I don't have the depth of expertise others on the forum will have, since my collection of once-bloomer shrubs is relatively small, but, yes, I do prune mine. Right after they bloom, I cut the canes of 'La Belle Sultane', "Old Red Runaround", and my 'Old Pink Moss'-type, and 'Autumn Damask' when I had it, back by about half. I also grab a shovel and grub out suckers that have strayed out of the bounds I've set for that rose. Both of these are annual activities, otherwise it would be even more of a jungle out there than it already is...

Some of my once bloomers I prune back quite severely after they get well-established and to my surprise I've gotten a second modest fall bloom. I do this every year for Variegata di Bologna, and several times it has put out a few fall blooms on the new growth. I prune it down to about a foot because otherwise it's a gangly bush that gets in my way and eats other nearby roses without doing much good. Ditto a hundred fold for Fimbriata who would be shovel pruned if I didn't cut its gangliness back severely. I do the same hard prune for Madame Alfred Carriere who technically isn't supposed to be a once bloomer, but she is for me even I leave her canes alone. If I didn't trim her branches back to at least 2 feet I'd never have any other rose in that bed. It doesn't seem to affect her spring bloom next year as long as I trim back early - just after she finishes blooming. The main thing that determines if she'll bloom in spring is surviving cane over the winter, and that is out of my control.

On the other hand, Veilchenblau is fountaining all over the place under an oak tree and it's so glorious in its natural shape I wouldn't dream of cutting it back. I'm thinking to attach its long arms to the tree to keep them out of the way for the season, but it gets to keep all its length.

Other roses I trim back occasionally. Erinnerung an Brod has been holding a corner of the yard down on its own without pruning for about 8 years and it's getting mighty sparse at the base. I think I'll prune some of those branches back this year to see if I can encourage some lower branching out, and I've put other climbers around it to hide the bare bottom. It drapes itself along a fence so the length isn't so much of a problem, but the bare legs aren't ideal.

I wouldn't do any substantial pruning till they're at least 4 years in the ground, but it might help with some of your straggly canes. The suckering I don't think has much relationship to pruning - if the Gallicas want to sucker they're going to do so.

Cynthia

I appreciate the advice. I do prune dead wood each year before my roses break dormancy, but this year I had to do something about long, leggy canes and roses that were encroaching on others. I pruned Isfahan more than I wished and it is still drooping over La Belle Sultane which in turn is drooping over Isfahan, but I'll wait a bit and see how they do. I plan to cut back a forsythia on the other side of Isfahan to make more room for suckers that are popping up there.

Cabbage rose and one Apothecary are still blooming along with several repeating Europeans, but anything left will fry this weekend in the first heat wave of the summer. I hope it won't last long.

I tried to spare hips as much as possible although my roses will have fewer this year because of record rainfall in May.

Lindsey

I think Gallicas and Damsks will benefit from having their upright canes nipped back a little in early Spring before the bloom. What I find is that they also have the "Portland" trait of having shorter spaces between buds as you get to the tips, and the result is being a bit top-heavy. I find that by snipping off a few inches from the tips, there's more leafing out and laterals forming lower down. After they bloom, I'd rather remove entire canes -- starting with those that are oldest -- than keep them all and trim them back.

:-)

~Christopher

I prune them all. I like pruning.

Thank you for the suggestion. I have a couple I would like to thin.

Lindsey