Hi there, I have not tried this for climbing roses but I think that's a neat idea if it works. Interested to hear if any one else has tried this method! I might have to give this a shot. :)

In East TN, there's probably a feed store or hardware store that sells veggies this time of year (local Ace Hardware stores can be more expensive, but still not too expensive). I get big tomato cages from there, and those work great until the rose gets too big. If the rose is a big shrub and not a climber, the support isn't necessary after the canes get old enough to support a lot of weight themselves, so it's OK that the tomato cages don't come quite THAT big :)

For climbers, I put them on walls or arbors instead of using any cages. I do use the cages on them when young if it's easier than tying them (like to a wall early on). Just watch out for when they start to outgrow the cage, because you have to let them support themselves then (shrubs) or put in heavier-duty support (like behind climbers on a wall). I do have to cut out the tomato cages sometimes, but that's easy with gloves and the right kind of wire cutters :)

The ones you are showing have extra bits of support across the top that would probably be difficult with rose canes, imho. The tomato cages are more like big, more open funnels. I train canes both inside and out of those (and cut them out later if necessary).

Here, GC has formed a natural looking globe shape without much help.

Like merideth_e, I use tomato cages for floppy baby roses. Cheapest thing. Then when they are not floppy any more I cut the cage out of the rose with wire cutters. Sometimes you can get tomato cages for very cheap after the main tomato season is over. At that point a lot of stores just want to get rid of them because they take up space.

I don't think that first support is big enough for Golden Celebration. To keep life simple, I would probably just purchase a wire-type garden "fence" (I don't know what HD and those places actually call them)--one that was about 2.5-3 ft tall and circle it around the plant, letting it grow naturally upward in the middle.

My Munstead Wood is one year old and a bit "floppy" (though not real bad). So far, I use the single bloom supports and position them strategically under a couple of the blooms that are too top-heavy for the slender canes. Obviously I have to move them around later as different blooms start weighing down different canes. I'm hoping MW's canes will toughen up in a year or two, or, as it gets bigger, I may have to get one of those wire-type garden "fences" about 1.5 ft tall to circle around MW and keep those canes from totally falling over.

Since MW is a smaller rose, you can also just take a v-shaped twiglet from a fallen tree limb and insert under the top-heavy cane. Makes a great "natural" support, very inconspicuous. I often do that also.

Kate

Agree this won't work - rather a glorified peony ring, the sort you put up when the stems of a perennial are still short so they can grow through the grid. You can find a large diameter ring without the grid for about $5 at Walmart & other box store garden centers. Look for the kind that has a hook at each end of the ring itself, so the circle can be opened to place around the plant without trying to thread branches through a solid ring. The legs just hang from the ring, so you fit the ring higher than needed, slide the legs to position (splayed works well), push in & then close the hooks to complete the ring. These come with various circumference & leg lengths & perhaps you could use 2 or 3 on Munstead Wood at staggered heights, relieving any pressure from the ring against the canes by giving it supports at several points. Never tried it with roses, but they work fine with tall phlox, monarda, any plant that tends to flop open at the center. May be worth a try, since they're so inexpensive. Have tried the half-round stake-in supports you show from that company & have them in different widths & leg lengths. Find them quick props for whoopsy situations but not great for longer use. Having only 2 legs, they need to be pushed in on angle toward the plant since the branches bow them outwards. More than one becomes necessary & twist-ties to stabilize them relative to each other. Find the rings more useful, though the leg positioning can take some fiddling. Another stake slightly smaller than the legs can be helpful for making the initial soil groove the legs can then be set in firmly. Mark the stake with a piece of masking tape for the depth you want the legs to penetrate the soil so you end up with the support horizontal rather than crazy angles, same as you'd set an obelisk or arbor. Lowes & others also carry leafy or curvy 2-5' double-pronged stakes for $10-15 that might work to support MW's branches. Foldable rabbit-fencing type garden edging with ground spikes & looped tops comes in low & knee-high versions & could be fitted around MW. Have even used croquet wickets in a pinch...

I've used tomato cages, often snipping them vertically & stretching them out to form semicircles for support. Usually place them upside down - the legs sticking up & soil staples securing the ring at the bottom - with the now topside legs gathered into a finial like the terracotta balls sold for bamboo cane toppers. If they've been snipped lengthwise to fit around a plant, green zipties hold them together again & are easily cut for removal. (Also fits well in pots & looks classical. Good for vines & topiary frames, too, as well as cones planted like "living wreaths".)

For Golden Celebration, you might try a curved trellis such as the one in the link. Even two of these would be no more pricey than the support you've shown, and may actually prove useful. You've got the wall behind GC, so you could support the naturally arching canes with one of these to the front, one at either side, 2 side-by-side to form a semicircle around the front, or placed at the rear with the arms curving toward the rose. I've seen these in person - they're hefty & made well for the price. Considering one myself, imagining sliding seashells or Christmas balls over the arrow points to make them less formal in this country garden, though they are classically traditional as they are. You could also do a modified espalier using the suction-cup anchors sold for vines on the wall with monofilament line, making the support invisible.

Dura-Trel makes some good-looking & reasonably priced trellises in gray & mocha as well as white, some broad & tall enough to cover a wall, with a 6-footer running around $50. The wall one can be found for $120 & free ship, and might be used to run up the wall behind your rose & continue past the wall to form a "railing" to that end of your porch. Tall trellises can be hard to find - Plow & Hearth carries a couple metal ones reasonably priced. Many use the livestock panels available at farm supply stores. A length of modular garden fence set in front of the bed might keep GC in bounds for a while. There are so many options out there.

Left the GC here to grow unbound the first couple of years while considering how to provide support. Unlike yours, that one's in the center of a wide bed, so in no danger of sprawling to snag passersby. Wound up assembling a copper pipe obelisk 2' square by 9' high around the rose, the kind with ogee curves at the top held by a ball finial. GC's corraled within the structure rather than tied in & arches gracefully along the cross-bars as a tall fountain. Copper obelisks can be pricey to buy, but they're simple to construct with pipe fittings & a pipe cutter with no soldering required. Found mine some years back as a garden store display irresistibly discounted & stored it knocked-down till it, finally, came to mind when pondering how to support Golden Celebration after perusing many possibilities. Seems your GC's in no immediate need, so maybe keep exploring the possibilites...

This post was edited by vasue on Mon, May 19, 14 at 12:51