If they have good foliage cover, I'd leave them alone. You don't want sun scald on the canes as that literally kills the cambium (circulatory system) where the scald occurs. If it's that hot, scald is a real possibility. If it's that hot and dry that not pruning them causes worry about water stress, then it's probably too hot and dry to safely transplant them out into the bellows of Hades in the first place. Of course you CAN prune and transplant, but if the conditions are that extreme, to what benefit? Good luck, Bart!

Why would you prune them at all?

@mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY) I think I can understand the original thinking that perhaps reducing the foliage load may help reduce the water needs of the plant when placed in a higher heat, potentially more exposed position. It may help reduce any shock possibly experienced due to any possible root disturbance during transplanting.

Thank you both so much. Roseseek, I have no intention of planting them out now, it's just that I'm so bored and tired of the heat and drought that I must dream of cooler, wetter weather when I WOULD be able to plant them out!

The question of pruning is based on the fact that I am still struggling to understand floribundas. Though I think that I will probably have to give up on them eventually,I still have many potted ones that I can't afford to maintain in pots-I'm not good at pot culture. As I mentioned once before in another post, I'm not a pure-of-heart rose lover like some of the people on this forum-I just got into them initially as an excuse to be out at my land, and so my true gardening aim is to make my garden out at my land as liveable and as sustainable as possible. However I do have a couple floribundas that do seem to be making it out there, and two that have actually established enough so that I haven't had to water them (fingers crossed things will continue this way) .So I am not quite ready to give up. Now,to answer mad- gallica : the reason I was wondering about pruning them was because Barni recommends that, when planting out a bare-root rose, one should prune the canes back, I guess with the idea of encouraging the plant to put out basals and limiting the top growth to favor root development. Now, I've never done this in the past on the theory that the rose stores energy in it's canes,but I see that some forum members recommend cutting floribundas and HT's back quite a bit.However I believe these people are talking about plants that are already established. So I just wanted clarification on this point-is harder pruning recommended for new implants as well?

roseseek nailed why this might be recommended when transplanting any kind of plant. It is to reduce the liklihood of the plant dying from water stress if its roots are so damaged from the transplanting that there is too much top growth for them to support with not enough roots. Of course, this is usually when someone is digging up an established rose and moving it, which is not the case you are describing.

If you are simply dealing with newly planted roses in pots, I would leave them alone, unless they are wilting.

As for the ones you "planted out last Fall", which "haven't grown really", I am guessing that you planted them out into the soil? That is a typical reaction of roses which have been planted in the dirt, and look like they are "just sitting there". Probably they are really using their energy to re-grow more a larger and better root system. After they are satisfied with the root system, they will start to put on new top growth. I would not prune those either.

I do cut roses way back if I am digging up a huge established plant (as we did with our 12 ft high Anna Olivier) and transplanting it to another place in the garden. We cut AO back to about 3 ft high, and it has survived and thrived. It took it at laest 9 months to start putting out new growth after it was transplanted.

jackie

I have had roots of roses decimated by gophers, where I plunked the top in a pot and did not cut back and the entire plant survived numerous times (until my wire root baskets obviated the need).

This also happens in medicine where if hands and feet get frozen one waits until the tissue declares itself totally dead before amputations. The body knows what to do and one can salvage more than first apparent. The plant knows too, and will auto amputate effectively.

Thank you all so much! Judi,if it was you who were planting out potted roses in the fall, would you prune them in early spring along with the established ones? Jackie, thank you for your comment about not pruning ones that "don't seem to be growing ". I'm probably being too impatient...

That would depend a good bit on the age and size of the rose for me, Bart. If it’s still a very young plant and quite small, I would only check it over for fine twiggy growth in the center of the plant and anything dead looking. Of course any spent blooms still left on get cut offs well, but just a very gentle “haircut” as mentioned to stimulate fresh growth. If it’s a fairly established plant with good sized thick canes, then I would prune it back along with the rest of my roses in spring, usually by a good third. That’s my general guide, but honestly I’m not a very scientific gardener and often go by my gut feeling about each plant’s needs.

Bart, pruning like Judi says is your choice but does not determine the health of a plant.