cutting back rose bush and hydrangeas

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jdurant Portage, MI Sep 11, 2008

How far, and when, should I cut back rose bushes and hydrangeas. I live in Michigan.

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Sep 11, 2008

For the hydrangeas, it depends on what kind they are. If yours are H. arborescens or H. paniculata, they bloom on new wood so you could prune them anytime, but if they're H. macrophylla (the more common sort with the pink or blue flowers), most of those bloom on old wood so you need to prune in the summer just after they bloom. There are some newer reblooming macrophylla cultivars like 'Endless Summer', 'Forever and Ever', etc that will bloom on both new and old wood, so those you could prune if necessary but you'll get more flowers if you don't prune now (but given your zone, if you're not protecting them over the winter, you'll likely lose the "old wood" buds to frost/cold anyway, so in that case pruning now or not wouldn't matter) In terms of how much to cut back, my experience is mostly with macrophyllas but I really don't prune them a ton--if they are getting too overgrown I'll pick a few branches and cut them back all the way to the base to thin things out, or I'll trim a little to maintain their shape, but I don't usually do a lot of major cutting back. I don't know that you can't cut them way back, I just never have.

Sorry can't help you on the roses but I'm sure someone else will know what's the right time to prune those.

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paulgrow Allen Park, MI(Zone 6a) Sep 12, 2008

You don't want to prune or fertilize your roses until next spring. A good indicator is when the forsythia blooms you can prune and fertilize here in Michigan.

Paul

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mmock Otsego, MI(Zone 5b) Sep 12, 2008

Thanks Paulgrow.....I was needing that information too...and jdurant I live in Otsego.
Mary

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