Birthday
HydrangeasYour rose bush looks healthy, but there are no buds, or very few? Most often the cause lies in growing conditions or care and can be fixed within a season. Here are the main reasons a garden rose won't bloom and what to do in each case.
If you want roses right now, choose from our spray roses and potted plants sections.
The main reasons
Not enough sun
Roses need at least 6 hours of direct sun a day. In the shade of trees or by a north-facing wall the bush becomes leggy and flowers poorly. If moving it isn't possible, thin out overhanging branches of nearby trees.
Wrong pruning
- Pruning too hard in spring can remove the shoots on which buds form.
- Once-flowering climbers and shrub roses bloom on last year's wood: cut it back in spring and there will be no flowers. Prune them straight after flowering.
- Repeat-flowering varieties benefit from deadheading, which encourages new buds.
Too much nitrogen
Nitrogen fertilisers produce lush leaves but, in excess, delay flowering. From the start of budding switch to potassium- and phosphorus-rich feeds, and apply no nitrogen at all in late summer.
Rootstock suckers
Most garden roses are grafted onto a wild rose rootstock. Shoots growing from the root with small leaves of a different kind are suckers: they drain the strength of the cultivated rose. Remove them right at the base after clearing away the soil.
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Other reasons
- A young plant. In its first year after planting a rose mainly grows roots — this is normal.
- Root competition from nearby trees and large shrubs.
- Lack of water in hot weather, or the opposite: waterlogging and heavy soil.
- Pests and diseases — aphids, thrips, black spot and powdery mildew weaken the bush.
- Frost damage — if shoots died in winter, the bush recovers and flowers later. How to avoid it is covered in "How to prepare roses for winter".
What to do: a quick plan
- Check the light and, if needed, move the bush in autumn or early spring.
- Adjust pruning to suit the type of rose.
- Feed with a potassium and phosphorus fertiliser.
- Remove rootstock suckers and spent flowers.
- Check leaves and buds for pests and diseases.
For varieties that flower well in the garden, see "Best shrub rose varieties".
FAQ
Why does my rose only produce leaves?
Usually because of too little sun, too much nitrogen or incorrect pruning.
When should I prune a climbing rose so it flowers?
Once-flowering climbers are pruned straight after flowering, not in spring.
How do I recognise rootstock suckers?
They grow from the root below the graft and have small leaves of a different shape.
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Author: Maria Svitlovir
Graduated from Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Institute of Biology and Medicine (2001). BSc in Biology, MSc in Horticulture. Writes about plants, works at a garden centre selecting and repotting plants, and contributes to plant reference guides.
