skip to main content

Organic Rose Growing Vines Roses

How to Train a Climbing Rose "Sally Holmes"?

westes Zone 9b California SF Bay

last year

I have a "Sally Holmes" climbing rose that was purchased about a year ago from Heirloom Roses. The plant was not well cared for. It was left in the shade and not fertilized, so it grew leggy and is not looking great. I just planted it in a small raised bed with a good trellis behind it, and the soil is rich with organic material and well-draining. How should I cut it back and start to get it trained for future growth?

Featured Answer

susan9santabarbara

last year

I've grown Sally for >20 years and I've never trained her. I just let her grow as a large shrub. Due to the weight of her canes, they naturally spread out to a lovely arching shape. I'd say she's no more than 8' tall, and maybe 10-15' wide. I grow her on the north side of a 6' tall wood fence, which is less-than-ideal in late fall/winter/and early spring, but she does very well. My current problem is that there is a junk ficus tree in the neighbor's yard just over the fence, which has now gotten to >20 feet tall and provides way more shade than even 5 years ago. If you look closely at the upper left of the pic, you can see it, and this pic was taken several years ago. My goal this fall is to hack Sally and Eden back hard (they're next to each other on the fence), so my tree people can get in and really shave that stupid ficus back. That used to be do-able from my yard, but Sally and Eden have spread too much for easy access. Also, if you look really closely in the upper right, you can see where the top of the fence is.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (11)

westes Zone 9b California SF Bay
Original Author
last year
@susan9santabarbara Maybe you could step back and snap a photo that shows both Sally and Eden and the neighborhood around them?
Related Discussions
How do I train a climbing rose to grow on a fence?
Q
Comments (8)
Thanks everyone for your help. Buford, your Iceberg looks so graceful on the wall. I can only hope that mine will look 1/2 as good. I'm still a little unclear as to how the climbers get shaped..it looks like you might be trimming back the canes so as not to grow over the window? Or do you just let them grow at will? And what kind of wire are you using...it must have to be very strong...I have searched and searched the web and several rose books for specific answers on training climbing roses against fences and walls. I'm amazed at how little information I can find.
...See More
Sally Holmes?
Q
Comments (45)
One of my favorite gardening design idea sites (gardenia.net) has a great photo of Sally Holmes with lots of grasses and purple companion plants. Photo from: https://www.gardenia.net/garden/A-Pretty-Late-Season-Border-Idea-with-Asters-Roses-and-Grasses Isn't that a great design? I'm trying to create a similar effect, but with a few substitutes to the plants in their design. I'm using verbena, purple fountain grass and lantana instead of what they have there. Asters could work here too... but I haven't added them yet. And of course I want Sally Holmes to be a tree instead of the little baby bush they have there. I may end up putting a couple Peace rose bushes in there too because they are currently orphans without a home and I can't figure out where to put them. I love Sally Holmes. As a tree, climbing over a structure, trained horizontally through a ranch style fence. It's fantastic and super easy here in CA.
...See More
Will Sally Holmes grow here?
Q
Comments (12)
There were 3 podocarpus (fern pines) that were growing along the fence and they were getting huge and were so messy so they had to go. Roots could definitely be an issue. It's been 3 years since we got rid of them and last summer I threw 3 lantanas that I got off the $3 rack from Lowes into the space. They work fine but I need height. I'm trying to remember if I hit roots when planting them. I guess I'll be digging tomorrow to find out. For the spot out front. Clay soil that has not been amended. I think Sally will be ok there. We don't get rain often like we did this year and in future heavy rain years I can always get an attachment that drains the water to the street. I am constantly reinventing my yard so I'm not afraid to get rid or move something if it's not working but still like to research first. Thanks for the feedback!
...See More
Blush Noisette or Sally Holmes
Q
Comments (10)
If scent is important to you, Blush Noisette. If large splashes of pale pink and yellow, fading to cream then white like an enormous hydrangea would please you, then Sally Holmes. I would expect Sally Holmes to be a bit more "Arctic Hardy" than the Noisette simply from their genetics. Sally would also appear to be more shade tolerant due to her heavy dose of multiflora background. Sally's petals are also more durable in hot sun and water stress conditions. And, Sally seems to set fewer hips than Blush Noisette, at least in the conditions under which I've grown them. Both are lovely roses. You would probably enjoy both of them.
...See More
Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
last year
I would water and leave the plant to recover from it's trauma without pruning. It just needs love.
westes Zone 9b California SF Bay thanked Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
Vaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley
last year
Yes! I don't think it s cutting it all just watering and growing. My sally is a robust rose. I'm sure Yours will be the same.
westes Zone 9b California SF Bay thanked Vaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley
Dena Anthony
last year
Prune it
westes Zone 9b California SF Bay thanked Dena Anthony
westes Zone 9b California SF Bay
Original Author
last year
A month later this plant has turned around and is growing rapidly. It looks like a champ.
westes Zone 9b California SF Bay
Original Author
last year
If I wanted to put a trellis on either side of this Sally Holmes climbing rose, would be some good companion plants? Maybe different Clematis on each side, growing to about 15 feet high? What other climbing vines would look good against the white Sally Holmes rose?
Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
last year
Your rose looks so much happier with your care, Westes. I think clematis sound lovely. I also have a chocolate vine that always looks good. My clematis have less year round good looks.
westes Zone 9b California SF Bay thanked Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
westes Zone 9b California SF Bay
Original Author
last year
@Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR I guess chocolate vine can grow more than 30 feet in one season and would quickly dominate any area where it is planted.
Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
last year
You are right westes. It would serve as a backdrop but not a good choice adjacent to Sally.
westes Zone 9b California SF Bay thanked Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
westes Zone 9b California SF Bay
Original Author
10 months ago
My baby Sally Holmes had her first bloom this year. It's coming along.

