LETTER OF THE WEEK

Jo Sunderland

Emailer writes that, in moving to a new house this year, she acquired a very lovely but completely out of control climbing rose that has long since overpowered its original trellis and is leaning all over a large shrub for support. There is only one “new” stem that was cut short and did not flower.

She says she definitely wants to keep the rose, knows she should cut off the older growth, but is hesitant and needs some moral support.

I make no apologies for returning to this old chestnut, since these derelict monstrosities seem to bedevil so many of you. Jo’s picture showed a rose with its gnarly and unproductive framework actually woven through (shock horror) an equally elderly trellis and, as she mentions, only a single strong green shoot in evidence coming from its base.

Jo needs to be radical. Renovation “hard” pruning does not kill roses when accompanied by a bit of TLC, and this one could be flowering again within two seasons.

She should take a pruning saw and cut the whole mess right down while retaining the curtailed green shoot, bending it very gently from the vertical (if possible: it may have already become rigid) and tying it loosely to a brand-new trellis (I use stretchy Flexi-Tie and tie bows that can be easily redone). Fed and well looked after, the rose will undoubtedly produce some strong replacement shoots from its base that must be fanned out and tied to the trellis as they grow. The original green shoot may send off side shoots that will flower, but the others may not (except late, from their tips) in their first year.

In winter, studying examples of properly trained climbing roses in posh public gardens can be immensely helpful.