My climbing rose is not growing

(Question)

I had this climbing rose for 8 years. For the past 2 years it did not flower at all. It does not seem to grow. What should I do about it ? Thank you.

(Answer)

Thank you for contacting the Toronto Master Gardeners concerning your climbing rose.

From your photo it does appear as if your rose is alive and is putting forth new growth. It has been unusually cold the last few weeks and as a result I would wait to see if any more buds break along the cane. Once you are sure that no more buds are breaking, prune all the canes that have winter kill or that are damaged or diseased. You can check which canes are dead by scraping a bit of the outer bark with your fingernail. If the wood underneath is green, then the cane is still alive. Garden Making has an excellent article on How to Prune Roses which describes how to tell if the wood is dead, the best way to make a pruning cut, and how to shape a climbing rose.

You mention that your rose is not growing, do you mean it isn’t flowering? Roses require at least 6 hours of direct sun and fertile well-drained soil. According to garden.org’s article on Training a Climbing Rose  “Climbing roses produce two kinds of shoots: the main structural canes and the flowering shoots, which grow from the canes. The long structural canes must be tied or woven into a support to keep the flowers off the ground. ” from your photo it appears that you only have the main structural canes growing. It could be that your rose is not planted in the right location. Roses require at least 6 hours of sunlight during the growing season and fertile, well-drained soil.

Have you recently added any organic matter to your bed? Top dressing with compost or manure  will help provide nutrients as well as helping to retain moisture around the plant. Halton Master Gardeners has an excellent article on Growing Roses.

Good Luck with your Rose