Question
Hi Lynnette,I just picked up on a question recently put by Philip Jones to you, and wondered if I could clarify something....Are you saying that the new thinking is not to prune 'after flowering' for the first 3 years, or are you saying that the thinking is not to prune 'at all' for 3 years? I have some floribundas planted last November, and a couple have very spindly canes (no more than 3 mm, or in old money about 1/8th Inch)which droop down to floor as soon as buds and flowers start forming. Will these thicken up in time, or are they likely always to be unable to support weight? I did apply some Vitax Q4 couple of months back, but I believe the canes were thin prior to that. I'm holding off on any more fertiliser for a while. Other than that, I did dig in a fair amount of composted horse manure prior to planting, plus a handful of bone meal into each hole. To be fair, I don't think I'm doing too much wrong, as they're growing like crazy!. An exceptionally warm, dry April and May in South coast UK may have had an effect??
Best Regards, Mark

Answer
Roses to-day, are not the same as grandmother grew, but the rose books still are printing out the old rose myths. One of these myths was to prune your roses way back hard every year. It has been proven with field tests that roses which are not pruned at all have nice, long healthy roots, roses that are pruned back about a third after three years, also have a good root system but roses that are severely pruned have roots that are half the size and length of the other two. So letting a rose grow for three years means the rose will grow into the shape and way that is normal to that particular rose bush and therefore will be a stronger and healthier rose. There are so many rose myths that gardeners keep doing because the rose books tell them to. Roses are genetically program the same way as humans.
When a rose starts to grow in the spring when first planted in the fall, it should be cut right back to 3 inches. This means it will push out thicker and stronger canes then it not pruned back hard. A no pruned rose bush then starts off growing from the canes coming from the original ones, which means they may not be strong. Take a deep breath and cut your canes that are thinner than a pencil down to 3 inches and make them grow strong. Also newly planted roses should not have lots of fertilizer when they first start to grow in the spring. Fertilizer encourages quick soft canes which insects prefer then tell  friends where you live. This is another one of those rose myths that tell you to feed, feed, feed your roses. It may please the gardener to see quick growth but you pay the price over time. The manure plus the bonemeal is enough food for a whole season. The bonemeal takes about 6 months for the bacteria in the soil to break it down so the rose roots can assimilate it. Slow and steady is what one should be looking for. Yes, I would agree that warm weather and lots of food could cause a problem.