Removing buds will surely encourage plants to put their energy into growth (roots and canes) rather than buds. And it is true that there are some roses that put ALL of their energy into bloom, and "forget" to grow.

But if you can remove a whole flush, you've got more strength of character and determination than I have.

Jeri

Alfalfa meal. Still, you can only hurry them so much. A climbing rose is more like a small tree than a shrub in that it can only develop so fast. It grows by its timetable, not yours.

As the Kung-Fu master said, "Patience, grasshopper!"

It's 3 months old. Climbers take at least 2 years to get to a good height. I think you need to be patient. You may gain a little growth by debudding it, but not much.

Climbers teach you patience. Three months might as well be three days in climber years ... what buford said is valuable advice. Do NOT expect a full-grown climber the first season.

My Climbing Dainty Bess is a good example. Its first year, I waited for those long, lovely climbing canes to appear ... they didn't. Second year, early summer after the first flush of flowers, she threw up two climbing canes ... one of which shot over my heat at lightning speed. I was thrilled.

Think of this year as preparation for next year. Enjoy your climbers flowers. I don't think cutting off the buds will do anything.

Connie

It is a good idea to get at least one bloom to make sure you have the right variety.

The thought of "forcing" is not a good approach to gardening. It will lead to trouble.

I think redirecting energy may have been a better word then forcing. It just seemed strange they slowed their growth so much the last month. I will listen to the Kung-Fu masters here & be patient & just leave them alone this year. I want to help them so much but I guess the best thing I can do this year is leave them alone.
Thanks
Here are my 3 climbers
4th of july - iceberg - don juan
Tim

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Tim, growth has slowed because they have set flower buds at the ends of every shoot. When they plants have gathered sufficient strength, strong basal shoots will grow 8-10 feet before terminating in flower buds. These then need to be bent over so they will break many laterals that will bloom in the next cycle.

Your roses look great, but, with that spacing, what happens when they do produce 10-foot shoots?

They are stuffed in there I know. I have a pattern I am going to train them in & although its a tight fit, they should fit. I designed it to handle 6-8 canes for each plant, 12-15' long. We will see, if its too much I can always remove the center plant.
tim

I kind of feel your pain as I currently have 4 climbers and I doubt any of the 4 will fill my arbors as much as I'd like them to before I move. There are many things that are simply outside of your control in order for the rose to become worthy of climbing. In my opinion, the biggest thing for roses of your age is just to get the roots as established as possible. Sunlight + nutrient uptake = growth. Sounds simple, but that's about it. After that, you just have to decipher how you are going to get sunlight and nutrient uptake. Well you already have them planted in a location where there is probably enough sunlight...so that is out of your control. So everything moves over to nutrient uptake which is mediated by the extent of the root structure. Seeing how young they are, the roots are still small and finding their way. In order to promote new, vigorous growth and long basal canes, you will have to encourage root growth as much as possible so the roots can suck up as much nutrients as it possibly can. Ways to do this? Well, personally what I prefer to do is lay down rosetone and then deep water the rosetone into the soil right BEFORE I know there might be a stretch of hot dry days when the rose needs watered. I do this because the rose probably appreciates the watering and fertilization, but more importantly because the roots will want to seek out nutrients and water once it becomes drier, so it will encourage the root system to dig wider and deeper, therefore encouraging future water/nutrient uptake. Think of a kid reaching for candy on a shelf that is at waist level, and then the kid stretching for candy on a shelf that is 2ft above it's head. Same philosophy...kid and rose both wants to satisfy it's needs and will go to extra lengths to do it. The added aspect of the rosetone or whatever compost/fertilizer you use, is that it typically has mixtures of other ingredients which helps with soil culture in establishing more microbial organisms which aid in the conversion of nutrients for the roses. These are some of the modifiable aspects of what you can control. After that, it's all up to the rose for finding it's own way after you yell at it enough and threaten it with a shovel to grow faster. Haha it occurs all in due time.

I know Iceberg will cover that area by itself probably in one more year. Can I ask what the round things are? Are you going to loop the canes through them? It looks very interesting.