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I have attached two pics of a dwarf rose. I bought this last spring, it was put in a pot where it still resides (at the top of a bird bath).
I'm not sure what to do with the dead branches/buds that have already bloomed.
I'd like to cut them back, but I'm not sure if this would be ok for the plant.
Can I cut them back to the point where the branch/stem is still green?
It is very much alive. I give it a good watering 2-3x a week, and I always see dark yellow buds the next morning. It just looks bad because of the many dead buds, that's all.
Super Moderator
Staff member
Hi Paul!
Looks really sad!
Remove all the dead leaves and clean up the soil suface. Trim off all the dead flowers and any dead stems.
Trim all the bare stems back to live green stems.
If this plant is in full sun I would move it to part shade with morning sun....
Have you ferilized it?
If you have epsom salts you could use some (teaspoon in a 1/2 gallon of water)
Thanks. I'll take care of that later today.
It gets full sun, so I'll try to find a place where it gets some sun every day, but just less. Its in a pot, so that shouldn't be too hard.
I have fertilized it twice this year. I just took some 15-15-15 and spread a handful around the soil.
It does look bad, but I really really don't think its dying---like I said, when watered I see immediate results (new blooms the next day). It just looks bad because of all the dead stuff. I'll work on all that later today.
I just didn't want to do anything that would hurt it, that's all.
ONE MORE THING--one reason why I haven't watered it more, is that I've read with roses, to give them lots of water, and then let the soil dry up, before the next watering--to avoid root rot? Anyways, should this be watered every other day?
Super Moderator
Staff member
ONE MORE THING--one reason why I haven't watered it more, is that I've read with roses, to give them lots of water, and then let the soil dry up, before the next watering--to avoid root rot? Anyways, should this be watered every other day?
1/If the soil is heavy and doesn't drain well then you would run into problems with root rot. So, letting soil dry out is a good idea.
2.If the soil is loose and drains too quickly then you run into the opposite, not enough consistant moisture levels and you wash out essential nutrients <--- this might be the problem.
Fair enough. It is a pot, but there is a 2-4 inch section at teh bottom that lets water drain from the soil part of the pot, down into gaps below the level where teh soil is. So perhaps the water is draining out.
At some point, when it gets higher, I would like to plant it in the ground (I'm worried about rabbits eating all the blooms), but until then, I'll be careful to fertilize it, and water it more often than I have up till this point.
Later on today I'll post pics of what it looks like when I've pruned away all the dead growth.
OK one more thing. When you say to remove all the dead leaves and trim off the dead flowers---couldn't I put all that stuff under the surface of the soil? I would think that it would make for a very good natural fertilizer, obviously replacing the nutrients that were taken out. Of course I would still use a fertilizer also, every once in a while... Or would you recommend I dispose of it some other way?
Super Moderator
Staff member
---couldn't I put all that stuff under the surface of the soil? I would think that it would make for a very good natural fertilizer, obviously replacing the nutrients that were taken out. Of course I would still use a fertilizer also, every once in a while... Or would you recommend I dispose of it some other way?
It is best not to.
There maybe fungi and other pathogens on the dead clippings.
Best to remove them completely and compost them (if you have a compost pile).
Might be a good idea to remove the surface soil, around a 1/2 inch, and replace it with fresh soil.
OK I'll just get rid of it. I stopped composting years ago (well "stopped" implies that I actually had created a compost pile--I spent a lot of time working on it but didn't get anywhere).
I attached a pic here of my dwarf rose after its haircut.
I honestly hadn't realized how little new growth there was. OK it does look bad, but I'll water more frequently and this little sucker is gonna do just fine.
Super Moderator
Staff member
Yah!
That looks a lot better now!
Keep at it!
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