Roses and climbing roses
Hereford,
United Kingdom 
Hi again everyone, when it comes to dead heading roses,when the flowers have dropped off is it ok to cut back to a cm above the lowest new bud even if it does mean losing about 3/4 branches(tho they have flowered,it would just mean i could tidy the bush up a bit as i didnt know last year to cut it back, right thats the rose question.
Climbing roses, there the small flowers im assuming there mostly like this,do they need to be dead headed or do they do it themselves, its just last year i remember trying to go through the arch and dead head them all whilst getting scratched and tortured,if i need to do this ill continue to do it but if its not neccessery id rather not as im not in to the whole sado masacist scene, thanks for all your help
18 Jun, 2009
Answers
You can cut off as much as you're suggesting, but only up to the end of June. Then just deadhead normally and you can prune everything properly in the autumn.
18 Jun, 2009
thankyou both, right so how do i differentiate between a rambler and a climber,also it seems to continue flowering right through summer,they died off and i dead headed them then was just a continuous cycle
18 Jun, 2009
A rambler is usually fairly unmistakeable - it'll be a thicket of thorny branches, dense, with loads of branches too, and usually only has one major flush of flowers, and that's it. A climber, whilst being prickly, tends to have far fewer stems and is more likely to be repeat flowering, which is what you're describing. It is worth deadheading climbers in order to get more flowers, if you can bear to.Personally, I hate the damn things - they've always got black spot, mildew and are nasty to handle, the bit you need to reach is nearly always out of reach, you get stabbed and wounded, and all for the sake of what may be impressive flowers, if you like that kind of thing. But don't mind me, just my personal feeling;-)
18 Jun, 2009
Another pointer is foliage. Rambling rose foliage is smaller, glossy and there are more leaflets (7 I think). Bamboo is right. Most people come to a point where the rambler is simply a thicket with few flowers. It is important then to prune some stems right to the ground immediately after flowering. New stems produced will produce flowers. Anyway, it does sound as if you have a climber. Deadhead as you have been, if you wish to, then in Feb (here in E Anglia) just as new growth is beginning to show, prune to your requirements. The resultant vigorous side shoots produced will produce the flowers. Do your best to tie them in horizontally or in a spiral to get the most flowers.If you were able to post a picture, some clever person could probably identify it, but perhaps it won't be Bamboo!
18 Jun, 2009
lol,makes me feel like doing the dead heading of the climber when i upset my miss's
18 Jun, 2009
ive got a real close up pic on in my photos, one of the first flowers, or would you need a distant one also, the flower itself is around an 1" wide i think
18 Jun, 2009
You deadhead for more flowers later in the season (if it is a repeat flowering rose) and to tidy the plant. If it produces a second flush of flowers later in the season and produces attractive hips, I tend not to deadhead at this point so the hips can form. Climbers with many small flowers are a pain (and are quite likely to be ramblers and so, often, only flower once); so really up to you. I try to deadhead, but don't always manage it. As to how to deadhead, I cut back to the next set of leaves below the faded flower, making a diagonal cut. If the flower is part of a cluster of flowers, just snip off the faded flower head until the entire cluster has flowered and then cut back to the next leaf joint. Any stem that has been cut high above a leaf joint will die back to that joint and will look unsightly.Hope this helps.
18 Jun, 2009