Climbing Roses....

[Sara]

Hi

On one of our outside walls i have a climbing rose bush.... Its a bit over grown... Is it too late to cut some of it back? Will it still flower and grow in the spring and summer?

I cut back the normal roses in autumn and they have started to get little shoots coming off them but the climbing rose hasnt got any....

I really want to cut it back but i dont want to ruin any growth this year or make it late to flower...

Any suggestions?

[newto]

Could you try pruning 1 side only......... then either way you still might get flowers

I havent got a climbing rose, just 2 large bush type ones, and I prune them several times a year, to no ill effect. In factgetmore flowers than otherwise would have done!

[Homemade]

Absolutely fine to cut it back now.
Be quite ruthless with crossing branches and long side shoots.
Only proviso - hard frosts may hit young shoots in feb so you might want to leave a little to final prune in March.

Flowering and new growth will be improved by pruning.

Sorry Newto but the hormone system means that if you prune only one side then the unpruned side will dominate.

[perchy]

Am glad this has been on as I have a very damaged climbing rose, the snow was so heavy it broke it will sort it out now

[Sara]

Thank you everyone

Its a gorgeous day so i will get out there now and get pruning

[wendy]

I have one that was so bloomin' tall. Right up to the bedroom window.
I haven't a clue with them, so never did anything.
But it was so bad, I could say we pruned it hard. But I feel we just hacked it back. So it is a wait and see I suppose. It is a beautiful yellow, with a magnificent scent. But the flowers were so high, we could barely see them.

[Sara]

Well its pruned back now...

I didnt go too hard at it , there were some teeny shoots on some of it but im geussing they will keep coming now....

Ive always cut back my normal roses a lot.... and every year they come back brilliantly with tons of flowers so fingers crossed this will do the same

Thank you for the help

[p.penn]

I tried to kill my climbing rose last year so I could grow veg there - no such luck! It is about 8 ft high again already!

[albertajune]

No problem at all with pruning your climbing rose. Uually in the autumn roses are just tidied and the main pruning done in the spring. If pruned back too much when finished flowering there is a great chance of frost damage.
Hope this helps

June