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Training Climbing Roses - Help with Laterals?

10 years ago

My climbing rose is doing well. It is called 'Polka' - It is three years old now. Earlier in the spring, I positioned the canes horizontally and I cut back the lateral shoots. Now, the lateral shoots are getting pretty long (3ft) There are clusters of buds at the tops. Should I try to bend these laterals to get them to go horizontally, just like I did with the main canes? Right now, my laterals are shooting straight up past my 6' fence structure.
Thanks everyone, I really appreciate your help.

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Comments (8)

dublinbay z6 (KS)
10 years ago
It's up to you to decide. If you want a thicker fuller look, yes, start bending some of your laterals so that they form laterals. Or trim the laterals back to about 6 inches or so---or a combination of both.

Love to see some photos of its next blooming.

Kate
gardenbug
Original Author
10 years ago
Dublin Bay, thanks for your help with my roses.
The laterals have lots of buds at the tips. If I trim the laterals back now, I'll lose those buds. Should I wait until after they bloom or before they bloom to cut them back. Will they get more buds when they are about 6 inches? Sure, I'll be glad to post a picture when they are in bloom. Thanks again for your help.
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Basals (primaries) come from the graft or the ground. Laterals come from leaf joints in the basals or previous laterals. The only big concern with tying climbers is that you not break the canes. With some varieties, the young shoots are glassy and brittle. You shouldn't try to bend them much until they become somewhat fibrous. Other varieties have canes that become quite stiff and unmanageable when fully grown out. I would bend the first canes a little further down than you have done, to leave room for other canes that will be tied into those spots later. Build the fan starting almost horizontally.
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New Dawn, and all the other repeat blooming hardy climbers I know, actively snigger at the nice, neat little drawings of training climbers in rose books. For one thing, they are very much 3-D objects, which take up a larger footprint than often expected. So one reason you are having a hard time distinguishing between main canes and laterals is that it is a *human* distinction that has little to do with what the rose is doing. If it isn't giving a good spring flush, I'd suspect something else is going on besides lack of pruning. Repeat bloom is heavily dependent on deadheading, so that is where the pruning issue is going to show up. If the rose is simply taking up too much room, find a handy suit of armor and wade in. My honest feeling is that this isn't really the right rose for the location - that there are warm climate climbers that would do a better job of hiding the tower and be easier to train. However, I don't know those.
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My Zeffies canes are very hard so bending is out of the question after their first few feet of growth. So start now as they grow upward, bending them into a nice arch that ends at the top of the fence. Then continue horizontally along the top of the fence. I just loosely tied the canes together as they went along the top of the fence. You can create different arches with each cane to produce a wide or narrow looking fan. Having the canes along the top of the fence makes for easier pruning etc...ie. no bending over!! Climbers produce their main flush of roses at the top but will produce limbs (laterals) as it grows horizontally. Those will also produce roses. By doing that you end up with a long tube of roses. I planted mine close to 20 years ago and only cut out the dead stuff. It normally occurs at the tips of a lateral. Since I really know nothing about growing roses I let them go all of those years without removing any of the old canes. I've ended up with a few canes that are still producing roses but not like they did when they were young. So, that being said you may want to get into a routine of removing one of the main canes now and then. That should keep them young. Hope that helps.
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hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
10 years ago
After they bloom! try cutting a few short, and leave the same number longer. Mark which is which with lengths of colored string or wool. See which ones do better--then you know what is best! Yes, pictures please when blooming, 'Polka' is so gorgeous.
dublinbay z6 (KS)
10 years ago
What hoovb said. : )

Kate
meredith_e Z7b, Piedmont of NC, 1000' elevation
10 years ago
Yep, I'd cut them after they bloom. I cut a lot of laterals on various climbers to 6 inches, sure. It does depend on the rose to some extent, but mostly mine like it.

Some won't bloom as quickly with growth taken off, and others like it better in order to bloom, though! Most of mine are just 'normal' here and they rebloom the same time they normally do.

I don't get it, but I usually experiment like hoov says and see which way works best for the rose. I don't know Polka personally, but she looks like a beauty!

If it helps any, usually my tall/climbing Meillands like pruning of their laterals better than no pruning of them to repeat bloom best.
gardenbug
Original Author
10 years ago
Thanks everyone for all your wonderful help. I've been fretting over this all spring. I love hoovb's idea of the colored wool. So, I'm going to do that. It would be a great experiment for me. See? that's why I love coming here. I learn so much from you all. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
eco_ali
10 years ago
Hi all, I'm new here but I'm buying some late season potted roses and cant decide between some beautiful orange and multicolor ones for here in NJ. Can anyone advise on these?
My color scheme is mostly lavender/mauve, peach/pink and white with some deep pink/purple and orange accents.

Chihuly floribunda, George Burns floribunda, Easy Does It floribunda, Living Easy floribunda and Joseph's Coat climber, Polka climber...which of the 4 floribundas (cant decide between Easy Does It and Living Easy) and 2 climbers do you think I should choose?

Thanks all!
dublinbay z6 (KS)
10 years ago
Hi eco--you would probably get more responses if you started a new thread and asked your question.

Sorry I can't help you--haven't grown any of those roses. I like the ideas you are working with, however. : )

Kate

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