Sick Gloire de Dijon!

My climbing rose Gloire de Dijon was doing very well indeed until it had to be cut back hard to allow the house to be painted. It has never recovered from this trauma. It now manages only spindly, weak little stems which often die back. It is, however, still producing copious flower buds, which I am picking off because the plant cannot sustain them. Do you think my rose is doomed, and that I should dig it up? Or would something like a nitrogen-only fertilizer help? (I've tried rose fertilizers.)

 

Hi.. welcome to Gardenerscorner!

Gloire de Dijon is lovely, but can be temperemental.

Is it in good soil, and in a sunny, airy position?

Personally... i wouldn't feed it now, if it does put on new growth now , the new stems may not toughen up for the winter. In the spring give it a good general fertiliser, something like a pelleted chicken poo.... but not too much... keep off the rose fertiliser as this is designed to promote flowers.

 

Thank you, Wiseoldowl and Quercus, for your help. My rose is in very hot, sunny position on a south-facing wall (which doesn't always help things - leaves and flowers can get fried in hot weather!). It's quite open but the soil is not that great - so maybe I should try improving it. I'll keep watering it as you suggest and hope for the best!

 

Funnily enough we had a Gloire de Dijon a few years ago. I planted it deep, with lots of organic material, at the base of a rose arch but it looked sickly and never really took off. I left it for a year or two then carefully dug it up and put it in a pot against a sunny wall. It just sulked then finally curled up its toes and expired. I felt bad as it was paid for by money given by a good friend.

Thanks for saying that it's temperamental Quercus, it makes me feel better! Perhaps I'll have another go sometime.

Chris

 

It's not the easiest to grow well...gets bad black spot, give it a nice mulch of garden compost or simular and keep it watered.

 

This is just to say thanks for the help and advice regarding my extremely sick Gloire de Dijon climbing rose, which went into a terminal sulk after it got cut back so the house could be painted. It has now made a full recovery. The leaves are lush and it is already full of fat flower buds. The postman, however, is not so pleased; unless I remember to tie in every single shoot regularly it tends to grab him on the way to the letterbox. He suggests I grow something less lethal next time. :lollol: