I have received a couple of bands this spring in which the leafing out was at the top of the plant. They are approx 21" in height and I assume that one reason, it was growing vertically in the nursery. I have a couple of thoughts on how to plant this one, which is La Belle Sultane and that is to bring the canes down into a horizontal position along the fence and see if any of the nodes break out below OR...plant this at a deeper depth.
My other band was Bella Donna, same look/same height, and that was planted a few weeks ago and I did not plant it any different than my other roses. Did not ponder over the planting of Bella at the time. It, too, looked like this La Belle Sultane and I left it as is and hope its sucker qualities, if you will, will just work it's way up.

Thank you for the time and advice on planting this La Belle Sultane.

PS. The La Belle picture posted shows a small sucker in which, if rooted well enough, I will cut away from main plant and pot up. The main plant is 21" from top of plastic pot to top of plant.

Patty

I wouldn't worry about the height this year, but prune it shorter when dormant next spring to encourage it to branch out and get bushier. Build up young plants slowly to encourage branching and shaping.

Patty