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Two rose bushes were nearly pulled because they were uncovered in an area full of thistle bushes and scruffy scrub bushes. An awesome treasure although I dont know anything much about them.
After removing a holly tree and a ton of scrub bushes, the two rose bushes were nothing more than a single waist-high stick/stem. That was 2 weeks ago, and today they have grown to about 5.5-6 ft tall with several branches and have sprouted several leafy areas. They're gorgeous even without any flowers.
Never having owned roses before, I'm not really sure how to care for them. I think I'm supposed to cut them down quite a bit in the fall (which will be hard to do considering they have flourished since I've removed all the debris around them, but I'm sure its for their betterment).
go to the library and get a copy of Ortho's book on roses, it tells all in easy to understand reading no fancy hort language..where are you located that will help in pruning, also feed them so fish meal mine love it..
good luck with your treasures
Location: 23.7 million to 162 million miles North of Venus
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The rose bushes have gone wild. They may remain spindly and will probably produce few flowers, if any, unless you can tame them. It will take some time but it will be worth it if you love rose bushes.
I had a couple bushes, years ago, that I'd planted in an area that I later turned into pasture. I let the bushes go and after a few years and they looked just like what you had described. I ended up giving them to a friend who was a rose enthusiast. After a couple years they really started looking good again. After several years they looked fabulous.
I don't know exactly how she worked with them, her only comments were that it took a different pruning method over how she pruned her other bushes. So I cannot tell you what you need to do. You might Google about pruning rose bushes gone wild or you could speak to someone at a garden center (a real garden center, not Lowes, Home Depot, etc).
They will be worth it and you will end up with bushes that you can be far prouder of over any other plant that you buy.
Thanks for the excellent information. Is there any distinct way to know if these are early or late bloomers, and if they are climbers or not (is there anything I can go examine on them now to know these answers?) Thanks
Location: 23.7 million to 162 million miles North of Venus
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Without flowers it makes it harder, but you can probably narrow it down by the canes, ie, hybrid teas usually have very stiff canes that tend to grow upright and floribundas have canes that are thinner and more of them.
You might do a Google search for the terms - types of rose bushes - and for - types of rose plants. I found a generalized overview of the differences using those search terms http://www.life123.com/home-garden/f...ushes.p2.shtml
When my rose bushes went wild, they grew long spindly canes and what flowers they did produce were tiny compared to the way they had been, before going wild, and compared to how large they were after my friend tamed them.
Do you suppose they had been planted by somebody or just appeared in the wild? If they were planted they were probably grafted which means the root stock is a common hardy strong rose and the grated part is bred for the pretty blooms. You or somebody else may have cut them below the graft which means you will never get more than a wild rose which is not altogether bad. In either case general rose culture is about the same but if it is a climber it will benefit from some support.
First.. I don't know what area of the country you're in...but I would not do any prunning this fall for 2 reasons...Many climbing roses only bloom on "old" wood..if you prune them down you won't get flowers next year.. also,in the north you should prune in the spring.
Don't want to sound confusing, but most roses are grafted onto a different root system...Usually from an old rose called Dr. Huey. Sometimes the grafted plant dies but the root lives on and blooms as a "Dr. Huey" rose. It is an old fashioned rose that has small dark red flowere and it only blooms once in the spring. I would give your rose plenty of water and some fertilizer and wait to see what happens next year...If it turns out not to be a "good" rose you can always "shovel prune" it
Been a busy day and I didnt get a chance to get the photos I had hoped to. I did want to mention that the bush now officially has 3 rose buds that look PERFECT! One comes from a lower, new bushy area at the base of one of the "sticks/stems", one about 6ft up on a stick/stem, and the third about midway on what appears to be a healthy, sturdy branch.
Are these true roses, or "Dr. Huey" roses (are Dr Huey roses not favorable??) To me, the whole thing looks so amazing and I will try to get pictures tomorrow. I am not grasping the whole grafting concept...but its getting late and my brain is tired :-)
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