skip to main content

Q about climbers, Ramblin Red in particular.....

gardenfanatic2003

16 years ago

I have little experience with roses, and NO experience with climbers. So my questions are probably dumb.

I know with clematis, you provide support, and they wrap around it and grow up it. But I can't imagine rose canes being able to do that. So do you tie the canes to the support?

I'm going to get Ramblin Red, and I'd like for it to grow along the top of a fence. Is it possible to get a climber to grow horizontally, or will it keep trying to grow upwards?

Also, how full will Ramblin Red be at the bottom? How much ground space do I need to give it?

How's Ramblin Red's reblooming?

Deanna

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (5)

michaelg
16 years ago
I'm not familiar with Ramblin' Red but somebody will be.

Climbers have to be tied to the support, unless it is a tree. Once the main canes are tied, you can just tuck some of the others in. Fences are good. Often you can just let the cane grow up 7' or whatever and then bend it down and tie it. If the variety makes canes too stiff to bend, you have to train them as they grow, which can be tricky because very young shoots are brittle.

Lateral shoots from the tied canes will keep trying to grow upwards. You would cut the short ones back after blooming and tie or tuck the longer ones down.
karenforroses
16 years ago
I grow Ramblin' Red in zone 5 and love it. A fence is a lovely spot for it. As the canes grow upward, simply pull them gently horizontally and tie them on the fence (use an "8" shape with your twine or panty hose strips). Tie them to the fence rather than weaving them through, as that makes it difficult to prune them. I get very little winter dieback on Ramblin' Red. Just remove any dead or damaged canes in the spring, and cut back the rest of the canes until you have pure white pith in the middle of the cane (you may find this almost at the tips, or you may have to prune back a bit). My Ramblin'Red gets about 3 feet wide at the base. I have it trained on an arbor so I'm going more up than sideways, although I do some wrapping to get some of the canes horizontal. Enjoy!
Related Discussions
Ramblin' Red Hardy in NE Ohio?
Q
Comments (7)
Hello :o) The largest pink rose towards the back of the photo is one of my John Cabots, it was his 3rd year in the garden. I have not purchased item(s) from Pickering... yet I have however purchased several from High Country & Heirloom. They do arrive in pots, tiny pots with a tiny plant. Most of the ones I ordered arrived around 10-12 inches tall. This is copy/paste from High Country's web site: "The roses we ship are all growing in quart-sized pots, 4 1/2" square at the top and 5" deep. All are grown on their own roots and are one year old plants ." I didn't do anything special but plant them where I wanted them. From there they got the same treatment as the rest of the garden. Most of the roses I purchased are doing just fine. I did loose a few, however they were zone 5+ roses, I knew I should not have purchased in the first place :o) Hope that helps and somebody with better knowledge will chime in. Lioness
...See More
Update on my Ramblin' Red pics
Q
Comments (5)
Kenstar, are you keeping the soil spongy moist? as I suggested? what happened to the mulch around your rose? It used to have mulch around it....Mulch is very! important for protecting the rose from rapidly drying out...Are you still feeding that super-dilute sea tea? My baby band when I received it from Heirloom Roses looked like your 06/07/09 but with eight yellow curled up leaves about 1/8 the size of yours and with yellower stems. Within 5 days it has lost all of its leaves...but did fully recover...But I kept feeding the super-dilute tea once a week hoping and hoping it'd pull through... finally stem breaks and brand new leaves came out.. I think I see some definite stem breaks on yours... If you check the tall branched one I count 4 new ones, they are a dusky light pink... Again, Kentstar, it's very important that you keep the mulch on and keep the soil spongy moist, never dry and never soggy...Those 2 conditions are to be avoided at all cost. Dryness will dehydrate and kill a struggling rose... You do know that you can water between your feedings of sea tea. I am hoping you did this to make sure your soil stays moist...Again, a good moisture level in the soil is very important...
...See More
Anybody grow the climber 'Ramblin' Red'?
Q
Comments (7)
Thanks all, I finally figured out what was happening to my 'Ramblin' Red'. When I cleared away all the mulch I could see tunnels everyhere, and a tunnel opening which looked like a chipmunk's. I believe the critters gnawed at the roots, sending it into shock and causing defoliation. I removed all the older canes and shortened the remaining ones. They are all green, obviously still alive, but I only see one domant leaf bud swelling. I believe it will probably come back to life, but maybe not until next Spring. In years past, I have caught as many as 30 chipmunks in Hav-a-Hart traps and took them for a ride. They are the cutest of all rodents, but they are rodents, and in the past they have eaten the entire roots on some perennials. I put down some castor-based deterrent around the rose, and next year I will again wage another Hav-a-Hart campaign against them. Unless I really get mad and smoke bomb 'em. One year, I had dozens of chipmunks scampering along my ancient New England stone wall, along which several climbers draped. One took a liking to my yellow climber Leverkusen and he would pick an open flower and sit on a rock brazenly nibbling away at this beautiful yellow bloom. Too cute, but they gotta go. -Paul
...See More
Info on Ramblin red and Heather roses.
Q
Comments (3)
I'm that friend Karen mentioned. You can spot Ramblin' Red in bloom from a half mile away - it's that red and has clusters of bloom that big. It is disease free for me as well. That said, it is no climber in my zone; I had it planted on a trellis for a few years but gave up and moved it to the shrub row along the back fence where it is much more appropriate, being more like a 4' shrub. This past winter was really like living in zone 5 for me and RR responded with it's best blooms ever (and interestingly enough, although it had no winter damage to its canes it did not try to climb taller again.) I'd recommend it for zone 5 definitely, but although it might survive a zone 3 winter, I question how big it would be for you. Feel like experimenting?
...See More
twohuskies
16 years ago
Here is a pic of mine trained onto my 6' fence. It easily stands 8+ feet tall and I have it spread 12+ feet wide. This year I've seen good rebloom, almost constant actually. But for some reason last winter I lost lots of good canes - maybe it was the easter freeze? Over 50% of the rose died out but new canes quickly replaced the dead ones this spring and all that new growth has produced lots of continuous flowers. Not the huge spring display like my picture from last year shows. It should be an excellent rose for zone 5.
{{gwi:242861}}
gardenfanatic2003
Original Author
16 years ago
Twohuskies - it was actually the pics you posted back in March that made me want this rose! Great enabling! Thank you! :-)

