How can I help roses in shade bloom?

Question

I have wild (feral - probably formerly tame) roses growing in the shade caused by tall locust trees. Increasing light is not a choice. Anything I can do to help them bloom?

As the locust trees are about 40 feet tall, I can only assume that the roses were planted first, when it was sunny -- maybe 30 years ago? Is there anyway to identify the breed of these without the blooms?

Answer 1

Even seeing the bloom, rose experts may not always agree as to the cultivar...there are SO many. But the advantage of old, or wild, roses, is the fragrance, which the modern hybrids lack. I would suggest digging up and moving what you can of them to a sunny location. If you are unable to lift the entire rootball - abd you probably can't - lift what you can, and prune the top growth back hard to compensate for root loss. Water in well, top dress with compost, treat as a new planting, and hope that next year you will be rewarded with flowers!

Answer 2

Very few roses have distinct leaves. You can take cuttings from them and grow them out in the sun, and these cloned plants will bloom. This, in combination with the leaves and your estimate of when they were first planted should help narrow things down.

A few roses will bloom a *little* bit in the shade. Neighbors planted a fir directly south of a Sunflare floribunda I planted, and it still blooms as if they never did. The red Mr. Lincoln right next to it, and the white Hoover to the right of it both stopped blooming, and the Mr. Lincoln ended up dying. I've got a climbing Joseph's Coat under a redwood, and a climbing Peace under a mimosa, and while they aren't spectacular as they would be in the sun, they do grow, and they do bloom a little. Roses please me so I am happy for this instead of planting something else there that might enjoy those conditions better.

If your roses have survived long enough to be feral, then some previous owner loved them and this usually doesn't happen if they never bloom. So, first try to give them a a moderate pruning this winter to clear out the bramble but not one of normal severity just in case they are barely making it. Then, when spring comes again, feed them regularly with a slow fertilizer which you will not dig in as usual. This gives them first crack at the food, and prevents you from breaking any of their roots which may be growing shallow to avoid those from the greedy trees nearby. If you live somewhere where they will need water, make sure to divide the water up over the week so that it doesn't soak to treeroot level, but enough water gets to the rose plants themselves.

If at the end of the first year they haven't grown back to their previous height, then you know they are barely making it and you will need to move or destroy them. If they have grown, then there's hope! They might already have rewarded you with a few blooms and may do so next year.

If at the end of the second year of this treatment they still don't bloom, they probably as healthy as they are going to be and simply never will from lack of sun, and you will need to move or destroy them. But you will have tried and given it the good fight.

Answer 3

Mostly roses need lots of sun. If the roses are truly wild but formerly hybrid roses, chances of beautiful blooms -- even with plenty of sun -- are slim. Probably the growth that predominates is from the root stock. If you gets blooms at all they will likely be overwhelmingly ... ordinary. There are plenty of flowers that prefer shade. Don't fight mother nature.

Answer 4

There's nothing you can do. Roses will not bloom in the shade. Move the plant to a sunny location.

Answer 5

I am afraid roses thrive on sun. They will not bloom in the shade.