Phoenix Tropicals Gardening

[dorothyr]

My neighbor has a tree rose that has been neglected for years. nev been trimmed. I watered it for a couple years after they planted it but got the feeling I was butting in. So it has been surviving on rain only for 4 or 5 years. I thought this summer would finish it off but it was showing a little life lately so I asked its owner if she would mind if I took care of it and trimmed it.

Suckers on the root were just cut back but had formed a new bush with a 1” tap root. I got most of it cut away. Man is that stuff hard. It was a real struggle. I am down to a stump off the main stem which seems to join the main root. The stump above it is the root from the sucker. see photo.

I am afraid to get really deep to dig it out for fear I will damage the roots on the main plant. Will the remains keep sending out new growth? Do I need to seal the cuts somehow?

I trimmed out the dead wood and some ends with dead blooms. Picture in another post. I can’t reach up to get the top right now as I just had surgery. Maybe I should just lop off that tall stem. Is this a good time to do more trimming and how far should I go?

I think this must be a peace rose and was potentially quite stunning. The root system must be awesome to have supported it this long. I just flooded the whole area. How often do I need to go deep in the summer?

[phoenixtropicals]

Hard to tell from the photos. Did you cut it all the way to the ground? I'm not an expert at roses but seems you should at least leave a 6 inch stump. Its a little early to do hard pruning. I would wait until mid October.

[phoenixtropicals]

Oh I see now. You are showing between that trunk it has and the another clumb coming up by its roots. Yah, talk to a rose expert about pruning but definitely wait a month.