A question for all you knowledgeable rose growers. I am not dead keen on roses, so haven't ever grown them, however, one of my customers is ordering a climbing rose to grow up an old conifer stump and then along her fence. She wants me to put something around the conifer to support the rose, but she is one of those ladies who doesn't like unnatural looking things in the garden, so I don't know if netting is the way to go. Would wire, attached to the trunk work? I am going to remove a good depth of the old soil under where the conifer used to be as the earth is like dust, and replace it with a good mix of well rotted manure and fresh topsoil. Also, when it arrives, am I supposed to cut it back some more once it is planted? I seem to remember the chaps on Gardners World doing that to encourage lots of new basal growth. Any advice would be great as she isn't a terribly well off lady and this rose is a special one, coming in at nearly £30, so it is quite an investment for her on one plant.
Sorry EJ I've only just read your post. I have an old tree stump that I'm growing a climber on (not a rose though.) I used metal staples banged into the stump and around the stem of the plant. As it grew I added more staples and threaded green, plastic covered wire tightly through them so that I could then attach small plant ties around it and the stalks of the plant. The staples can't be seen as the foliage is covering them and it looks as though the climber is growing all by itself without support. You can do exactly the same along a fence as I have done with other plants. I don't know if the lady would agree to you doing this for her but I thought I'd let you know just in case it's something you'd like to try. Another thing you could try would be screw in cup hooks as you can then place the plant stems into them and tie them with plant ties to make them secure. It's also easier to twist the wire around these hooks rather than the staples.
The price you quote is about double the price for a potted rose at a nursery in the US. What is it about this rose that causes the price to be so high? Do you know the name of the rose she is ordering? Climbing roses can range from compact plants of about 2 1/2 meters up to ramblers that can reach 40 meters and more. Most of them bloom on the previous years canes, so pruning can be "iffy". Most grower's only prune out dead wood and just enough off the tips of canes to maintain the desired shape. The earlier reply gives you some fine options for attaching the canes. The stump is dead so the use of these devices will not hurt it. Just don't tie it with materials that will not allow the canes to continue their growth. Bob
