Trimming roses

[kaethe]

The last post titled "rose question" reminded me that I have a rose question :-). I have a few old rose bushes that I think are climbing roses due to the long, draping branches/branches climbing toward my roof. They always bloom in April-early June and then stop for the year. At some point, I need to trim them because they're severely overgrown and

Comments

[dark_phoenix54]

The ideal time to prune once blooming roses is right after they finish blooming. Once bloomers form flowers only on canes at least a year old. I think you've still got time to do it- in your zone, they'll do quite a bit of growing before they go dormant. The one thing to remember is to NEVER spring prune once bloomers!

[dickgloucester]

Now she tells me ...

[dark_phoenix54]

I've had so many people say "This rose is defective; it never blooms!" and it's because they give it a hard spring prune like you would a Hybrid Tea. Usually it's when the move into an old house and the rose is already there.