Deanna
twohuskies
16 years ago
Yeah!!! The highest of compliments!! I think you'll love this rose..

Related Stories

GREEN BUILDING What's LEED All About, Anyway?

By Mariana Pickering (Emu Building Science)

If you're looking for a sustainable, energy-efficient home, look into LEED certification. Learn about the program and its rating system here

COLOR Bathed in Color: When to Use Red in the Bath

By Jennifer Ott Design

Rev up your space and flatter all skin tones with bold, beautiful red on bathroom walls, floors and fixtures

CURB APPEAL 5 Bright Palettes for Front Doors

By Jennifer Ott Design

Splash bold green, blue, orange or red on your front door, then balance it with a more restrained hue on the rest of the house

FALL GARDENING 11 Trees for Brilliant Fall Color

By Marianne Lipanovich

Give your landscape the quintessential look of autumn with the red, orange and yellow leaves of these standouts

GREAT HOME PROJECTS What to Know Before Refinishing Your Floors

Learn costs and other important details about renewing a hardwood floor — and the one mistake you should avoid

COLOR Bedroom Color: The Secret to More Sex and More Sleep

By Mitchell Parker

Look to surprising revelations about bedroom wall colors to get more of what you want

GARDENING GUIDES We Bust 4 More Native Plant Myths

By Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Have you been taken in by these fallacies about gardening with native plants?

INSIDE HOUZZ How Much Does a Remodel Cost, and How Long Does It Take?

By Erin Carlyle

The 2016 Houzz & Home survey asked 120,000 Houzzers about their renovation projects. Here’s what they said

LIGHTING The Lowdown on High-Efficiency LED Lighting

By Karen LeBlanc Design TV Host & Writer/Blogger

Learn about LED tapes, ropes, pucks and more to create a flexible and energy-efficient lighting design that looks great

GREEN BUILDING Ecofriendly Cool: Insulate With Wool, Cork, Old Denim and More

By Julia Pockett

Learn about the pros and cons of healthier alternatives to fiberglass and foam, and when to consider an insulation switch

Sponsored

More Discussions

Rose Breeders in Central and South America?

3

Has anyone heard or grown pink peony rose?

3

Where in California or in the US do think has the best rose climate?

9

Where in the USA is the disease, insect & cold capitol?

1

Rose Identification

1