I had to cut back a lot when I had my house painted. My climbing roses were on the front, which is stone, but they spread over the side which needed to be painted. So I simply cut those branches that were over there. On the side I had to severely prune my azaleas. But they grew back and looked better.

It's hard but you may be surprised. Last year, my huge Teasing Georgia was on an umbrella trellis. We had a bad storm and the wind broke the trellis (I think it was rusting already) and the rose and trellis was completely horizontal. We had to cut the rose off the trellis. Which meant that we took off most of the rose. What happened is that the sun then was able to hit the base of the rose and it put out many new canes. Of course, being the procrastinator that I am, I did not get the new pillar until a few months went by. To get the rose on it, we had to cut off all but 3 of the new canes (which by this time were 5 feet tall). So we took these three canes and wrapped them around the pillar. It looked so bare, especially when it snowed:

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But as you can see, it responded with TONS of new growth and now you can't even see the pillar! (TG is on the left, you can just see the tip of the pillar)

{{gwi:258379}}

I would take this opportunity to cut back the roses and leave two or three newer canes. Then after the painting is over, if the season is right, fertilize the heck out of the plant and start fresh. I plan on doing that to my two front climbers after they finish blooming.

Jackie, at 3+ stories, I wonder if they are going to want scaffolding? If so, your roses are be even more endangered because the supports have to go where they have to go. What can you do but experiment? When we replaced our windows and repainted, I managed to preserve all our shrubs as well as 3 Japanese Maples. Right before the painters arrive, tie everything away from the house that isn't too tall. Cover bushy shrubs with burlap on the house side and then tie them back. For the large climbers, I'd cut them down to around 8 feet, assuming that is short enough that the canes will be self-supporting. Wrap these in burlap and tie them with rope. Doing this tying back was such a big job at my house that I got some help from a landscaper. It's definitely a 2-person job. You can get big rolls of burlap at irrigation and landscape suppliers, like Water Savers in San Rafael. Call first. Inventories are really low because business is so bad.

Good luck,
Cass

Thank you both so much for the encouragement and practical suggestions.

Buford - your "after" picture is very comforting. When these roses fell off the house we did prune them way back, and they did bloom amazingly the next Spring.

Cass, my DH is a retired contractor, and has already suggested that we hire a gardening contractor to help. I really wanted an opinion from a rose expert - which you gave me! Eight feet it is, and I will let my DH deal with getting the burlap - he is good at that sort of thing. Re the scaffolding, I have inquired, and yes, that might be an issue. Or, they might use a "man lift", which is a large machine which could actually sit on the driveway. My husband plans on looking over their shoulders continuously as they work anyway, and he will get away with it because in addition to being the client, he is a contractor so he speaks construction. Also he knows his life will be not worth living if he lets them actually kill the roses. Of course you were correct to assume that we have other, smaller shrubs in that bed too - actually, I have 2 bush Cecile Bruners, as well as several other rose bushes, most of which are hybrid musks. So, we will get a LOT of burlap! Thanks so much for the suggestions - I feel much better about this now.

jackie

Now that this is settled, may we see a photo of your Victorian house with its magnificent climbers?

Pretty please.

Connie
(old house enthusiast)

Yeah, yeah, yeah...

Sherry

Yes, we want to see pictures! Besides, you'll want before and after pictures anyway.

Well, as for pictures, unfortunately I am really a techno-phobe, and that includes anything to do with cameras. I finally bought a cheap digital camera, and downloaded the 400 page book of instructions, but that's as far as I got.

However, Jeri Jennings has gotten me to agree to write some articles about my garden for the Heritage Roses Group Gold Coast newsletter, and when I do she is going to help me with getting the pictures out of my camera, so when that happens I will let everyone know on this forum, and maybe you can see some then. I did take "before" pictures of the side of the house with those 2 roses on it, the pale pink of the CB does go very well with the pale yellow of the banksie lutea. Sorry, but I have always hated cameras, even when I was using a box brownie!

Jackie

In New Orleans, our Craftsman (2 story) came with a Cl. C. Brunner. One of our tennants at our other building was working for us in exchange for part of his rent and he was supposed to be sanding one part of the house. He decided to sand where Cl C B was, instead, because it had a better breeze. I wasn't home when he made that decision, which included cutting CB off six inches above the ground. Its roots were bound by the cement foundation and a cement driveway strip 2 1/2' away.

I was furious.

The rose came back gangbusters.

(Just in case yours gets too deep a cutback, some of them are really great and strong.)

Ann- thanks for the encouragement - what a story! I think if that had happened to me I would have evicted him!

Sometimes the worst culprits are people who call themselves "gardeners" - we had one once who hacked a flowering crab apple tree and a Japanese quince WAY back - in Jan when they were both covered with buds and were within 2 weeks of bursting into their once a year fabulous bloom. His excuse was that they were "in the way" as he was trying to get at some roses for winter pruning! I did have the satisfaction of firing him, in that instance.

I know my roses will come back, and I even know that they will bloom more and end up being happier for the pruning (they never get pruned now - unless they fall off the house), but I am still not looking forward to it. Thanks for the encouraging words -

Jackie