Am I supposed to trim the canes of climbing roses?

This is my first experience with them. My neighbor has several and he never trims the canes. Each year, they leaf out and get gorgeous flowers. For this reason, I didn't trim my canes, but now the plant is leafing out quite a bit from the bottom and there is nothing on the canes at all. Should I trim those canes down now? I live in Chicago and we had an exceptionally cold winter this year, but right now, as I type this, I can see my neighbor's climbing roses beginning to leaf out on the their old canes! What should I do with mine?

Am I supposed to trim the canes of climbing roses?
Hmmm, your old canes may have indeed died over winter. Go ahead and snip a few to see if they are dead......you'll know.





Now where these new canes are coming from is critical! Most, not all, but most roses are grafted onto a different root stock. If the top part (the named variety) had died out completely, these new canes may be the rootstock, not the chosen variety. You'll have to get down on the ground and dig around. Find the graft....the bump) and see if the new canes are coming from the bump or below the bump. If below, dig up the whole plant. The understock may be Dr. Huey, a once a year semi-ugly red flowering "climber" or a wild rose stock...often light pink.





Hopefully the new canes are coming from the graft, in that case all is well.





If your roses were young or not properly prepared for winter, they may have died out. It happens.
Reply:In your climate you should always prune back any rose canes to 3 of the new ones from the prior growing season. and cut them down to about 6 inches. then cover them with mulch for the winter.


Take a look at you rose and see where that new growth is coming from, if it is coming from below the onion ( the round ball just above the roots) then you are not getting the rose you thought you would be. That onion is the graft and if they are coming from below the graft the rose you bought is dead and only the rootstock is producing. if the growth is coming from above that graft then you rose will come back.