I cannot help at all. I was saying the same thing about mine this morning to my DH. I have had mine for 3 years and only have had a couple of blooms every now and then. After reading your post I am now convinced, it has to go.

same here - I have 3 of them along a fence in my pool yard and after 3 years none of them have ever put out more than 2 or 3 blooms in an entire season. they just look sickly, weak, and only shoot off the occassional long basal shoot which never blooms but snags bathing suits and small children. I was going to rip them out this weekend and plant a hedge of lavender and blue fescue there instead.

I'm not sure so don't hold me to this but I think I have read before if a rose is growing but no blooms it is a good idea to stop fertlizing it for a while. I think that is what I remember reading but I could be wrong. I do know it normally takes a few years for climbers to get established and start to reliably bloom. Hopefully someone else will chime in. I am interested in hearing the responses because I had planned on planting Westerland in the fall.

Westerland is one of those roses that doesn't bloom until it thinks it is big enough. Since that seems to start around 5 ft, I'd say let it grow for a year or two before making any decisions.

I bought my Westerland last August 2016. I love it!!! Its not even a year old bush and its super health and vigorous for me I got it from Chamblee.

I must comment on that shovel! It is amazing! It made building my garden a million times easier. It cuts through sod like butter . Gets under rocks to wedge them up for you. I'd give it ten stars if I could ! I actually broke mine , on all the rocks I was digging up. By no means is it a wimpy shovel, I was way too hard on it on this huge rock and I weakened the thing . It eventually broke like a loose tooth. I used it about 3 years so I got my money's worth

I planted a 2 gallon westerland last year. It grew 5 foot canes in it's 1st year & I had 3 good flushes of blooms.

I've posted this before.

Over the winter it had a fair amount of dieback (not cane hardy here). But it is growing really well now. Should be blooming this week.

Just wondering if it is too hot where you are? Maybe this one does better in a cooler climate. Don't know if this theory has any validity to it, just thought I would throw that idea out there.

I have another rose - Abraham Darby that has grown like crazy but didn't bloom last year. Just kept throwing out huge canes. This year it has 2 little buds, but the rest of the canes just keep growing with no buds yet. So frustrating, trying to be patient.

Blondie, your Westerland looks wonderful, and I hope you have another great year with it.....and Janaina, I love what you've done with your flower bed. Your Westerland is a wonder, too. It's a gorgeous rose.

BenT, your plant looks great, so I'm agreeing with what boncrow said--hold off on the fertilizer. Maybe you're giving your rose too much nitrogen. Are your other roses on this fertilizer program, too? Hold off the spear head shovel for a year, though it's tempting to use it. I have that shovel, too, and love it. Digging is so much easier. Diane

Give it time. It's way too young to take such drastic measures. It came so small from Hirts, as all of my roses from Hirts have, too, but they all grew extremely well, just took longer to get up to speed. Climbers take their time establishing, twice as long as the average hybrid tea..

That said, my two Westerlands from a number of years back grew very well for three years, each nicely covering 8' of a 4' high fence...16' total. They were started as gallons from Chamblee's. Then over their last winter on earth they both died to the ground! It was a shocking surprise that I still can't figure out why, since that 'klller', winter was mild and no killer at all. I shovel pruned them with great disappointment and regrets.

So, I cannot recommend Westerland going by my experience with it. Still, for you it may be a great climber in time. Hopefully, sooner than later.

Moses

Just thought I'd chime in about HalloBlondie's comment about it possibly not liking heat. I had it here (hot, humid summers, mild winters), and it was going gangbusters and blooming several times in its second year. It spent it's first year in a far too shady spot. I loved it, and what a fragrance. Sadly I had to move the poor thing again (house issues), and managed to kill it. Trish

Thanks everyone for the thoughtful responses. you have saved
Westerland from the Shovel! I’ve decided
that come this winter, I’ll move her to a less prominent spot where she can do
her thing at her own pace. However, the
shovel is still hungry for rose roots… Who’s next? Gertrude Jekyll (pink octopus)? Evelyn (Apricot Octopus)?

Gale and ebharvey1, thanks for your responses , it’s good to
know that others have experienced the same issues with this particular variety

Moses, Cynthia, and MadGallica, thanks for the reminder
that climbers take a couple of years. I
had thought of Westerland as a big shrub that could be purposed like a climber,
but not a real climber, esp since since it bloomed last year. It sure is throwing lanky canes like a climber. I’ll try my best to be patient.

Diane and Boncrow…I think you may be on to something with
the too much fertilizer suggestion.
Lowes had their 1qt Fish Emulsion and Seaweed on clearance for one
dollar, and being the overzealous bargain hunter, I bought ALL of them (60+ bottles).
I had been watering my roses every week with it, I’ll hold back a
bit! (But the worms are sure happy).

Halloblondie …I was also concerned Westerland was a cool
weather rose, I don’t see much of it down south. However I did read one glowing report from a
Gardenweb member in New Orleans, and that encouraged me to plant it in the
first place. Trish, thanks for
confirming it did well for you in Sydney, too.

Moses and Trish, sorry you lost your Westerlands…I’d let you
have mine if you were local, but I’m not sure you’d want it!

Lily and Diane…that shovel is quite wonderful, isn’t
it? It goes through my heavy clay like
it was topsoil, and makes my gardening life much easier. I should start a thread on best Rosarian tools!

Texas Ben,

May I suggest you move Westerland in late winter/very early spring while it is still sleeping. Then it will experience minimal or no transplant shock. Moving it in the fall, followed by a possible upcoming severe 2017-18 winter, could make it loose ground.

I suspect Westerland is a heat lover. My two's puzzling winter die back to the ground after three years of vigorous growth (good 8' long canes stone cold dead), could be due to cold sensitivity Westerland does not always exhibit everywhere.

Henry, in another recent post on Westerland, touched upon the possibility that my Westerlands were propagated from declined genetic stock, hence the winter sensitivity of mine over others' more winter hardy Westerlands. Other gardeners' hardy Westerlands, propagated from better mother stock, purchased at different nurseries than the one I patronized, could be the reason. It's a long shot, but possible.

BTW, my Westerlands were not very fragrant, less than moderately fragrant.

Moses

Texas Ben, I would have taken yours in a flash. I've ordered another, coming in a month or two. I'm so looking forward to having it again. It might be my favourite rose. Trish

Don't move it. It will delay the progress, and give it another setback. You want to see what it can do after being in the same spot. You lose roots moving it.

Moses,

Yes sir, I'll wait until Jan/Feb before I try to move it, just before it breaks dormancy. I do think of Westerland as a very hardy rose..I've seen it growing without care in Boston, Montreal, and there is a huge public planting of it Oslo, Norway. I do believe in declined genetic stock...esp on Fragrant Cloud and Peace, I've received plants that aren't 20% of what the variety used to be.

Trish,

Hope you get a nice new Westerland, it really is quite a unique and rewarding rose when it does well.

Sheila,

I understand there will be setback, but right now it's in such a prominent place, I'll move it somewhere where it can take forever to bloom.