Related Stories

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Plant: Sally Holmes Rose

By Annie Thornton

This simple yet versatile climbing rose grows vigorously all year; plant now for abundant spring and summer blooms

GARDENING GUIDES 5 Favorite White Roses for a Purely Beautiful Garden

By J. Peterson Garden Design

How does your garden glow? With roses that look like light and smell divine

ROSES 9 Roses That Landscape Designers Love

By Annie Thornton

See which beautiful and reliable rose varieties are favored by designers around the country

GARDENING GUIDES What Kind of Roses Should You Grow?

By Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Want to add the beauty of roses to your garden? Find out which ones, from old-fashioned to modern, are right for you

LANDSCAPE DESIGN The Art of the Espalier

By June Scott Design

Go ahead, let limited garden space drive you up the walls. With these 6 ways to train plants vertically, it can be a beautiful thing

GARDENING GUIDES 8 Romantic Spring-Flowering Vines to Cover a Trellis

By Lauren Dunec Hoang

See top choices that offer gorgeous blooms, intoxicating fragrance and benefits to pollinators

GARDENING GUIDES Great Design Tree: Australian Tea Tree

By Annie Thornton

A living sculpture with an unmistakable appearance, this coastal native creates an intriguing landscape scene

GARDENING GUIDES Scents and Sensibility: The Aromatherapy Garden

By Aislin Gibson

Relieve stress and boost your mood with these fragrant plants in pots or in garden beds

GARDENING AND LANDSCAPING Vase Shapes Set Shrubs Apart

Billowing on top and slender on the bottom, shrubs in a vase shape showcase blooms and foliage to perfection in the landscape

FLOWERS AND PLANTS Pink Flowers to Sweeten Your Garden

By Annie Thornton

Show your garden some love with a living bouquet of pink flowers. Here are 20 beauties to choose from

Sponsored

1 Review

Industry Leading General Contractors in Columbus

More Discussions

Color categories

61

White roses in honor of the snow many people are experiencing

60

Orange and Coral roses

46

Peach and Apricot roses

47

Lavender Roses today

29