Our climbing rose has keeled over
Marksw76
Posts: 18
Well not entirely keeled over, more like the top section got blown over in the high winds last month.
It's HUGE and was growing up the side of the neighbours garage so provided an excellent cover for the nasty concrete, but the top section got damaged and it now sits like a rather sad hunched over old man a shadow of it's former self.
It doesn't look like it was attached by any artificial means, so I assume they climb up the wall??
I can't get into it to attach any string to tie it back, and it's so huge it would be easier to manoever a ocean liner than this, plus I will get obliterated by thorns.
So what are my options, should I cut it down now or risk it getting further damaged? Or should I wait until the autumn and hope it hangs on by a thread for the next four months, will it damage it if I start hacking now? I don't really want to, but the bottom now has no light so looks a bit flowerless
I'm gutted, the majority is absolutely FULL of flowers it looked amazing it's so healthy I worry it will never be the same again
Any ideas?
I'm a gardener newby BTW hence a probably basic question!!
Posts
Hi Marksw76
Could you post some photos to give us a better idea of your options?
To upload pics click on the camera icon ... if they don't upload try reducing the size ... that usually works.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Hopefully the photo gives you a better idea. The arrows represent where it used to grow, it basically grew higher than the garage it was covering and the wind must have caught it and snapped it, although I can't see where.
It's looking sad and you can see all the petals have dropped off
Do you have support on the wall? Like lines of wires to secure it to? It looks like you might have holes where the rawlplugs have busted out the wall in the wind.
Not that I'm aware of.
The rose was there before we moved in, those holes you mention I don't think had anything in them.
I wasn't sure if climbing roses were a bit like ivy and somehow attach/get support from the wall...?
What I think we'd struggle with is trying to push the rose back, it's a beast!!
Last edited: 28 June 2017 21:10:27
Interesting
I'll prefix this with me not being an expert but I will tell you how I would handle it and someone might come along and correct me so hang fire until you've had more replies.
I wouldn't push the rose back, I'd start a programme of training and clipping to manage it. What I suspect has happened is that all was fine and dandy for a few years then it just got too big and heavy for its supports and the wind removed them from the wall.
Have a look and see if you can find wire in the undergrowth.
Roses aren't self clinging that I'm aware of, they need support - and when large (with no pruning programme), strong support!
What I'd do is take this opportunity to provide a good supporting framework, maybe attach trellis to the garage, then cut the rose back at the appropriate time for it (sorry, not experienced enough to tell you when this is).
My idea is that it is mature enough to throw up new shoots next year that you tie in securely to the framework and in a couple of years you'll be back where you were but with a ton more knowledge of your plant and what it needs.
Hope this helps.
Thanks Cloggie
I usually clip it in January. in fact i clipped it right back this year which is why it's been so successful this year, a bit too successful.
I thought the same as you, and i was looking for some sort of support, but i can't find anything, although it is quite tricky to get up close and personal!
That said, something must have supported it, otherwise it would have died when it keeled over but I can't see where it has snapped. In fact the flowers at the top came after it had dropped down!!
It's just knowing when to prune it, and if it's going to damage it more if I leave it up there until October? (if it stays put that long!!)
Do you know what rose it might be? It looks like a shrub of rose. If not, you ought to train it against the wall next spring. It has simply grown too well and sadly very windy gusts have dragged the whole top section down because it's so matted together.
If the weather is nice and sunny, and provided no branches have actually snapped, you may start to see the stems start to straighten up a bit over a short period. But, because it's so big and heavy, not all will be able to pick up. If you don't have anything to hold it up, then cut down the full section that has flopped forward. This will obviously mean you have lost a large amount of blooms. But it's still alive and may produce another flush of flowers.
This is a problem that may happen again because the rose has been planted very close to the wall, and if it's grown so vigorously without any early support it can happen again, especially in heavy down-pours. If you don't want to move the rose, next spring, tie the early stems into the wall with heavy wire.
Good old 'Dorothy Perkins', or one of her close relatives.... I actually prefer it the way it is, and if you have a good pair of gloves, this is really very easy... just wait until those flowers have all disintegrated - it'll be coming to the end of its flush soon in any case, then get stuck in and cut it back by half, or however much you want, cut out old dead wood and generally tidy up, and then as it grows out again, just train it where you want to go... it can be left freestanding...
Of course, these days some of us have to pay for our garden waste disposal, so I don't know if you do too, as you'd have quite a bit to get rid of there...