How many canes should a climbing rose have?

13 years ago

I'm in zone 8, Fraser Valley, BC.

Last May, I planted 2 new climbing roses (Polka) they bloomed beautifully all summer long. Now, I am preparing my garden for winter and tying up some of the longer canes. I'm finding I have lots of canes, including several short ones in the front as well. Is there a set number of canes a climbing rose should have? Should I remove any? None of the canes are dead. A very healthy rose. Also, is there anything else I should do to prepare it for the winter months besides mulching?

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lynnette

13 years ago

I have taken my website off the Internet to re-design it and to also make a section which will feature mainly the disease free roses that are coming on the market from the States and Europe. Many countries in Europe have banned cosmetic spraying and breeders are doing an excellent job of introducing roses which have far superior resistance to black spot than the older ones. The States also has breeders which are concentrating on disease resistant roses.
Again, in my garden, I find that some climbers don't push up many basal canes and if you know they don't, then cutting them back hard is a good way to make basal canes but only if they are prone to making them. Climbers should never be pruned for at least three years as this will give them time to make the height you want and to make a better roots system. Some climbers make height by sending up many tall basal canes, others make height by only a few and then sending out tall laterals. You usually wait until the climber is older and then you can remove the oldest cane right to the base if you need to. In our area, we can loose a cane because the spring starts out early and gets warm, which starts to activate new growth and then we get a cold snap and that can kill a rose cane. Your area is a warm one so you should not have any problems at all.

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Comments (6)

anntn6b
13 years ago
Any climbing rose will have enough roots to support the canes that it grows.
Zone 8- darn that's warm, you may not loose any canes over winter. Lucky you and lucky rose.

I'd also guess that the rose is on either its own roots or on a rootstock that loves the soils in the Fraser River valley.

Two things to watch for in winter: winds- as in do you get stronger winds in winter that could snap off younger, more tender canes, two- there's a problem with dessication as in drying conditions without a lot of winter rainfall.

See if you can find a website from BC by Lynette Payne who called herself "the old rosarian". She had a magnificent website and grew many, many climbers. I think she was out on Vancouver Island.

Her website used to be THE OLD ROSARIAN, and the address was http://theoldrosarian.com although it appears her domain has lapsed. You might be able to find it on the wayback search engine.
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The old cane stubs, if they are healthy and alive, can produce some good new canes if there are some live leaf buds present on the cane. If they are diseased with blackened areas, or are completely dead (brown all the way through) it is better to remove them. If the cane is healthy, no need to shorten. Roses store carbohydrates in their canes, so when you remove cane, you are removing stored energy. To encourage new main cane growth, regular water and fertilizer. A fluffy mulch around the plant but not in direct contact with the base helps to retain moisture and keep the soil cooler. Roses like their roots kept cool. Make sure the plant is not engulfed in weeds and make sure it's getting enough direct sun (6 hours+/day). In some soils a few tablespoons of Epsom salts (which provide magnesium) in springtime can be helpful, but be aware for Epsom salts MORE IS NOT better--you can poison the plant with too much. Measure the amount and DO NOT overdo Epsom salts.
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Hi Tadzio Welcome to GW Roses and we're glad to help with advice. There are two kinds of things that you can do to promote more blooming from a climbing rose. The most immediate help you can give is to gradually encourage that one cane to bend horizontally against whatever is supporting it, so that the cane will start to send out what are called "laterals". Those are the primary blooming canes of a climber. If you let a climber grow on its own, it will only bloom at the highest point and that's what you're seeing now. By bending the cane horizontally, all those laterals will be able to bloom at their highest points and it then gives the impact of more blooms all along the length. I wouldn't cut back the primary cane, since you want that base to start from to promote growth of the laterals. If the canes are flexible enough, it's possible to gradually encourage the canes to do a gentle zigzag pattern against the support so that the main cane can keep getting longer but still relatively contained against your support. Remember that roses won't attach themselves to the supports on their own, so you need to use something to attach it to the support, since you've discovered that on its own it wants to grow straight up. There are green velcro type ties sold at garden or hardware stores, or things like cut panty hose can work well. I wouldn't use hard supports like zip ties or clamps since they can damage the canes and are hard to readjust as the climber grows. I say gradually encourage in all these things, because the cane gets stiffer the older it gets and more reluctant to bend the way you want it. You might need to encourage it to bend to say 30 degrees, then 45 degrees after a few weeks, then work toward horizontal over time. Pulling the canes below horizontal isn't the best idea since the canes that point toward the ground are likely to die off up to the horizontal point - something about circulation as I understand it. You can keep bending the laterals horizontally toward the sides - spreading them out into a fan shape is a nice pattern for a climbing rose - and those laterals will put out laterals, etc. The second strategy can be to encourage the rose to grow more canes from the base, called basal canes. Climbers aren't as likely to get bushy with lots of canes from the base as other roses, but they can do this over time, and some are better than others. I get some results from spreading alfalfa hay around the base of the rose and working into the mulch, as alfalfa encourages basal breaks. Others have recommended mounding soil around the base of the rose to do the same, but I haven't tried that. It's more of a long-term strategy. One other point - if your climber is dark red with long thin canes and only blooms once in the year (May-June in most regions) you're likely to have a rootstock rose blooming rather than the original one planted. It's Dr. Huey, and most of us that are into roses dig him up because there are better climbers out there and he's pretty hard to dig out once he's there. It's your choice what to do about it if so, and Dr. Huey stays floppy and pretty prone to leaf diseases like blackspot regardless of what you'd do. FWIW, it usually helps us help you if you let us know your general region of the country, since rose advice varies by regions and coldness zones. Hope this helps Cynthia
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Original Author
13 years ago
ann ~ Thank you very much for your tips and suggestions. Yes, the link for Lyn's site isn't working right now, however, I found information about Lyn's rose garden (see http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=99.24&tab=10&lstLstgID=4235
Gorgeous rose garden indeed!

