Sara-ann I have had my SDLM for about the same time and I gave her a little trim off the top today and that's all I feel she needs at this time. Mine has stayed on the smaller side and I don't want to take too much off her size wise. I don't think she needs the same hard prune as a HT. She's one of my favorites and I have enjoyed seeing pics of your sdlm, your roses always look beautiful.

Thanks boncrow, that’s probably all I need to do too.

Can someone post a pic of what their 5th season SDLM looks like? I used to have one growing in a pot for 3 years and it looked very tiny! Tiny pointy leaves and tiny blooms. It keeps getting canker during the summer. Even if I pruned the dead canes, it continues to died back. When it left with one cane, I got rid of mine. Not sure if its worth growing again.

If I was you, I would just leave it and not prune it yet just in case canker kicks in.

The SDLM clan-- Souv. de la Malmaison, Souv. de St. Ann's, Kronprincessin Viktoria and Mystic Beauty all seem to have the same tidy habit. All I ever do is clean out the deadwood.

These are the only Bourbons I can grow well here; The rest are martyrs to Blackspot and stingy bloomers. I thought Maggie would be the exception but I have never gotten her in the right spot (not enough sun).

Tangles, I had mine in a small pot the first two years, then finally got it in the ground, and that’s when it really took off. Hopefully this year I will get a picture of it in full bloom. I do think it is normally very healthy for most.

Babarag, I have several Bourbons and they do well here, but SDLM is definitely the best one, I for sure want to get Kronprincessin Viktoria, it’s gorgeous, I consider it every year, but for some reason haven’t ordered it yet.

For some reason Kronprinzessin Viktoria did well for a few years and then seemed to dwindle. My two bushes of SdlM do much better. I can't say that I really prune them, just take out the dead wood when I see it and clip a little off the top to shape it sometimes. Mostly I just leave it alone and it blooms more than any other rose I have.

I agree 100% with Paul. I actually prune this one more like a tea, removing dead wood only (and that down to the ground, once the plant matures) and tip pruning (from a young age). SdlM seems to resent hard pruning, and like a tea wants as much bulk left as possible. Think of her as the lazy pruner's rose ;)

John

Thanks so much, I’m very pleased that it doesn’t need much pruning.