Have you contacted Chamblee? It sounds like maybe they sent you the wrong rose....a bush CS rather than a Climbing CS.

And, unfortunately, CS is always going to have a problem with balling in cool weather, although I've heard that the bush is less susceptible than the climber.

Susan

I agree with Susan--it sounds like you have the bush form. And yes, Clotilde balls in wet weather.

Susan, I have the climber in hot/humid VA, and mine seldom balls. It's been rainy and cool lately, and mine is definitely NOT balling. I'd be cautious about saying such broad statements except if you clarify it to your own experience. Location is an important consideration.

This is one of my favorite roses of about 700-800 different varieties that I grow.

Robert

I got my Cl. Clotilde Soupert from Robert, and it was propagated from the lovely example he speaks about above. In his garden, this rose is unbelievable. In my garden, it is exactly as the OP describes. Mine has just spent its fourth season in the same spot, which is a bit too shady for it to thrive, I believe. I get few flowers (it balls a bit in the spring) and it has shown no inclination to climb whatsoever. Each year, I feel I have to give it 'one more year'.

My Climbing Dainty Bess also behaved like a shrub for the first two years of her life in my garden. She is planted in an ideal spot, on an arch in my Rose Field. She came from Sequoia Nursery, which had sent the wrong rose on occasion, so I figured I had another regular Dainty Bess in my collection. Toward the end of the second year, Ms. Bess decided it was finally time to climb, and she promptly shot a basal cane up and over the arch. She's been reaching for the sky ever since.

Chamblees may have not sent you the wrong plant. It may be in a bad spot, or it could just be biding its time. Climbers are funny like that.

Connie

Actually everybody is right, Climbing CS doesn't ball, but the bush form is balling like nothing else. I tried to convince my bush form not to ball for 5 years, this didn't work. I was lucky to have a handful of nonballed blooms per season. The funny thing is Cl,CS blooms look exactly the same, but they don't ball and the plant has better BS resistance.
You got bush form by mistake.
Olga

Obviously Chamblees sent you the wrong form of CS. Another thing you need to be aware of and that is that so-called climbers don't climb of their own accord. You have to tie them up to get them started.

Wanted to make a comment because there has been some discussion of this over at rosehybridizers, and for people who root their own roses, simply put- not all cuttings act the same. Where you take the cutting from can affect the growth behavior of the plant. On sport climbers especially to continue the climbing habit you have to be careful to root a main climbing stem and not a side lateral branch. This is not unique to roses as it's the same for yews (and I suspect other plants as well).

Thank you everyone. I tied it to the arch as soon as its canes long enough to reach the arch. It gets morning sun, then 3 hours of afternoon sun. Other climbers I got at the same order are reaching at least 6 feet tall. They all only get morning sun or in and out tall tree shadows. I have to say climbing CS is in the most ideal spot of my graden. It is always in bloom, so I assume it gets enough sun. I will give it one more year. I can't stand the balling. This rose also very untidy. It seems the stems are too thin to support the top.

Snow

Connie,

I think I have another Climbing CS in a pot in my driveway. This one is sending out long canes. It's yours if you want it. It's blooming and not balling.
Robert

Robert is correct. What I should have said is that CS climbing is REPUTED to ball in cool weather. Here (50 miles North of San Francisco) we have wet wet wet winters and if the spring is cool and wet, as if often is, the roses which tend to ball DO. I have E. Veryat Hermanos and she balls terribly in her first flush of blooms. Then as the summer dries out, I get gorgeous blooms later in the summer and fall.
My personal experience with CS is absolutely nil, because I didn't buy her, and I didn't buy her because of her reputation for balling badly, and from what I observed at the nursery when I was working there.

Susan

I've avoided Clotilde because of her reputation for balling--in spite of the fact that I've always lusted after her. Sounds like the climbing form could possible be worth trying if I can find a nice sunny spot in the yard.

Does anyone have any experience with Pink Soupert? I've heard it both ways--some sources say that it balls as badly as Chlotilde and some say it's much better.

Everything Olga says is correct. I've grown both the climber and shrub. The flowers on the shrub balls and the foliage gets mummified with powdery mildew. What the mildew doesn't take, the black spot does. I never had these problems with the climber. I have two of the bushes and frankly, I'm completely fed up with them. La Madame de Shovel demands satisfaction, and this spring the mildew twins are gonna be the first on the menu.