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Post by Mr Grinch on May 15, 2008 19:22:13 GMT
I have a rose problem. Its a climber, i think called Golden Showers. Now it states it can handal a bit of shade so great it went on the East facing border fence underneath an old large tree. Its survived and grown tall but the branches head towards the light and sun which is away from the fence. When it rains the branches get so heavy that they are virtually resting on the ground. The branches seem very week and do not stay erect when wet. I cant tie them in as the branches are so far away from the trellis because they are searching for the light ! What can i do ?? I dont really want to chop them back then try to re-train as the have nice flower buds growing ! Help  G |
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Post by Amo on May 15, 2008 19:37:14 GMT
All I know about climbers is you should try and tie the branches in as horizontal as possible. In a zig zag works up the trellis. This makes the plant want to flower more. Staight up is not good!! Could you put in a new bit of trellis/support away fromt the tree and fence just for the rose that would help it? Oh and congrats on being the 1000th post in the Garden Chat.  |
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Post by Rosefriend on May 16, 2008 12:35:05 GMT
I know Golden Showers and it is a lovely climber and it can cope with half-shade and not too big. Letting a rose climb a tree isn't so easy really. It needs to be planted on the side that gets the most sun and I suspect that yours isn't getting the amount of sun that it is wanting as it keeps turning towards the light all the time. They can take a couple of year to accept that they are to grow up the tree - but with good compost, drainage and good rose fertilizer it should be OK.
You say the branches get so heavy - perhaps it is possible with the aid of wire/twine/rope to tie it to the tree itself so that it cannot drape on the ground. As Amo says the best way to get more out of any climbing rose is to train the stems as horizontal as possible.
Golden Showers is not a rambler and therefore the stems will be fairly rigid but with gentle care they can be "bent" slightly. I certainly wouldn't prune it back at this stage at all - it would be a terrible shame.
Have you got a photo that we can look at perhaps?
RF
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Post by Mr Grinch on May 17, 2008 7:01:13 GMT
Thanks Sue,
I'll have a go just to see whether i can get them up again. I Might tie them to the fence. Difficult one this. I'll try and get some pics.
G
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Post by Rosefriend on May 17, 2008 7:08:26 GMT
It would be lovely to see some pics Mr G - perhaps there is another way that we haven't thought of up to now.
RF
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