Selfsufficientish.com

We have a climbing rose that probably hasn't been pruned since it was put in the ground 20 years ago. When we moved in, it was beautiful but enormous, and closer inspection revealed that the "trellis" it had been attached to had been re-built and propped up at least twice. The whole plant stood about 10 feet high, but the top 3 feet was solid flowers. Birds nested in it.

Very close inspection revealed that half of it was dead. So the executive (and very tough) decision was made to give it a radical haircut. So we literally found one shoot on each side that was new growth and but the rest off at the ground. The whole thing was so enormous that we decided to leave it over winter and clear it away in the spring. So imagine our suprise when this plant, which doesn't have a single shoot in the ground, started producing flowers. Dead branches that were literally sticking out in mid air grew new shoots.

So let this be a lesson to us all. If you want to get rid of a rose, there's only one way.

BURN IT!

Lynne

Amazing! So you didn't 'get round to' clearing it all up in the spring then?

I know! Lazy old me.

Actually we moved in last March and then it pretty much rained on us until August. So we didn't get out there much. Also, I'm a firm believer in "live with it for a year and then sort out what you can't stand". So we did. Although admittedly we did start going at this particular rose when the trellis keeled over and one of the kids only just got out in time. Personally I suspect aforementioned kid was trying to climb it. But it did mean that the cat had to find an alternative perch for when he was terrorised by the very appearance of next door's ducks in the garden.

I find, as a general rule with all plants: if you don't know whether it's dead or alive, it's alive.

Indeed, some of the vitality of plants is very strong, it does not need careful care, can live good.