Rose Dieback: what is it, really?

 

Ah, a phrase to strike terror into the heart of most gardeners, especially those of us who were originally RHS trained: rose dieback.

It occurs when roses are badly pruned, and it can be very detrimental to the plant: and when I say “pruned” that also includes “dead headed”, so it's worth knowing about it now, in the middle of summer, when deadheading is a regular occurrence.

So, what do we know about deadheading roses?

When a blossom, or spray of blossoms, has finished, it needs to be removed, otherwise the plant will waste energy making seeds (hips/haws) instead of sending up more flower buds.

An exception to this “rule” would be Rosa glauca:

 .. which we leave, because it produces rather nice shapely hips - or haws, still not sure of the difference - later in the year: plus it only flowers once anyway, so we might just as well leave them.

Otherwise, it's off with their heads!

And most people - well, most/all gardeners, not so many Clients - already know about making a sloping cut, just above an outward facing bud:

 

 

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