Spring pruning question

9 years ago

I seem to have a lot of winter damage on my rose canes. Hardly unusual for my Toronto garden (Z5b). However, usually there are a few inches of green left that I will prune down to, and then let the rose grow back. Alas, a few of the roses I planted last year seem to have all of their canes right back to ground level that look black and damaged, and I'm not sure I have anything to cut back to. However, because of the early, warm temps I can see buds forming along these blackened canes so they aren't truly dead. So now I am not sure what to do.

Should I be pruning these damaged canes back to the ground regardless of the buds because of the damage?

Once we get later into the spring should I cut back the canes a bit at a time to look for live wood or a strong bud regardless of the visible damage on the outside of the cane?

I'd rather not lose these roses if possible because they are the new Kordes ones I planted last year (like Beverly and Wedding Bells). Note: I don't really do much to protect my roses aside from planting them with the bud union a few inches below ground level, and a little bit (not much) of mulched leaves over the crown and root area. Generally speaking I want hardy plants in my garden that don't require too much extra work for winter protection.

Thanks!

Featured Answer

nippstress - zone 5 Nebraska

9 years ago

I agree that it's too early to prune back - in zone 5 I wait for major pruning till late March or early April. As for your question about pruning to the ground, many roses in zone 5 will die back to the ground and regrow fine if it's either a) an own-root rose (where the roots are the same rose as the top part, or b) it's a grafted rose (with a different rootstock under the rose you want) if the knobby bit at the base of the rose, or graft, was buried when you planted it. If the knobby base of the grafted rose is still above the soil, you don't want to prune below that or you lose the original grafted rose that you want and you'll end up with an entirely different rose (often the dark red rose Dr. Huey). If the graft is below the soil, it's fine to prune back to the soil line, but if it's above the soil just prune back to the edge of the grafted knob and watch for regrowth.

As for the blackened canes with buds on them, it's possible that the cane may recover, but in my experience it's more likely that the buds are a last gasp of the stored energy in the cane that will fade pretty quickly as new growth starts. If you think you have a salvageable cane, you can prune back above the growth but watch it carefully to see if the growth is spreading, or if the cane does indeed die after a few weeks. Sometimes I'll give those kinds of canes a chance, but if I don't want to watch that carefully I just whack it off.

Plenty of my roses come back fine from this treatment, and if they don't come back they weren't meant for my yard anyway (smile). Hope this helps

Cynthia

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Comments (7)

User
9 years ago
I would wait to later to prune.
kentucky_rose zone 6
9 years ago
Wait, too early.
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Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
9 years ago
Wait.
Moses, Pitt PA, cold W & warm/humid S z6
9 years ago
It's too early to prune at this time. The longer you put it off, the better. Wait until the forsythias are well under way in their blooming, then prune.

Go by the pith of the cane. If it is not white or light buttery colored, it is not going to support healthy, vigorous growth, and likely to die soon. Prune down an off colored cane by 1" increments with a keenly sharp pruner, until healthy pith is reached. You may have to prune down pretty far, but what else can you do, leave dead or dying wood on the bush?

Black canes are dead already. Mottled/blotchy black canes are not dead yet. They are still dying. Both have no future on the bush, prune them down to live pithed wood.

Young roses are notoriously susceptible to winter damage, often dying to the ground until they get some years on them. Expect more live wood surviving winter as a bush matures.
P TW thanked Moses, Pitt PA, cold W & warm/humid S z6
P TW
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks for the feedback folks. I worded my question poorly--I do intend to wait for a couple of months before pruning, but I wanted to know whether to cut the damaged canes all the way back or just to a bud on a partially-blackened cane. I guess I will be cutting the canes back bit by bit until I can reach some healthy parts.
nippstress - zone 5 Nebraska
9 years ago
If you search the Gardenweb archives, I posted a series of photos about "Is this Cane dead?" where I showed what the canes looked like and whether they survived after winter damage, and how I pruned them. You can pull it back up out of archives if those pictures would help. My preference is to start pruning a little conservatively leaving questionable canes and watching them, but I'm used to watching roses. If you're new to roses, it's probably better to cut off partially blackened canes, since as Moses said they are on the way out anyway.

Paul Zimmerman also has some good videos out on the web about pruning roses that give you nice tips.

Cynthia