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Rose Renovation pruning after it’s bolted

#1 · 9th August 2022, 9:02 am

Hi!

I've inherited an old Rose but it is enormous. It has shot up 4-5m in height in competition with some Ivy, apple tree and Buddleia. I've seen the videos re. renovating the roses and have identified the dead wood and shoots to cut back but my question is about the main stem which is massive...estimated ~1.5" diameter. There are a couple of shoots that look a bit weak and flowers only at the very top and only a few. I've attempted to take pictures

My question is - how do I cut back this Rose to ground-ish level without killing it? there is really a single stem once dead wood removed.

Thanks in advance!

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#2 · 11th August 2022, 9:52 am

Hi McLoz,

Wow, thats a whopper rose!

Sometimes roses just reach for the stars and put on a huge growth spurt of green stems, especially if not pruned each year.

Don't worry pruning it will not kill it.

You do need to prune it back to size to persuade it to grow into a more bushy open habit. The first step is to locate the graft. This will be a knobbly bit just above ground level. It will feel like a woody knot. Then remove any growth shooting up from beneath these as that's not the true rose. So we want to remove that growth that will suck the energy out of the grafted part.

You can see the graft as the brown knobbly bit below the green growth in the picture below.

The next part is to take back all other stems to about 6 inches above the ground. It will feel brutal but trust me it will work. Then next year you'll notice those stems that are left will then start to proud buds which in turn allows a more open floriferous branch network to form. With your rose, it will take a few years to get back into shape but patience will be rewarded. Using liquid feed when in flower/leaf and an autumn mulch of organic peat free compost will help get it back on its feet!

You can watch my rose pruning guide or read more here.