Pruning tea roses

Hi,
I've just finished pruning and I left the tea roses - didn't prune them at all. Do they need it? They seem to have a lot of thin growth and only a few very strong canes.
Barbara B

Barb, is this thin growth, short, spindley and crooked?

Yes, it is Neptune. I think it's just normal growth. I'll get a photo later for you.
Barbara B

No! don't prune them, remove any dead wood which is usually very small. They do not suffer excessive dieback like roses that go dormant in winter. Dead heading after a flush will help future blooms. Growth is usually twiggy except the main two or three main canes.
If you must prune because the plant has gone through the fence and halfway across a neighbours path then do it slowly because they grow 365 days a year. Hard pruning may make them sulk for a year or even die.

The ones in the Benalla Gardens just got lumbered with a full Monty HT prune this year.... Apparently they had a lighter prune last year.

That's a pity Wendy, surprising how council gardeners were never given notes on Tea roses when attending TAFE.
Suppose that's what happens when they go out of fashion and are now Australia's best kept secret.

Gary up in the Pineapple country has gone against the trend
with a fantastic display of Tea's.

I hope this works. You can see some heavy canes in it too.
Barbara B

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They've survived quite a while, Bruce so I think they will be ok. Big, robust specimens.

Barbara

Some of the teas have a habit of putting out a lot of shoots which can look a bit messy. I would probably clean out a few of the stems. If you leave them all there you will end up with a bit of a messy rose.

Be careful though as Rosette De Lizy does not like pruning all that much. Tends to sulk and then drop dead.

Hi,
I think I'll just leave her. I've got the room. In fact, I may turn that back garden to just tea roses. There's a few in there already.
Are they easy to move? Would you prune them before you move them? I've got a couple in my front bed - Devoniensis and Marie van Houtte and they could go very well in the back garden.
I have two that I pruned and they're doing just what you said - General Gallieni and Mutabilis Chinensis. They were getting large, so I moved them to where they could spread themselves out and I pruned them for the move and they haven't moved since. They're definitely sulking. I might even need to replace them.
Barbara B

You might be ok, Barbara - General Gallieni is in the Benalla Gardens and they hard prune it every year/second year. They were huge this year when they were cut back. I may watch with more interest as to how they bounce back..!

Fingers crossed - they are both beautiful roses.
Barbara B