Hi Andi ...
>>>> How much do you cut back the potted big box store roses?
Rule of thumb is that you don't want the top growth to be larger than the root mass. My experience in buying plants other than roses at a big box store is that the plants are potted up in junk so you can shake that soil off of the plant and see the size of the root mass. Since it already has hardly any roots, you are not going to damage the plant more than it already is when you purchased it. In fact, there was a tip on ATP about this. I think there is a thread titled "Shake, shake, shake" on the site.
>>>>Do you cut them back all at once, or a bit at a time?
All at once. Roses abandon growth they cannot support. That is why the roses in the big box stores look lousy within a few days of being put out for sale. Your rose will look like it is just sitting there for a while, but it is busy growing roots. The top growth doesn't provide any benefit to the stressed plant.
>>>>Some people deadhead roses the first year they plant them to concentrate the plant's energy on growth. Do you recommend that?
Absolutely ! By personal experience, I know it is very true.
>>>It would take incredible will power!
It does. See my post about disbudding my whole garden on this thread dated May 17th. It's worth it.
>>>I should have taken a picture of all of my potted roses together. William Baffin has canes 6' tall and as thick as my thumb. The rest are several inches tall. The contrast between the huge William Baffin and the rest is striking.
When I bought this house, I was gifted with 150 bands of roses. I had to pot them up and over winter them outside. I didn't lose one rose. All of them were modern roses of different classes.
Here's a photo of one of those roses:
>>>>One reason that I am tempted by the roses in the stores this year is because it will be a while before mine bloom this year.
That's what they are counting on to sell roses with lousy root systems ...
One of the most important lessons roses teach a gardener is patience. I think the rewards are great.
Smiles,
Lyn
