Pruning Roses

Thanks Fran.
Sorry should have explained better. Had climbing iceberg 3-4 years training it up front porch. Got too bushey so pruned it, dug it out and planted it in back garden with cane support.As i'd planted it in the centre of the bed it ended up franned out filling the centre of the rose arch when that was added. Now i've planted a deep lemon climbing rose at each side of the arch and two pale peach bush roses in front. All is coming along nicely. My promblem is most of the icebergs branches are tied to the arch, will i need to prune and retie every year {a long job).

 

Mmmm, problem is with roses that they reach for the light and unpruned you could end up with a lorra foliage and flowers at the top in tangle, and bare stems below.

Roses don't need pruning except to achieve the shape and flowering height you want, and to remove the straggly bits. As I recall Iceberg is the rose used on the pergola in the white garden at Sissinghurst - and all the flowers and foliage was at the top forming a very fragrant bee humming roof - nowt but bare stems on the uprights.

From your description of how your using it you will need to prune it back to keep the flowering shape - you could let it go and see what happens, and then attack it radically if its not to taste?

 

I see what you mean fran.I want some height (as i've no room for a tree) but need to keep the
shape of the arch. IF i lightly prune the top branches to shape and prune the lower ones at different heights would that work?

 

Probably yes bearing in mind I have never had a rose arch, but am getting to know roses just a tad - when pruning roses you got to take a look at last years growth and what it did, and then prune back thinking of the new years growth and where you would like it to be. Climbers should be pruned in the spring (for me early March) - so all you need to do now is tidy up - and ensure they don't get root rock.

 

Right will do that in the spring then and guard against root rock now.
Thats me sorted,thanks a lot Fran.