Roses

JEN22

My roses are really "leggy" this year anyone know why or what to do.


Black spot is a problem too

Farway

Do you prune them? You could just chop them down to about a foot off the ground now, they'll send up new shoots and flower later. Keep them watered & fed until they do though

[Deleted User]

Are these shrub roses ?
Roses are at their best if they're always cut back hard in the winter, becoming leggy is the result of not doing it.


You could cut them back now but if they're flowering you'll lose the stems that the flowers are developing in.
If this doesn't really matter to you give them a cut now and let the plant focus on building its strength back up.


Aphids/blackfly/greenfly are great food for the birds but can distort flower and foliage.
I choose to use a chemical insecticide called Provado.
Spray it in the evening and when the plant will have no sunlight on it until the next day.

JEN22

I think they are hybrid tea roses. Yes I prune back hard in the winter. I think they look worse this year because of black spot. Its never been as bad

Elinore

Mine don't have aphids or black spot and were pruned back at Christmas - still really really leggy.

I had to go out today to prune the elongated ones way back as they were so long they were flailing about in the wind some distance into the garden. No one wants flesh tearing spikes to be moving around ferociously at speed across the path or walkways

So, I'm putting it down to this year's weather.

phoebe1989seb

We have 40+ David Austin shrub roses that we planted last Spring. They were all pruned back hard in the winter but a few - four/five - are really leggy. Am going to cut the long shoots back tomorrow