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Tweaking a rose to be taller

adamadamantadamadamant Posts: 278
in The potting shed
I want to plant a rose in a particular spot to shield the neighbour's patio, as the fence between us is a chestnut pale only 3 foot or so high. I cant find a modern shrub rose which will reach about 5 foot which wont be massive elsewhere, the bed is narrow.  I thought of PB's Countess of Wessex which will grow to 4' and is narrower than it is tall, which is a good thing.   Do you think I can I encourage it to creep up to 5 foot or so by judicious pruning?  The soil isnt clay otherwise I am sure it would romp away, it's coastal loam and the rose would be in full sun.  Thank you for the advice in advance.

Posts

  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    You could get a shrub rose that can also be trained to be a short climber. Westerland is one, I've seen it being a narrow climber at Peter Beales.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    edited April 2023
    I have a rose - Moonlight that I've allowed to do it's own thing.
    I kept it as a 3-4ft plant for some years, then I forgot about it.
    It's now about 12ft up a rowan tree and spreads about 15ft along other shrubs and a fence and looks amazing.
    The only time I prune anything from it is if strong winds blow part of it onto the lawn. But it mostly stays where it is.



    I also grew Fritz Nobis and another similar rose as climbers- about 6ft tall and 12ish ft wide


    So yes, you can grow shrub roses as climbers - just be lazy with the pruning like I am :)

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    You could grow a HT rose as they usually grow taller and thinner. Sorry, ignore 1st and last pics!
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • TopbirdTopbird Posts: 8,355
    You could also consider a shorter climber up a 6' obelisk. I am growing DA Wollerton Hall (with clematis Polish Spirit) and DA clare Austin (with clematis Sea Breeze) up two 6' obelisks. So far, the first combination works reasonably well and forms a mass about 2m high x 90cm diameter. 
    The second is (so far) less successful simply because the Clare Austin rose is not growing very well at all - no idea why....
    Heaven is ... sitting in the garden with a G&T and a cat while watching the sun go down
  • adamadamantadamadamant Posts: 278
    Thanks everyone for your really helpful answers.  I feel very cheered now!  Happy Easter all 

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