# Roses in the south of Spain



## enlivend (Jul 26, 2014)

Does anybody know about pruning roses in this climate?

The appartment I'm in for the summer has half a dozen roses in the garden. We started watering them daily, and one by one they've all flowered. I deadheaded them and they flowered some more, but they're getting over that now and working on stems and leaves - one of them in particular is now about as tall as me and shows no sign of slowing down any time soon.

If this were England, I'd grit my teeth and wait for some colder weather - say late October before the first hard frosts. No sense in doing that here, could be a long haul.

So can anyone tell me what I should do? Just hack them down (and if so, by how much) and encourage them to regrow?

Or, if you're in shouting distance of Marbella, come round and show me what to do and I'll feed you.

Thanks,

- nick


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

enlivend said:


> Does anybody know about pruning roses in this climate?
> 
> The appartment I'm in for the summer has half a dozen roses in the garden. We started watering them daily, and one by one they've all flowered. I deadheaded them and they flowered some more, but they're getting over that now and working on stems and leaves - one of them in particular is now about as tall as me and shows no sign of slowing down any time soon.
> 
> ...



Rightly or wrongly, I cut mine back to a manageable size and they soon start growing and flowering again.

The only time they are not in flower is when it's too hot and I haven't watered them enough. I even had flowers in Dec and January.


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## thrax (Nov 13, 2008)

Yes dead head them regularly. Ours provide flowers all year round. Every now and then be savage!!! They will always recover and very quickly.


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## Alcalaina (Aug 6, 2010)

We have lots in parks and gardens here, they flower all year round and they never seem to get blackfly!

They never cut them right back to the ground, presumably because there is no frost to protect them from. So I would just keep deadheading and prune them to keep them to a reasonable size.


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

The reason roses are cut back in winter is to stop the plant rocking and to protect the roots from being disturbed by the strong winds. In the spring roses are further pruned to encourage outward growth and to allow the circulation of air into the centre of the plant. Here in the Canary Isles, my roses are sheltered, so the harsh pruning that I gave my clients roses in England is not needed, but i still prune to encourage outward growth and I feed. I have also a climber which is a complete animal, this has to be hacked back every two years or so.

The roses flower all year round.


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## olivefarmer (Oct 16, 2012)

We prune ours back after each flush of flowers to the "first five leaf ".

In Spring we prune back quite severely to keep the centre open and to promote outward growth. - look for an outward facing bud as that is where the growth comes from. 

Roses do really well here. In England it was always a struggle fighting the various bugs etc.


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

For us, black spot on the roses is the biggest problem - even though I keep the ground clear of dead leaves, it still comes back every year.

Anyone have a solution?


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## 90199 (Mar 21, 2010)

snikpoh said:


> For us, black spot on the roses is the biggest problem - even though I keep the ground clear of dead leaves, it still comes back every year.
> 
> Anyone have a solution?


It's a fungus, try a solution of baking powder, cooking oil and washing up liquid, two table spoons per litre of water and spray the plants, another treatment is spray with milk, Got Blackspot? Get Milk.


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