Another Newbie question - prune or wait

13 years ago

Hi everyone,

So, last year I planted a ZD on my arbor and she's been doing great. Last year I trained 4 canes back and forth horizontally, cutting back the other canes that I didn't have room for. I actually butchered it at one point because it got powdery mildew and didn't check here first beforehand as to what to do. ;)

This year it's doing great, full of buds and healthy leaves. It's sending up lots of new canes, which I again don't have room for. Should I prune them now, or should I wait until after it flowers?

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Comments (4)

seil zone 6b MI
13 years ago
I'd wait for it to flower first now. BUT, you do know that pruning it back will only make it grow more don't you? And you may be cutting off the climbing canes that will get longer as it matures. Also, if this is only a one year old plant you may want to wait a while before you do any more hard pruning so it can get good growth and feed that growing root ball that it needs to support a high climber. It looks very happy and healthy so I'd leave it alone.
jacqueline9CA
13 years ago
what seil said - all of it.

Jackie
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kpaquette
Original Author
13 years ago
Ha...yes i guess i did know pruning it would make it grow...I guess what I WANT is the part that's already trained onto the arbor to do the growing, to reach the top!

Last year I seriously butchered the plant, including some nice looking canes, because I thought I had to destroy the powdery mildew. But it seems to be happy nonetheless.

That said I know nothing about roses as this is my first. I guess I was thinking that cutting the canes I don't have room for on the arbor would push the growth to the ones already there. I do not fully understand the growing cycle esp of climbers since I know pruning them is different. I will leave the canes...and maybe try to find a place for them, or whack them back later?
michaelg
13 years ago
ZD makes tons of basals. Mine was like a bamboo patch. with 20 or so 8-foot canes after a few years.

The old basals, insofar as they are semi-horizontal, will bloom heavily on laterals, and this will provide the early bloom. Then, if you let the new basals grow and bloom, they will prolong the spring flush into mid-summer, blooming at the top. Then any later bloom will come at the tips of late-starting basals. In other words, ZD does not repeat very well on the old canes, but the new canes help to compensate for that. At least, that is how mine behaved.

I fear your arbor is too small for such a lusty grower. But I'm sure you want to give her a fair trial. If you want to contain growth, here are some things to try:

Withhold water and fertilizer starting at midsummer, because you aren't going to get much late bloom anyway. Let the new canes grow out and bloom. Don't prune them out in summer, because the plant will just replace them. Next spring, cut some of the canes back to various lengths (2'-4'-6'). These will make blooming laterals at the various levels for the spring flush. After a few years, when you have too many canes, begin removing 1/3 of the canes, older ones, at the base every year. I would do this after the old canes have finished their spring bloom.