A climbing rose has grown a strong basal shoot - should you keep it or cut it?

Many rose growers are at a loss when it comes to the strong basal shoots their roses produce. A so-called strong basal shoot is a vigorous branch growing from the base of the plant, and it tells you at least one thing: the plant is currently in good condition. And the thing about strong basal shoots is that their strength lies in the fact that each one grows thicker than the last - truly "the student surpasses the master."

The thicker the branch, the more explosive its growth power, and the easier it will be for it to grow taller later on. For climbing roses, taller and longer branches are actually better for shaping. It is just like human hair: the longer the hair, the more room you have to work with - you can braid it, tie it, or cut it, and how you do it depends on the effect you want.

As for those slender branches, they actually are not of much use, because they are thin to begin with, and the longer they grow, the thinner they get, until in the end they cannot produce flower buds at all. Even if they do, the buds are extremely small and amount to nothing. And even a strong basal shoot, once it has bloomed once, consumes a great deal of nutrients, and its staying power becomes very weak.

If other strong basal shoots grow the following year, then the previous year's strong basal shoot is even more overshadowed. A plant only has so much root system, and the nutrients it can absorb are limited. All the nutrients supplied are limited, and the branches compete for them. After a wave of flowers fades, it is very easy for another batch of strong basal shoots to grow.

Whether they are strong basal shoots or those small branches, the principle of pruning is actually to keep the strong and remove the weak - that is, keep the branches that are strong and still full of vitality, and cut off the old, weak, thin and small branches, so that the whole plant blooms better. Nutrient supply to branches can easily be overtaken by newcomers; the strong basal shoots that grow later can grab significantly more nutrients than the other branches.

At this point, do not cut off the newly grown strong basal shoots. Even if you do prune, just trim the tips of the branches slightly, and then when the strong basal shoots have grown to a certain number, you can prune away some of the old, weak, diseased and damaged branches to supply more nutrients to the vigorous strong basal shoots. This way it is also easier to get lush foliage and grow more and bigger flower buds.

To judge a branch's growth vigor, you can observe the leaves on that branch. A vigorous branch will of course grow leaves that are emerald green, thick and glossy, while a branch whose vigor is beginning to decline will grow leaves that are duller in color and even prone to yellowing and withering. At this point you can appropriately discard these weak branches.