Hi Kathy Could you post a picture? Canes, leafs and growth can tell a lot about a rose. You can safely prune out old dead wood, and old canes you don't want to keep, but the ones you keep must not be shortened by more than a 1/4, perhaps a 1/3 of the length. When once bloomers get very old and old canes have not regularly been pruned out, they might not take very well to pruning at all. Another thing than can inhibits a rose from forming buds is lack of sunlight. Trees and bushes might have grown too tall or dense over the years, and the rose has ended up in full shade all day. An old neglected rose will all ways respond well to good care, and if you don't do anything else, clean up all weeds around the rose and give it generous amounts of fertilizer. There a lots of brands to choose from, even especially made for roses. If it looks like it needs something extra to get it going, the organic liquid types with seaweed and other good stuff are really good. Give it a few buckets of fertilizer dissolved in water and apply in a fairly large radius, about as far as the roots spread. Moving a rose will set the plant back for a time, and it will probably do much better next year. Good luck with your rose, it probably just needs a bit of care :-)

Wow, I've culled out some of them and now I've got more to contemplate. Thank you, I'M NOT COMPLAINING HERE :).... At this time of year for my area, is it better to 1/ get it as a potted rose since bare root season here has come and gone OR...2/Order it as a bareroot? Assuming I can get EXACTLY what I want potted up (but maybe that is not possible, I don't know enuf at the moment how the rose industry works). QUESTION: I just got D.Austin's catalog in the mail (swoon)but after reading some other posts etc. I'm not sure about them,,,I noticed that every description says "repeat bloomer" and I'm finding posts that contradict their catalog so I'm relaying on you "my friends" for tried and true climbers for my area and have been rewarded by your wonderful info and suggestions for specific roses to meet my needs. Since I really want a repeat bloomer, as I enjoy being out in my yard year round, is it more of a grower thing, as to how well they have propagated their roses to repeat bloom or just the genetics of that rose, that determines how well it repeat blooms, or is it a location thing of where you plant the rose? I know, I drive my own self crazy, being a 'thinker' personality isn't always a plus. Leads one to ask the 'WHO IS A CREDIBLE/exceptional GROWER' question? Should one go with overall info on that particular rose (to make final decisions) or rely on how that one particular grower has developed their particular rose and pick that way? I'd like to avoid paying huge amounts for shipping but paying extra for a really good rose now, is money well spent in enjoying the rose in the future.

Wow! Thanks for all the responses. I'll get some pictures up on the weekend. In the meantime to answer some questions, this is a rose bush in the home we purchased in May. The previous owners were not interested in gardening beyond mowing the lawn. The owner before them is the person who likely planted the rose bush - she lived in the house for nearly 70 years. So with the combination of the two previous owners' disinterest/advanced age, it's been neglected for at least 10 years. It's quite large - probably 6 feet wide, 4 feet tall and 3 feet deep. The flowers had full, blousey petals, and as I recall,they were a bit under 3 inches across - I'd generically call it a "tea rose." The hips were probably a half inch or so across. It is in a good location where it gets full sun all day. Thanks again for helping me restore it to it's full potential!

You don't say where you are in the bay area,but most of it does not experience a hard frost. If you cut it back severly which is what I would suggest,you will get new growth starting right away. This growth will be subject to frost, but i don't expect it will be frosted back where you live. I would cut the two middle canes right down to the bud. Wait a few days for the foliage to die so you can see which have been cut off. Take these out by cutting them in sections. Once these are removed, cut the other two down to the fence, and tie them to run horizontal. In the spring you can deal with the new canes that will come off the bud, or the top of the root if on its own root. Long leather gloves up to your elbow are suggested. Al