What have you been feeding it with? Is it a shrub version of Gertrude Jekyll and not the climbing form?

Did you re-pot it or replace the top couple of inches of compost?

Is it draining OK? are the drainge holes clear, we have had a lot of rain of late and the plant roots may be water logged!

Regarding the weight of flowers on the branches, try strategically placing split canes in the pot so they do not become obtrusive and tie the spindly shoots to these!

You don't mention how or with what you have fed your plants with!

If you have used a liquid fertiliser and the roots are waterlogged then you may have aggravated the situation,i.e. adding more liquid to compost that is already saturated!

After flowering you can consider transplanting the plant into the border or removing it from the pot and repotting it in new compost!

But do not do anything now other than I have suggested above or you will as you mentioned above.....end the flowering season!

Teegee, you are so right. I have found that any of my roses that are waterlogged develop very spindly stems indeed. Pity about this one as it is one of the very best in my opinion....follow Teegees advice, wait until it has flowered and then get it in to the ground, you won't be disappointed, what a stunner it is! :D

I repeat, what have you been feeding it with?

I have fed the rose with a small scattering of grow more last year and this year with a feed especially for roses. I have also top dressed with John innes no3 earlier in the spring. The pot is stone and if I can remember it had plenty of gravel in bottom but I will investigate further. It was a stunner last year hopefully it will be next year. I believed there was only one plant it was the way you grew it that determined whether it became a climber or stayed as a shrub, David Austin only sells one sort.

Hopefully the rose feed (Toprose?) has only been applied as directed on the box - once in April and again 6 weeks later? As for waterlogging, provided you have drainage holes in the pot, that's not likely to be an issue. I suspect, though, that it will do much better in the ground- even as a shrub, it should reach 4 or 5 feet, and as a climber 6-7 (I can't remember whether it was feet or metres) but either way, its a large plant for a pot, and I'm surprised they said it would be okay in one. If it doesn't look too awful, I'd let it flower, then plant out in the garden somewhere if you have the space for it, prune when it should be pruned and see how it does next year.

I visited DA's gardens a few years ago and chatted with their 'duty' gardener of the day.

He reckoned that most of their shrubs could be grown in pots with reasonable results for many years. He did add that for the Best results, put it in the garden.

Lovely rose Gertie. Another we left behind in the move. Must get another.