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Should I prune this new climbing rose?

CraighBCraighB Posts: 744
in Plants
Hi guys,

I purchased this climbing rose the other day and it already has some stems however most of the ends snapped off when I was putting it in the car.

Is it worth pruning the rose back hard now before planting it as there are se strong looking shoots lower down the stems.... Or shall I just plant it as it is and prune it hard next year?

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  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 22,584
    I would just plant it. It has already been pruned quite short for a climber. It will make new shoots.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • FireFire Posts: 17,322
    edited April 2022
    I wouldn't prune Ena for about three years. Plant over the graft union (the knobby bit). Keep it really well watered over the summer - buckets every week. I love Ena - the bloom scent is terrific.
  • RedwingRedwing Posts: 1,439
    Plant it and let it grow!
    Based in Sussex, I garden to encourage as many birds to my garden as possible.
  • CraighBCraighB Posts: 744
    Fire said:
    I wouldn't prune Ena for about three years. Plant over the graft union (the knobby bit). Keep it really well watered over the summer - buckets every week. I love Ena - the bloom scent is terrific.
    I'm glad you said that about Ena. I randomly purchased it at a garden centre after already planning to buy a different one online that I had seen. But it was cheap so I just went for it and it wasn't until I checked online that I realised it was scented. It's going to be growing up the front of my house, over the doorway and window so it will be nice to smell it when it's in flower :smile:

    Thanks for the advice everyone about pruning. I will leave it and wait for all the long stems to grow :)
  • CraighBCraighB Posts: 744
    On the same subject... I will obviously have to buy some galvanised wire for the rose to be tied to. Ideally I don't want it to stand out too much against the bricks. What thickness would be best?

    Wilko do some which is 1.5mm. it seems strong but I've never grown a climbing rose before.
  • FireFire Posts: 17,322
    I butchered my Ena by pruning early on and it reverted to a shrub rose (that doesn't climb). They can do that. I would feed it over the season and give lots of water.  Leave it alone and enjoy the growing. For me it's one of the earliest flowering roses I have - great to see in April - but I'm pretty far south.
  • CraighBCraighB Posts: 744
    Fire said:
    I butchered my Ena by pruning early on and it reverted to a shrub rose (that doesn't climb). They can do that. I would feed it over the season and give lots of water.  Leave it alone and enjoy the growing. For me it's one of the earliest flowering roses I have - great to see in April - but I'm pretty far south.
    It reverted to a shrub rose? How does it do that? I would have thought it's kinda programmed into it to be a climber?

    I was worried at first when I bought mine as the pot it was in was labelled as a climbing rose and it was in the climbing rose section. However the actual tag hanging from the stems just says Ena Harness Hybrid Tea, nothing about climbing. When I scanned the QR code on the label it took me to the growers website which also said this rose grows 60-90cm tall.

    So I really really hope that this is a climber! Do they even do a shrub rose version?
  • FireFire Posts: 17,322
    As far as I know it is only a climber.

    A sport of Crimson Glory, whch is also a red climber with great scent (mine has just started blooming)..

    Height is given as up to 4-5m. The term "Hybrid tea" just refers to its parentage.

    They say that sometimes the blooms can be so big and the necks weak, such that the neck can bend of break, but I don't find that a big problem. I grow it right by front door, at nose height as I can inhale. 




  • FireFire Posts: 17,322
    CraighB said:
    On the same subject... I will obviously have to buy some galvanised wire for the rose to be tied to. Ideally I don't want it to stand out too much against the bricks. What thickness would be best?

    Wilko do some which is 1.5mm. it seems strong but I've never grown a climbing rose before.

    You can use wire across a wall tied into vine eyes, or use a bit of trellis. I like wooden trellis. It lasts well and I like the look. Galvanised wire lasts long so it doesn't need to be that thick, Ena is not a huge heavy rose. 1-2mm wire is fine. 

    You can see the type of trellis I use behind the rose in the pic. It's been up ten years and showing no wear.



  • FireFire Posts: 17,322
    It's other parent is rosa Southport - a shrub rose. If you prune a climber back too hard it can revert to its parent state.
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