Pruning climbing rose
Quercusrobur81
Posts: 231
in Plants
Hello-I have read up on pruning climbing roses but am really confused! Any advice would be very gratefully received. Here is my rose:
I think the goal is to get it growing over the arch, covered with flowers (didn’t get many this year). I think it looks healthy and bushy but are the stems too congested?:
Basically, does it need thinning out to prevent black spot etc or should I just leave it alone and keep tying it in to the arch?
Thanks!
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I THINK YOU MUST ACCEPT THAT YOU HAVE BOUGHT THE WRONG ROSE.
THE ROSE IS HEALTHY AND HAPPY. BUT TOO VIGOROUS FOR ITS POSITION.
LIKE HAVING FEET THAT ARE TOO BIG FOR A PAIR OF SHOES YOU HAVE BOUGHT. YOU COULD CUT A FEW TOES OFF AND THEN YOU COULD WEAR THE SHOES. BUT THAT’S NOT REALLY IDEAL, IS IT?
If you live in Derbyshire, as I do.
Ah ok-I had no idea! It was here when we moved here. So do you think it is going a bit crazy? Too much growth? So will pruning it back not really help? Eeek, I was feeding it loads over the summer too! Thanks
You can prune it back to almost how you like, and don't worry too much how.
I would thin out a few right down to a few feet from the base so there are less branches trained over the arch. The rest, you can shorten all the side shoots, which are the ones that are sticking out from the main branch.
Last edited: 05 February 2018 18:52:20
Ok, will give that a shot-thanks borderline. Like I said, I have really no idea, I was just a happy it looked healthy!
Are the flowers on this rose pink? it appears to be thornless, so if they are pink then this is almost certainly 'Zephirine Drouhin'. The growth habit is like that too, lots of canes all over the place. Really, you don't need to do much to that in the way of pruning. I would just get on a ladder and with a bit of string, tie down those top shoots going up at the top of the arch, just time them down to the others, and leave the rest. This rose looks best when grown as a mass plant like that.
However, what you could do now, if you're very brave, or leave until August, but it needs to be done, is to totally prune out that thick dark grey trunk that has come up in between your fence posts, to the left of the gate ''kitchen garden'' sign.. That trunk will cause problems with your little picket fence there if it's not taken right out. You would need to saw it off at the base, and pull out the trunk and all the canes attached to it, from the top. It's an older trunk and its removal will do the plant good.
Oh yes, I see it, thanks marlorena-if it’s not snowing tomorrow I might have a go at that, love a bit of sawing. The flowers are white on this one and sadly it does have a few thorns so prob not the one you mentioned... Thank you!
oh ok.. it's probably 'Mme. Alfred Carriere' then, [or 'climbing Iceberg' even], which often doesn't bloom much in its first year or so.. Same treatment in any case, but it's a very big rose for an arch and will need to be kept in check.
Best of luck..
Last edited: 06 February 2018 00:31:34
Yes-that’s it, just had a look at the little label attached to the base and it’s Mme. Alfred Garriere. Label also says ‘very vigorous, suitable for climbing up trees’ ?. Thanks!
Oh good, I'm glad we sorted that out. I thought the foliage looked familiar as I grew it a long time ago, and it didn't flower for me for 3 years, by which time it was 20 foot wide.. it's a lovely rose where happy and will bloom more fully, when it's ready to do so.
It can be grown on a north facing wall, as it does at Sissinghurst in Kent, I hope you become very happy with it, in time..