CLIMBERS

I have one climbing rose - sorry IDK the name of it- that is bare to 5ft up from ground level then it has flowers. I hate that, it looks awful. Is this a thing with climbers or have I just bought the wrong one? I think it's yellow but notsure - and it has lethal horrible thorns, millions of them.

 

@fumanchu That's a problem with some climbing roses. Really there are only two ways of dealing with the problem, 1) plant a low bush in front of it so as to hide the lower stems, 2) train the branches the most horizontally as possible - though with all the thorns that may be impossible. There is a third option - dig it up & throw it away! Problem solved!

 

It would depend on how many stems there are. If there are two, three or more, you could chop one or two down to within 18" of the ground to rejuvenate them. Even if there's only one main trunk, you can gamble on it re-sprouting. You need to tie in the new shoots as they grow, though, which could be a prickly experience.

 

Mt Sunseeker goes to 3 meters at east ... and it started as an 18 inch Patio Rose in a pot 25 years ago. It is cut back to about a metre each year to bush it out.

 

I seem to remember something about climbing roses and rambling roses needing different kinds of pruning.
I think its to do with flowers forming on old wood and new wood.
Personally I'll stick with cacti, roses have too many thorns for my likings.

 

Thanks everybody, you lot are such a good help - I think I'll just haul it out and bin it. I got it in a hurry as it was a big fast-growing rose, to cover an ugly fence, but then we put up the trellis & don't need it now. And I'll read the bumf carefully when I replace it. But I could live with a nice wee shrub in front of bare stems on a nicer rose, so now that's an excuse to get one.