Climbing Roses

[Mike Hess]

We just planted two Climbing rose bushes this spring
(we are in Minneapolis, MN]. After a lull and some feeding
(Ortho systemic food and insecticide] they have begun to grow and
flower. I am tying them off to a trellis as they shoot upward.

Question: Do you cut climbing roses back like normal roses after the flowers bloom?
Do you maintain the old growth year to year? I've seen bushes that
looked like they must be many years old, but also I've heard you
cut them back or the old growth dies.

Is there anything you can do to protect the bush during the winter
(the branches, I mean). we have pretty darn harsh winters up here-
last January was known as "20-30 degree below month".

any advice would be appreciated.

-mike
mike...@medtronic.com

[KCutler]

In article <31640b$m...@gazette.medtronic.COM>, mike...@medtronic.com
(Mike Hess) writes:

I'm not a rosarian, but most climbing roses, those with large flowers,
should not be pruned--only the dead wood and canes that are no longer
producing should be cut out. I do deadhead climbing roses in order to send
the energy that would be used to produce hips back into the plant.
In cold areas like yours and mine (Vermont), climbing roses are marginally
successful because there is so much dieback in winter. Some gardeners take
the canes down from their trellis in autumn, lay them on the ground and
mulch heavily. That always seemed like too much work to me.
My solution, as a northern gardener, was to explore other vines, and, for
roses, to plant rugosas and other large, heirlooms that were rugged, cold
hardy and largely disease resistant (which would eliminate your use of
chemical controls).