Hello, I have what i believe is a Henry Kelsey rose - from the Canadian explorer series. It grows like crazy every year and usually blooms with an incredible amount of flowers, but only once per season instead of twice, which from what i have read, it is supposed to do. We have it growing up a trellis. It is very overgrown this year as we neglected to give it any attention from last year :/ We have had the rose for many years and though i have tried to research on it a bit (i just figured out a couple years ago what kind of rose it is) i can't seem to find any info on the best way to care for it. We have tried leaving it alone with no pruning and we have tried cutting it down to about 1/3 of it's height. We have also considered ripping it out as it's very frustrating having it only bloom for 2 weeks out of the entire year when it takes up as much room as it does. So i guess my question is: Does anyone have any experience with this type of rose and if so what would you say the best way to care for it is as far as pruning (how and when) and how to get the most blooms (or at least a repeat in blooming). Because it is so tall and overgrown it definitely needs some significant pruning and i'd like to do it while i'm in the process of doing an overhaul of the rest of the yard and get it cleaned up for the winter. However i don't want to touch it if pruning it now will do a lot of damage. Thanks, and sorry for the lengthy posting.
If the spot is too small for the vigor and stature of the particular variety then it will always be "overgrown", roses vary in habit and mature size. Maybe move it to a better spot. Are the flowers and leaves the right ones for that variety, or might it be another instead, maybe even a rootstock that the Explorer rose was grafted onto and been replaced by?
The rose has lots of room to grow it has a fairly large trellis that we have it growing up for privacy and doesn't really have much in the way of barriers, it is very overgrown but perhaps more in the sense that is hasn't been trained the last couple years and many of the new canes sent out last year are ridiculously high and aren't growing to the trellis. It's more form than size thats the problem. We've had the rose for quite a few years, more than 5 or 6 at the very least and it's bloomed the same way each year so i'm not sure about the grafting. I'm not even close to sure about what type of rose it is, i just think that it might be a Henry Kelsey because of pictures i have found on the internet and then a few minor descriptions i was able to find. I wouldn't be surprised if i am not even close on the variety but it was the only thing i could find that looked similar in pictures... I took a couple pics of the leaves today in case that helps to identify it. Thanks!
Resembles the foliage of 'Dr Huey', used as rootstock by some North American rose growers and therefore seen all over the place (around here, anyway). When I looked through your first comments I visualized this having replaced the original planting being your problem and it now appears that may be the case. A picture of flowers would make it possible to be more definite. Another vigorous cultivar seen having replaced the rose it was grafted on in this area is 'Manetii', this also produces flowers with multiple petals but is not red or reddish in coloring. With thousands of kinds of roses photos on the internet can easily send you down the wrong path unless you are attuned to fine details of diagnostic value, these may best be acquired from complete written descriptions - when available.
That is amazing! I looked at pictures for 'Dr. Huey' roses and as soon as i saw the picture i am sure that must be what we have. The Henry Kelsey certainly looks similar in many of the pictures, but in comparing the 2 side by side there is no question it's the Dr. Huey. When we received the rose it had been cut down to about maybe a foot or little over and i remember the person who gave it to us saying it had beautiful red roses but they didn't have room for it as their garden was already mostly full. They had no idea what kind of rose it was. I can't believe it could be identified so quickly just from a couple pics of the leaves! Thank you very much for the help, it is good to know that it is only supposed to bloom once and that it isn't somehow our fault. It is absolutely gorgeous when it blooms, but since it is only supposed to bloom once, and only for a few weeks, we'll probably end up moving it or giving it away as we'd like something that blooms throughout the summer or at 2 different times at least. Thanks again for your help.
At www.helpmefind.com/rose/index.php says that Henry Kelsey is an occasional repeat bloomer. I have the John Cabot and they say the same thing but the one I have just keeps blooming constantly untill the frost. If you have not fertlized then try a bag of manure around the base of the plant. Greg Holmes
