Thank you! We grow all manner of roses, and for disease and pest resistance, I like the miniature "Green Ice". When so many of my other mini's are affected by either the heat, the humidity, or the voracious bugs, "Green Ice" seems to keep all its foliage and bloom along like there's no tomorrow! It generally blooms white, but as the weather cools in autumn, it takes on a greenish tinge that's just lovely. Its habit is more of a small, mounding shrub shape, though. For color, I positively adore "Teddy Bear". Once again, we're talking about more of a shrub shape, but the color is a coppery orange that matures to a bit of salmon pink... gorgeous! For scent, my absolute favorite is "Autumn Damask". When you walk past its blooms, the rose scent is almost overpowering! It's not a miniature, but it seems to be a slower grower than quite a few other types, and after 3 years is still a very manageable size. "Felix Leclerc" is a lovely choice. We have several rose varieties from the Canadian series, and they can't be beat for hardiness. Although, planting one in a container will present some issues. You'll need to somehow protect the outside of the pot from the winter temperatures and winds, and re-potting will be quite an adventure. The choices of variety available, once you really begin to look around and research, is quite vast! In order to narrow it down, we look for several features that a rose must have... it must be own-root, hardy to our zone, disease resistant, preferably a continual bloomer, scent is a plus, and then we look at color, bloom shape and size. It's all personal preference, of course, but it helps us to narrow down the choices. We will grow a variety that blooms only one time, but only if it's a rare, hard to find, old garden variety. Continual bloom or a good repeat is important to us. I'm sure you're having fun researching... it's really amazing how many named roses there are, all the colors and shapes, the different types... I sometimes go back and look at the websites of rose sellers just so I can drool over the selections... especially in winter! I wish you much luck with your project... and if there's anything else I can help you with, I'd be happy to try. :-)

Usually, roses drop foliage due to water stress or disease. If the plant isn't able to absorb enough water to keep growing and flowering, it sheds the leaves to stop transpiration, sweating, which generates the siphon necessary to carry water and absorbed nutrients from the roots to the cane tips. Loss of foliage means the plant can't feed itself as there is only the photosynthesis going on in the green cane parts. If the sun and heat are intense enough, the canes can be scalded, sun burned, which can kill them outright. The other common cause is due to fungal attack. Are you seeing abnormally high levels of black spot or rust infections on either plant? Are these grown against hot walls where the reflected/radiated heat is "cooking" them? Are they surrounded by hard scape, side walks, patios, etc., which may also be cooking them with unusually high reflected/radiated heat? How is the drainage under these two plants? Does the soil stay moist or does it appear to dry out completely? Perhaps they aren't receiving enough water to battle the heat they experience, or the soil is so porous it doesn't maintain sufficient water reserves to keep the roses leaved out successfully over the hotter period? It is quite common for larger plants, climbers in particular, to have "bare knees". The foliage at that level is older and often that portion of the plant doesn't receive enough light to maintain healthy, productive foliage so the plant sheds them. If your plants are bare up where they should have productive, healthy foliage, you have some serious issues which need diagnosing and correction. Good luck! I hope something here points you in the right direction to fix your rose problem. Kim

It would be helpful to know what the climber is you are referring to. In our garden all climbers are not treated the same. For instance if you have a "sport" you most likely need to tie the canes as horizontally as possible in order to get lateral canes from each eye along the cane. The flower is produced on each lateral. Otherwise, you will only get bloom from the top of the canes. Sometimes a true climber doesn't need to be tied in horizonally and will produce flower even when kept shorter. Many people think they should prune their climber like hybrid teas or floribundas and that's why they don't get much flower (only from the top of the canes) If you could spread the 12 ft canes out horizonally, can you imagine the bloom you would get next year, providing of course they make it through the winter. Since you are in a colder zone though, I'm assuming you would have chosen a cane hardy cultivar. If you don't know the rose you have, I would not prune now, but I would secure the canes in order to protect them over winter. With most climbers, you should do very little pruning except to cut out very old non producing canes and then just tip back the winter damage - at least that's what I do with my climbers. Others may have better suggestions for you.

Great feedback everyone. I must be totally misunderstanding the concept due to my climate. Is the idea to only defoliate/prune 30% from each section, knees, waist/chest and head height? Then leave 60% foliage and unpruned? Or is it saying to prune 30% — of the size — off the bush from each section? Or something else entirely? Question.... in “stagger pruning” if you only prune 30% from each section.... then what about the rest? I must be missing something here because I read the article and understand Peter Beales differently... ???? Let me explain a little more of my scenario (sorry for the length)... Ok here’s what I was thinking... most of my climbers that I was planning on doing this way are along a wired fence. The wires do a good job of visually separating the roses into lateral sections. I have a lot more than I hav ever had and it’s going to be a HUGE task this year. Roses don’t go dormant here, but I am planning on forcing them dormant by stripping off the leaves. They have been flowering well top to bottom this first year, but of course I want them to continue. I was thinking that if I begin at the bottom third, see what I have to work with as far as canes, then also begin defoliating, begin pruning about 30% in the other sections, making sure to leave some terminal cuts in the bottom (knee) section, some in the waist/chest section and some in the section taller than that, etc.... Then move my focus up to the middle third over the next 2 weeks, while still making sure to check my previous or make some new terminal cuts in the knee section, chest/waist section and the section taller than that ... (it will probably take me 2 weeks to get through them all anyways) Then finish by focusing on the top third, again making sure to to check ormake some more terminal cuts in the knee section, chest/waist section and the section taller than that — and untie, take them down and retie them if necessary. I like the idea of spacing it out instead of doing it all at once because if we get another crazy weather year, the wrong weather at the wrong time can ruin a whole flush. Spaced out it will be an easier task and I bet I willl still have my wired fence covered in flowers, but it will be over a few weeks instead of all at once. My understsanding of stagger pruning must be wrong... but that was the idea I had about how to tackle pruning my bazillion climbing roses. Ok... so now... thoughts from you wonderful, knowledgeable rosarians who are constantly teaching me and helping me? :-) Thank you!