I believe my polka climbing rose is on it's own roots stalk. The reason I was asking about the number of canes, is because I read this information on climbing roses on this page...(Pruning Section) 4-6 canes. http://www.rirs.org/Introduction%20to%20Climbing%20Roses.htm
(I have many more canes) So, I was just wondering if I should be removing them. I have several shorter canes in the front that make it look bushy.

Lyn ~ Thanks very much for your reply. I'm looking forward to visiting your site when it is up again. I think you answered my question...don't prune for at least three years. Lyn, your rose garden is breath-taking. Thank you for your help.
lucretia1
13 years ago
Lynnette,

I was just doing a search for your website this morning and came across this thread. I am SOOOOO excited that it's just down for redesign and will be back--it's been an invaluable source of information. Thank you so much for the effort you put into it!
karl_bapst_rosenut
13 years ago
Cadence,
That "(Pruning Section) 4-6 canes" is what you prune to in spring when cutting off dieback, damaged canes, or opening up the bush and removing excess growth. It's not a hard fast rule for the number of canes a climber should have.
Mom Nature determines that. There will be as many canes as the root system will support. Don't cut any back in the fall. In zone 8b cutting back now will encourage new growth. You don't want to encourage that with winter coming.
goren
13 years ago
We, here in Ontario, are forever reminded of how B.C. has no snow....you don't have to shovel rain. But, while snow is not thought of as something to admire---many people do wait for it and cant wait to get to the slopes...B.C. knows all about that what with Whistler raking in all the tourist dollars.
Roses anywhere, everywhere, have common problems, from disease to winds, especially winter winds, that can dry out a plant in no time. So do put up a barrier to how winds might confront your rose bush. So too can winds dry out the soil--so make sure the plant goes into winter with lots of water--but not too much, roses don't like wet feet.
Mound the plants up at least 12" with what you feel proper....soil, leaves, boughs...and don't remove the protection until all chance of frost has passed in the spring. Don't get antsy about a spell of warm weather in March which turns nasty again and have your plants succumb to the weather.
Make sure the canes are tied together securely and to the trellis, post or fence you have them on.
In the spring, separate the canes by how your hand and fingers are splayed out. That is how you want to have the canes grow and gives the best chance of sunlight to all parts of the plant.
Don't do major pruning at this time --remove what is weak or damaged but otherwise, leave pruning for the spring.
Open wounds on ends of canes can invite disease and freezes.

How many canes should a climbing rose have?

lynnette

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How many canes should a climbing rose have?

lynnette

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