Help for very old roses?

Question

I have some very old roses at my house and they have been running wild for years. Some of them are over 7 feet tall and have multiple, thick stalks coming out of the ground. They are flowering nicely, but becoming unruly (one has even merged with a wild rose somehow and now wild roses bloom early and the original roses bloom late!). What should I do to rein them back in? Can I do this in the middle of summer or do I need to wait? Help!

Answer 1

It's best to prune most hybrid roses in early spring in colder climates while they are still dormant - about 4-6 weeks before the last frost is ideal. In warmer areas, timing is less critical, though February or March is a good time. The old species roses (which often only bloom once a year), bloom on the previous year's growth, so it's best to prune them soon after they finish blooming, so as not to lose the years's blooms by pruning in spring.

To renew your bushes, try to cut out about a quarter to a third of the biggest and oldest canes, including any damaged ones or canes growing through the center (stalks or stems on roses are called canes) as close to the ground as possible. Cut the rest of the canes back by about half. For those, always try to cut about half an inch above a leaf stem that goes in the direction you want next year's growth to go - generally outward. The ideal rosebush shape is sort of like a vase, with lots of open air space in the middle. Do this for the next 3 years and you should have a new and vigorous bush that will thrive for years.

As for your "dual rose" most modern hybrid roses are grafted onto different varieties of rootstock. What you have are called suckers that are growing from below the graft. Left to flourish, the suckers will eventually kill the grafter hybrid variety. Dig down to where the sucker canes emerge from the rootstock and tear them off by tearing down and out.
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Answer 2

Okay the so-called "wild" rose is probably a sucker from the rootstock. Most modern roses are grafted onto a different rootstock. That gets them to nurseries quicker than "own root". If you want to keep the modern rose you'll need to cut back all of the "wild" rose or anything that is coming out of the ground and not the graft. If not that sucker growth will overpower the desirable rose and it will die.

It is okay to trim off the unruly growth this time of year. But only cut into green branches.

Good luck

Answer 3

I would wait until the fall.