QuestionQUESTION: I have three older rose bushes. One is an old Joseph's coat climber, one is a Peace hybrid tea, and the other is an old species of Mr. Lincoln hybrid tea. Each of these bushes have been in the ground 9 years. There is an issue with each. The first is with the climber. It has stopped expanding and has few leaves. It blooms constantly for the first few weeks in the season and then just looks bleak for the rest of the summer. The second is with the Peace rose. It has never gotten any higher than a foot in height and it's struggled for that. The blooms are small and 'leafy' instead of that usual hybrid tea bloom that I'm used to. It doesn't have many blooms during the season either. The final problem is with the Lincoln rose. It's terrible. I've got one gray cane in the back and one 6" cane in the front. Shoots will come off of this cane in the front and I'll get one or two blooms. The blooms will be nice, but then nothing the rest of the summer. It looks like it's on it's last leg. I almost want to dig it up and put it in a pot to see if I can revive it, but I'm afraid that that kind of shock will kill it quickly. All three are in full sun, have been fertilized, and are given a good soak twice a week because we are in an high heat area (western NC). Can you help me revive these beauties?
ANSWER: The books may call it a climber, but Joseph's Coat only grows as a large shrub and nothing will make it grow larger or taller, and it is really only a one main bloom rose with a few flowers later. Your Peace rose has definitely something the matter with it such as a weak bud eye used in budding. It is never going to grow normally so I would replace it with another. Mr. Lincoln has survived all these years because of his beautiful blooms and the strong fragrance. However he is not a good rose bush and often just continues to struggle or simply continues to dieback. He seems to like a constantly warm climate with no cold in the winter, to do well. Transplanting a rose when it is growing will always put it into shock and that may well kill one that isn't growing well. I know one gets attached to their roses but when they constantly fall back or have serious problems, it really is a wisdom to replace them with another rose.
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QUESTION: Joseph's Coat is a bush? Interesting! Ok, with this in mind, should I go ahead and cut it back? I've never but it back. Do they have a more disease resistant versions of my Peace and Lincoln roses? If not, what would you suggest for show piece blooms all summer long?
Thanks so much!
AnswerBy all means prune your Josephs Coat back by a third as that is about the amount that they grow in a season so it will be replaced. Because your Peace rose is a defective one, I think you would be happy with another Peace rose as it would grow normally for you. When a rose doesn't do well in your garden, it isn't your fault it is simply a poor cultivar of that rose. If you really like Mister Lincoln, then get another one because it is a good rose. However it does have a few drawbacks that you can't correct. It isn't very generous with it's flowers, if planted in full sun the deep red will go a purplish red and it is prone to black spot disease. To try and combat these faults plant Mr.Lincoln where he is shaded from the very hot afternoon sun, it would be a wisdom to spray this rose before you see any evidence of the black spots on the leaves. Because roses love and do better with cool, damp roots, use a mulch all around the base.
