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| I'm trusting that we're not going to get a hard freeze at this late date, and am pruning my large warm climate climbers. These were all planted 2003-05, close to the house, in lighter soil than the modeling clay I'm trying to grow roses in in the big garden. They've grown into big happy roses, rewarding to work on because of all the material available. My usual method is to cut away all the puny growth first, then eliminate a portion of the oldest canes, shorten some of the growth, and finally tie in the canes. My problem child is 'Cl. Papa Gontier'. This rose is planted on a wall facing somewhat north of east, and it doesn't like it. It sends out long, long canes, making a scraggly plant, and there doesn't seem to be any way to make it more compact; if I shorten these canes drastically, it does the same thing again. I think it's trying to reach the sun. Any suggestions, or ought I just to resign myself? The plant is too well established to be moved (I know some of you would do it, but not I). 'Crepuscule', next to it with the same orientation, does fine, though is probably less floriferous than it would be if it got more light. Another question: is there any point to limiting the height of a climbing rose, if there's the space and support for it and it works aesthetically? My 'Noella Nabonnand' has strong canes up on the first floor balcony (above the ground floor), that I'm reluctant to cut out, and bigger is always better in my eyes where climbing roses are concerned. Jackie's huge roses are certainly inspiring. It's good to see 'Noella Nabonnand' back, as several years ago when she was invading all her section of garden I cut her back hard and she sulked for some years. Well, the sulks are over. Also 'Marechal Niel' has begun to recover from the mysterious dieback that struck it about five years ago. It had been the most beautiful rose, well up on the balcony and heading higher, and then began to grow backward, ending up in misery. Now the process has reversed itself and it's growing again, and I sure hope it continues. The rose is a mess, of course. I'll have to see what I can do to begin training it again. Melissa |
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| First of all, I don't know this rose. I have recently planted Papa-Gontier-the-shrub, still a baby. I know nothing whatsoever about the climber. But for what it is worth, and that means possibly not anything at all, I am moved to share my experience with 'Sombreuil', the climber that is sometimes called 'Colonial White'. I had it on an arbor for a number of years. For several years it had a few (3? 4?) very, very long canes, much like the ones you describe on Papa Gontier Climbing. The time came to re-stain the arbor with wood preservative, and we simply could not do it with this thorny creature in place. I cut it down to about 18 inches from the ground. I know, brutal. I did not know if the rose would survive or not. But to my happy astonishment, it exploded with a dozen new canes. It looked like an octopus! Far more robust than it had ever been before. Now I have no idea at all if Papa Gontier Climbing would do the same with this treatment, or shrivel up and die, or continue on as usual. I only offer it as an example of blind luck. (So of course the very next year I took Sombreuil out and replaced it with a grapevine. It is a very nice grapevine with very delicious grapes. Yum.) Folly |
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