Another thing you might find helpful with white roses, I have found mine do better in an acid soil. Not sure why but as a last resort before discarding a very poor performer, I stuck it in a the middle of a bed with azaleas and it has performed beautifully ever since.
I did the same as the others and bought Mme Alfred Carriere after I had seen it on the wall of a house - it was divine. I did know it could get to 20 ft, but not how quickly it could do it! It was a monster and grew very quickly, throwing up lots of very thin stems. It did flower very well the first year though and although I had trellis and wires, once it got beyond reach, it was untameable. I did read somewhere that this particular rose sulks if tied down horizontally so didn't do that. I got so fed up with cutting it down, I eventually chopped it all off but left the root in as I couldn't dig it up at the time - it's now waving at me like a triffid over the top of a rosemary bush!
I also have a very leggy Madame Alfred Carriere - should I cut it back now (July 2018) or I should I wait until early next year? Any advice would be very much appreciated.
''leggy'' is its natural growth habit.. It's not a rose to rigidly control, but you can train it horizontally - been there and done that...
This is one of those roses that people fall in love with, and desire for their own gardens, when for most people it's not really suitable, being a rampant climbing rose of considerable size... and in my experience with it, it's not a happy bunny unless it's given its head to do as it pleases...
If you want to cut it back, you can do that now, rather than Spring, but it'll grow leggy again.. best of luck and I hope you get lots of blooms on your roses...
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This is one of those roses that people fall in love with, and desire for their own gardens, when for most people it's not really suitable, being a rampant climbing rose of considerable size... and in my experience with it, it's not a happy bunny unless it's given its head to do as it pleases...
If you want to cut it back, you can do that now, rather than Spring, but it'll grow leggy again.. best of luck and I hope you get lots of blooms on your roses...
she got a severe prune this year and is sulking now but not looking happy
A A Milne