My friend needs your help..!!!

Marley Farley · May 3, 2011

Hi I hope you can help with this query.. My friend has just moved house & has had to move some plants in readiness for building works.. Among the plants moved there were four rather rangy and uncared for roses - one is very tall at about 7ft and the other three around 5ft. This is what he has done so far & how they are...
The question is.. Should he prune them down a bit or what.. Sorry no pics at present & no he doesn't know what kind they are..

I put them in a bucket of water for three days and they seemed to remain looking pretty good - I was going to throw them out but didn't have the heart so have planted them at the back of the garden by the oil tank and assuming they eventually flower or for that matter survive they should look fine. My question is that they are now not looking that healthy - I planted them with John Innes No 3 mixed with well rotted horse manure and I also put top rose around the stem. I have been well watering them as well but they still don't look that well. With this wind the leaves have begun to curl and although nothing is drooping I', not that happy with them. I was wondering if I were to prune them now would I finish them off for good? There don't appear to be that many buds on them - just a few but the stems don't look that bad. Will pruning be their death nail or will it be their making? I'm not so sure my instinct is to prune a bit - I have to say though that I'm not worried about the root ball moving as I've secured them all in very well so height and spread isn't really a problem - my issue is is it going to help them by pruning back now with the expectation of further growth and blooms later in the summer? The leaves are really going curly and dry and fading in colour and having originally looked very healthy probably because they all sat submerged in water for five days, are now looking very poorly and I'm not even sure they will survive at all.
They look very old (the roots) thick and woody and pretty short (the roots) more like pieces of drift wood you see of tree parts that have been washed and washed and shaped into weird and wonderful shapes.
Click to expand...

wiseowl · May 3, 2011

Hi Marley,My advice for what's its worth would be to prune them now ,so that all their energy is directed to the roots and not to all the stems,Personally I think that they have been fed to much when replanted and soaking them for 5 days was,nt good for them either,,but that is purely my personal opinion ,give them time to settle in their new location(I hope they are not to near the oil) and they will reward you,please don,t cosset them to much,Roses are much tougher than we give them credit for.Hope this helps

Marley Farley · May 3, 2011

Thanks Woo I will pass this on to him.. I do hope they will take... If he sends some pics I will post them for you to see though.. :WINK1:

oliviapugh · May 3, 2011

When roses are dug up they will often lose all their leaves before developing new shoots. My advice is to keep them moist but not to over water them and to cut them back quite severely. This will enable them to concentrate their energies into producing new leaves and prevent too much water loss through the existing leaves. You should find that within a month new shoots will begin to appear. Flowering will be delayed but you should have roses before the end of summer.

Marley Farley · May 3, 2011

Thanks Olivia I have passed that info on too..

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My friend needs your help..!!!

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oliviapugh Apprentice Gardener

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