If I hack it will I kill it?

13 years ago

Hello. I have 2 Caramel Fairy Tale FBs and one Cosmos FB. Planted bareroot on multiflora this spring.
They are house eaters! They make my Mermaid look wimpy!
What is up with that? They are flowering only at the ends of the canes and pushing up tons of new growth from the center.
Truly they are out of control and b/c I thought they would be FB size I planted such that now I can't get around them.
They have giant prickles too.
They have had NO disease issues either. I don't want to kill them being that they are so healthy and the blooms are gorgeous.
But the canes are 10 ft and I need them to be 5 ft.
Can I chop them back that severely?
Thanks

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Comments (8)

ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
13 years ago
Go for it! They need to be taught their place. You must have incredible soil and/or tons of rain. When they're that vigorous cutting them back by half shouldn't hurt them. However, there is no guarantee that they won't shoot back up again. Worth a try though, I would say.

Ingrid
roseblush1
13 years ago
I agree ... go for it. In nature, roses are pruned regularly by animals. They don't know whether or not they should prune or when they should prune. They just want to eat. The roses always come back.

Smiles,
Lyn
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roseseek
13 years ago
You won't kill them. Hopefully they won't consider your pruning a "challenge" and grow even larger! Kim
michaelg
13 years ago
'Caramela' will make a nice full 5x5 shrub with repeated pruning. If you haven't allowed at least 4' width, you will need to replant. 5' wouldn't hurt. I would cut the long canes back to 3' as soon as they have bloomed and then cut the subsequent laterals back to three leaves. After a few years of this you will have a nicely branched plant, and I'd expect it will not feel the need to make 10' shoots.

Don't prune too much in the fall months. In spring you could prune to about 4' but preserve most of the branching.

'Caramela' is very much a shrub rose and not a floribunda. I haven't seen "Kosmos FT' but it sounds similar.
Poorbutroserich Susan Nashville
Original Author
13 years ago
Ok. Great info you all. So Michael, should I prune it now to 3' or so? I'm going to have to move them to space them a bit further apart. Also, no laterals so far.
They are so pretty!
Ingrid, we have had a ton of rain. Also their bed is made of some proprietary soil mix the rose society here recommends. All the roses in that bed are doing well and extremely healthy (except the Austins--ha).
My Geschwind's (bareroot on mf in April) have 13' canes. It's insane.
Shucks! I am not going to complain about big healthy roses.
michaelg
13 years ago
Yes, I would cut the towering canes back right now so the laterals they produce can harden up before winter.
MohammadLawati
13 years ago
No problem, My rose outgrew me which made me happy at first, then when getting the roses got to be a serious pain I just cut it all hahaha...
Just cut some branches 6 days ago.
diane_nj 6b/7a
13 years ago
I grow Caramel FT as a small climber, the main canes arch over, and the blooms come off of laterals. I cut a lot of it off after the first flush (early July). It is now in full bloom again, the only one (other than Blushing KO) in the garden that looks good.