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| We just moved into a house with vestiges of an old cottage garden that we're excavating from under decades' worth of brambles. There is an old (30+ years) climbing rose that I have cleared of blackberries, etc. I have no experience with climbers and am trying to understand how best to train it on the fence it was planted near. Details:
- One huge rootstock, about four inches diameter - Off of that grow four thick canes, starting ~three feet from the fence, each one foot apart off the rootstock - They are four-ten feet of woody vine, then green; vines from fifteen to thirty feet long - Haven't bloomed in as long any of the neighbors can remember (though the previous owner says they're purple) My question: They are too long to simply train onto the fence as-is, since they will just show woody cane across the fence and then go high and climb (back) into the oak tree nearby. Should I cut them down and let the green regrow? Or secure them to the fence and twine the green parts back down and around? If I should cut them, where and when? It just started raining here in the San Francisco Bay Area. Thanks! |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| I wouldn't cut the canes down at this point, because if this is a once-bloomer, you will remove all hope of bloom this spring. You could cut it back some, but you need to retain that old wood. There are multiple possibilities as to identification -- anywhere from an old rambler to -- rootstock. If it is rootstock, you will know when you see spring bloom, which will only appear on old wood. Can you get photographs of some of the foliage? What would be really helpful is if you could pull an entire leaf off of the cane, including the stipule and all of the leaflets -- lay it on some paper, or bricks or something, and take photos of both sides. Something like the photo attached (but show both the top side, and the underside. Rain! LUCKY YOU! Jeri In Dry SoCal |
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- Posted by jacqueline3 9CA (My Page) on Wed, Oct 24, 12 at 12:12
| Jeri is right, as usual. Don't prune it until we can figure out who/what it is. In addition to sending in pics of the foliage, please do do send in lots of pics when it blooms next Spring (you might give it some food now, also). It will obviously be OK for water until Spring. Once we can see the blooms and also some pics of the overall plant, I'm sure someone on here can tell you at least what kind of rose it is, and then you will get detailed instructions as to how to prune it. But - leave it alone for now, except for some food. It may not have bloomed much because it was covered with other stuff, and not getting enough light. It should bloom this coming Spring. Jackie |
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- Posted by misslisamham none (My Page) on Sat, Oct 27, 12 at 16:31
| Thanks for your responses. Sorry it took me a while to follow up. In the original post I used the word "rootstock" perhaps too casually. What I meant is that there's a thick, woody log-looking vine along the ground, from which the canes are sprouting. Two of those canes are green, two are woody. All are sprouting out long vines that are green, and covered with leaves at the end. Bear in mind that they are long and leggy like this because before I cleared the way they had been both covered by brambles and climbing up into a tree. One more possibly useful piece of information is that this thick stock is planted next to an active climber that's very common in my area, one with countless little (2 1/2-inch diameter), light pink roses with many petals. Can't remember the name but I would recognize it. I'll post the a photo of the base/rootstock (?) here, and in two more posts a photo of the leaves and of the whole deal. (The site will allow me to post only one photo at a time.) Would appreciate your advice after seeing these images. |
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- Posted by misslisamham CA 15 (My Page) on Sat, Oct 27, 12 at 16:32
| Oops. Posted leaves with the previous. Here are the canes coming out of the base. |
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- Posted by misslisamham none (My Page) on Sat, Oct 27, 12 at 16:33
| And this is looking back over the long vines and leaves to the canes (curving at top of photo) to the base root/log thing. |
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- Posted by henry_kuska z5 OH (kuska@neo.rr.com) on Sat, Oct 27, 12 at 16:53
| Veilchenblau? Unfortunately mine died many years ago. The Help-Me-Find link is below.
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Here is a link that might be useful: Help-Me-Find link.
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- Posted by misslisamham CA 15 (My Page) on Sat, Oct 27, 12 at 23:58
| Thanks for the guess. It can't be that one because it has terrible thorns all over. It has been entwined with blackberries, and I've confused their dead growth because their thorns are similarly nasty. The ones on the old, woody canes are big like cat claws. |
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- Posted by henry_kuska z5 OH (kuska@neo.rr.com) on Sun, Oct 28, 12 at 0:08
| Another possibility is that when it had purple flowers it was Veilchenblau, but now that it is not blooming it is just understock |
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- Posted by meredith_e 7B Piedmont NC (My Page) on Sun, Oct 28, 12 at 3:43
| I'm no good at comparing leaves, etc. But maybe Queen of the Prairies? (I grow her). http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=21.145408 Check out the other pics, too. If so, she'll have massive, frightening base canes with enormous thorns and then thinner, floppy stuff up tall. The thorns get smaller as you go up. I have one climbing my large shed :) |
Here is a link that might be useful: HMF QotP
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