Old Roses Sick...Help!

9 years ago

last modified: 9 years ago

I spent my last day off tackling the gigantic, almost dead rose bushes that came with the place we just bought. I cut back until I reached healthy wood. What I thought would be a minor job turned into a major cutback all day project. I raked up all the cuttings & pine needles & burned them. Some of the canes were rotten all the way to the ground. The canes that were still alive had splits & purplish spots, what I think was cankers. Some of the roots are showing signs of rot. My question is this, being so late in the year should I spray with fungicide or should I wait until spring? Can I even save them or are we beyond hope at this point? I have no idea what kind of roses they are, only that they were sorely neglected. I posted before & after pics to try to help y'all get an idea of what I'm talking about.

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Comments (3)

faerybutterflye Coleman/zone 7b
Original Author
9 years ago
Also, don't know why my phone posted like 30 times the same post. Sorry! I deleted all but the one post.
stockergal
9 years ago
It is hard to cut roses all they way back, but sometimes you need to. It looks like you did a good job of cleaning. I would cut all the canes that are in good shape back to about two feet. Put about one inch of compost around each one. Do not fertilize till spring. They are in shock and just need some TLC. Keep them watered good this winter. Roses are heavy feeders so fertilize with a good rose fertilizers next spring as it warms up and through the summer.

they look like old ramblers or climbers, you can tell more next spring. They may have few or no flowers next year. That's ok they need to get settled in and that may take a season.

Good luck!!!
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faerybutterflye Coleman/zone 7b
Original Author
9 years ago
Stockergal, it broke my heart to have to cut them back so hard, but clearly that's what they needed. All the roses I grew up with only ever needed a spring haircut & deadheading to put on a show from spring to fall, so this was something new to me. I'm a rose lover but no expert. I really hope they make it.

I will be tracking down some compost & watering thru winter. I'll be ready for spring fungus spraying, previous homeowner said they got blackspot & dropped all leaves last spring. In the meantime I've been researching varieties that are resistant to blackspot to potentially replace them if they don't make it. Besides that, I love roses so I'd really like to have more anyway.

Thanks for the advice, never had to nurse roses before so any tips are greatly appreciated !