wood.

In your case, you are concerned that it may be dead. The only way to determine that would be to select one shoot and begin pruning it back until you hit green wood -OR- scratching the base to see if there is any green wood under the bark. In either case, it will be self-evident.

Some rose bushes on the other hand (like yours) should be pruned to have the old growth removed since it encourages more budding. So using a sharp, clean pruning shears, just snip a small portion off of each branch until you hit green wood. That's it. To get your roses off to a good start, you may also want to give them a good feeding. Roses will do fine with any flowering plant food, but you can purchase special rose food if you're inclined. Just follow the feeding directions on the package.

If you didn't have any pest issues last growing season, there is probably little to fuss over, but as a preventative measure, you could use an anti-fungal spray or even a horticultural oil to help control the spread of potential disease.

I'm a fairly lazy gardener and just keeping the plant well fed, keeping the garden area reasonably free of diseased materials and some basic pruning has kept my roses looking great for several years. I also make sure they're well watered and mulched heavily before winter in our area.

I think you'll do just fine if you simply apply a common sense approach to tending them

RVcook

[kinkytoes]

They look very alive to me. Good luck OP.