I would appreciate any help with my very thorny, unruly Constance Spry rose. I have wilting and eventual drying up of new growth and I think nascent buds on several of my roses this year. Upon examination, I have found tiny budworm-like worms with darker heads within the stem itself, just below the wilted part. I have sprayed with BT but as they are attacking from within, I'm wondering if that will be effective. I love the gorgeous cabbage roses on this plant. It only blooms once a year, on old wood, as I understand it. I have to enclose all of it (roughly 8 feet by 6 feet by 4 feet when it is lying on its side) with 10 to 15 garbage bags of sawdust and leaves to get the canes through the winter. This is quite a production so I'd rather have as many blossoms as possible. I have a few big buds on the same canes that have the die off. Also I'm not sure which ones to cut back or off other than the dead, diseased and damaged and the ones that are too long. Some of the twiggy ones have buds on it. My usual state upon uncovering it in the spring is to wait for it to leaf out to see what's survived, then I wait for signs of flower buds so I can clean out some of the congestion. Thanks for any suggestions.
I have had a constance spry in a very large pot, about 3 x 6, for about 9 years. Over the years it has not done well, last year it didn't bloom and sent out very weak growth. Any cuttings I took last year didn't root. So, this year I cut it back very, very, very hard. And, now it is beautiful. The leaves are lush and the flower buds are big and healthy. Maybe it was our very harsh winter, three feet of snow and one day minus 14 (we're on vancouver island). I'll try again for cuttings in July - don't want to take a chance that this is its last performance! Good luck.
Hello Dandy, That is a good idea about cutting it back very hard. I did do this a few years ago and it helped to make it a more shapely plant (if I can apply such a term to such an unruly plant). No problem as to hardiness of the root. Officially Zone 5b here. It's the canes above the snow that get hit. And I do grow this for the scented flowers. I approach it dressed head to toe and wearing safety glasses. The canes can be 8 to 12 feet long and armed with vicious thorns. Lovely blossoms, though.
As an after thought, the Old Rose Nursery on Hornby Island have constance spry. Best to order in the fall, they sell out very fast - www.oldrosenursery.com Cheers, Yvonne.
