Rose problem - can anyone help?

[magyar2]

I was told that there were some very knowledgeable horticulture enthusiasts on this board . I was wondering if maybe one of you would be able to help me with a problem I am having with my roses.

I have a large berm where I have about 10 rose bushes and 4 carpet roses. They were planted 3 years ago, and I have forgotten what I planted where, but I do know that I always go for the roses that have a lot of scent and large blooms, not the ones that are easiest to take care of.

The rose bush that I have at the end of my berm bloomed very well the first year, last year did not bloom but grew very tall and wide, this year it has had one bloom and is again growing tall and wide. I cut it back each spring with the other roses, I fertilize it as I do the other roses, water them all the same too. This one bush though does not want to bloom, it just wants to grow up and out!

All my other roses are doing well (except for those nasty Japanese beetles, good thing my daughter likes to catch them). Any idea what is wrong with this one rose?

 

[Mamu]

Without knowing what kind of rose bush it is it's difficult to say.

I used to have a large rose garden, they got to be too much work. Around here it was a constant battle between black spot, beetles and very hard winters.

One thing I remember to have the bush flower through the summer, the bush should be pruned less then 1/2 inch above the second 5-leaf stem. This pruning always produced one bloom after another.

I also pruned all faded roses off. This also helps to keep the bush blooming.

 

[Snowwark]

Hi Magyar2, and welcome!

I am no help when it comes to roses. I have one healthy rose bush, and I still have no idea why it's thriving, usually I manage to kill them!

I'm sure our rose growing buds will have some advice for you!!

Kim

 

[Tulirose]

I'm no help either. I never grew a rosebush. But, I'll bump this thread back to the top for you so it won't be missed by, perhaps, Miss DixieDee or anyone else who knows about roses.

 

[DixieDreamer]

Is the problem rose a shrub rose like your carpet roses ... or a more traditional upright rose bush?

You indicated you prune it each spring, but I am not sure how much you are doing. I would suggest a very aggressive "haircut" in the spring, and some possible changes in your choice of fertilizers.

If it is shrub rose, I would prune it next spring by shearing away at least 1/3 of the length of each branch. Go easy on the general fertilizers which are probably adding too much nitrogen - encouraging lots of vegetative growth and little blooms. Instead try using greensand to fertilize this plant - which is high in potash and phosphate.

If it is a traditional upright rose bush, I would suggest you do a HARD prune next spring. This means cutting the plant back to 5 or 6 main branches and cutting these to about 12 or 18 inches high. This will encourage less vegetation growth and the production of fewer - but larger flowers. Again, I would change the fertilizing too.

Without looking at the plant, these are the first things that came to mind when I read your post. Hope you have more success with it next year.

 

[magyar2]

Thank you for the help. I will look into changing fertilizer for this rose bush (it is an upright bush, not a carpet rose). I use the same rose fertilizer on all my roses, and I just can't figure out why this one particular one will not produce more than one rose, yet lots of green growth! I have not seen greensand at my nursery or garden center, but I will check for something lower in nitrogen and higher in phosphate and potash.

Next spring, I will also do the hard pruning. I prune all my roses the same in the spring, but I guess this one bush must just need something more?

Thanks again for your help!