Why won't my climbing rose bloom?

Question

We planted 3 different kind of roses this spring. 2 have done great... but my climbing rose has not bloomed all year. It originally had one main stalk, and branched off in 2 spots. It seemed to be doing great. Then another stalk started to grow right next to the first one. It's A LOT fatter, and has MANY more thorns on it. This stalk has not branched off, and has grown to twice the size of the first growth. My grandfather (that passed 2 yrs ago) Swore by the fact that sometimes a "sucker" would grow, and it would drain the rest of the plant just so it could grow, and the plant would not bloom. My husband and I are battling with the fact of if we should cut this very large stalk off, as my grandfather probably would have. This very meaty stalk is now beginning to branch off down at the base of it, and the new growth seems to be just as thorny, and fast growing as the stalk it is growing off of. What should I do? It gets plenty of sun, plant food, and space to grow

Answer 1

suckers are the branches that you see and they are where you would see budding. the fat is the actual stalk and should NOT be cut. this plant is more than likely in a growth stage and should be allowed to finish. sounds like it struggled a little in it's begining and is probably just a little behind...rule of thumb is only prune in the spring or fall seasons...good luck

Answer 2

Hope this is useful information.

Here are some of the reasons that roses don't bloom.

The rose plant is not getting enough sun. Roses need at least 6 hours of direct sun a day to perform well.

The rose needs more water. Roses like at least an inch of water per week during the growing season.

The plant has been given too much fertilizer, especially Nitrogen. Too much fertilizer can either damage the plant or cause it to grow extra leaves and stems at the expense of blooms.

The rose is a new plant. Don't expect too much from a plant during its first year.

Rose is a once blooming variety. This means it will bloom only once a year in the late spring or early summer.

Soil pH is too low or too high. If the pH is not in the range of 6.0 to 6.8 (ideally 6.5) then nutrient uptake will be reduced, and the plant won't be getting the food it needs to produce flowers.

Not enough foliage. If the bush doesn't have adequate foliage, it can't produce the food it needs to make new flowers. Inadequate foliage may result from disease or too little fertilizer.

http://webtest.mc.edu/campus/users/nettl...

Q. Why won't my roses bloom?

A. It could be as simple as your roses aren't getting enough sun. They absolutely have to have at least 6-8 hours of sun to produce blooms and perform well. Other reasons could be they have been allowed to dry out and are suffering from stress, or have been fertilized improperly. A high nitrogen fertilizer will give you lots of green growth, but not many blooms. Just a note...don't expect too awfully many blooms in the first year you plant your roses. Give them time to get established!

http://www.cohlmia.com/Questions.About.R...

Suckers

Using sharp secateurs or pruners and gloves to protect your hands from thorns, first cut out all obviously dead, diseased or damaged wood. Cut it out cleanly at the base. When you have made your cut, look for white inside the stem. If it’s brown, cut further down. Healthy wood is greenish white not brown. Next, cut out very thin, twiggy growth and remove any stems that cross or rub together. Suckers should be ripped out from their source. Do not cut them, as this will encourage more vigorous growth. You are now ready to prune the bush to the desired height. There are 4 methods from which you can choose. Try all four and see what results in the summer, when your roses are in full bloom. Keep a notebook and record all your experiments for future information.

http://www.rosemagazine.com/pages/prunin...

Answer 3

From your description it sounds like your rose MAY have Rose Rosette Disease.  It is characterized by canes that grow very fast, are larger than normal canes and have an abnormal amount of thorns.  The rose will develope what is sometimes called "Witches Brooms" where the rose cane has many smaller branches at the end giving it a broom like appearace.  The leaves that grow from an infected cane are usually much redder than the other leaves.  If this is indeed what your rose has you should remove the rose immediately and destroy the plant because it can spread to your other roses although some roses are resistant to it.  I included a site about the disease.  Hopefully your rose doesn't have this disease....it is not curable.  The second site  has some pictures showing rose rosette on some canes.

Answer 4

get rid of the rootstock rose canes.... they'll take over your 'real' rose... you and grandpa are right......read here...

http://www.berkeleyhort.com/gardensugges...