Ladylotus.. sorry you had to go through that( I realize this is an old post... just had to do the exact same thing to mine and the would I had to scrape out on the caudex looks so similar to yours uptop.. so I'm really wondering how long you let it dry out for as well as how the wound looks now if it lived...knock on wood that it did, just wondering how the wound looks after a couple years (or really anytime) of healing.. any tips for me? I dusted the wound with cinnamon powder and it's hanging upside down in a dark spot.. is this good? How long will it take till I can pot up( I actually just received this from a seller on amazon, so it's already been bare root for at least a week.. will this hurt the plant more?

I have several climbers in my zone 5a rose garden. All are hardy to some extent and a few and have little if any dieback. Most though, dieback severely and require extensive pruning each spring. Only a couple die back father than two feet. I seldom prune back in the fall. I tie longer canes to the trellis or together with string. I've placed a steel post behind them and held them to the post with a bungie cord for the winter until I see how they perform. A thought regarding fall over spring pruning. You can always prune more but once it's cut, it's gone and can't be undone. By allowing the canes to remain over winter, I let Nature show me where to prune. Fall pruning doesn't lessen dieback and possibly removes canes that may have survived. The only reason I'd prune in fall would be to lessen the chances of cane breakage under heavy snow or ice. This can be avoided by tying the canes together and supporting them as mentioned above. Crimson Sky appears to be hardy having survived several winters in your zone 4b. Because modern roses bloom best on new wood, I don't fret cutting back eack spring. Actually, on cane hardy roses, I'll severely prune after a couple of years just to get new wood on the lower portion of the bush. I've marked several for this task next spring. A few of my climbers, such as Pele' and Aloha reach only five feet each year so I grow them as tall shrubs. Several more grow like weeds and throw really long canes. Dublin Bay, Autumn Sunset, Clair Matin, Berlin, and Fourth of July, to name a few that have to be reined in by late summer. Mine are all own root and took 3 years or more to mature before realizing their full potential. Your Crimson Sky looks like one I may buy.

ML- How disappointing! I'm not good with that type of thing, either. I hope you get all your contacts back. I have to admit, I don't understand half of what you described...so I guess that DOES make me a beginner :)

Young trees usually will abort some or all of their fruit, perfectly normal, I would continue watering and fertilizing on a regular basis, and allow the tree to recover from being transplanted, and get a little maturity going. You should have a few fruits for next season. You might even have to thin a little, as the tree still will not have enough canopy to support a full crop. You want your little tree to be well established with a good amount o canopy before you let it bear a full crop of fruit. Patty S.