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tammymcl

Early July wedding

2 years ago

We are having a wedding at our house in early July. I’m in zone 8b and was planning on pruning my roses today. They have already leafed out and are about 30” tall. What should my pruning height be? They are a mix of grandifloras and hybrid tea rose. Thanks in advance

Comments (4)

  • 2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    I hope someone from your zone comments, but until then. The time from making a deading cut above five leaflet leaf node that is minimally pencil thick, to the time a flower is blooming that grew from that node is 45 days here. That's for a hybrid tea. Grandifloras should be about the same time span. Now, that's for Pittsburgh, W. PA, zone 6b. I would wager that in zone 8b, roses grow faster. And, that's under ideal growing conditions and top care given.

    Moses

  • 2 years ago

    As far as I know, roses bloom at different times in south z8b and in northwest z8b. In Seattle, roses are usually in full bloom from mid May to late June, with perhaps some smaller flushes in early July. In the south the roses bloom about 4 to 6 weeks earlier than ours do, so in early July you may get a second or even the third flush. Of course everything depends on the temperature, but in any case giving proper water and fertilizer is a must.

  • 2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    Keep in mind the japanese beetles might try to eat the blooms in July. You might want to cover your bushes with netting for a while in late June, or I’ve also heard some people say Sevin dust has worked for them. No chemical I have put on the bushes has worked for me against the beetles, so this year I’m going to just pick off all the blooms in July and put three DIY bucket size beetle traps surrounding our property to try to capture as many as possible at beginning of the beetle’s season. I read on forums that some fruit farmers have been doing that. The beetles really are terrible.

    You could also plant some dahlia plants! Not the bulbs, as those won’t bloom until late August. But the plants that are being sold already blooming at nurseries. They put on such a great show in July! If you are in the south then Russian Sage might be lovely too. One last suggestion is planting florist zinnia seeds, direct sown, after last frost. Zinderella Peach for example. If you round out your flower plan then beetle devastation wouldn’t be quite as disappointing if the beetles win this year.

  • 2 years ago

    Great advice! I will add the flowers mentioned. I just planted a flat of zinnia seeds to get a head start