Q.badly wind damaged climbing roses
My metal arch was blow down by the fierce winds earlier this week and I don’t know whether to just cut back all of the growth or to just try to lift the very long stems/branches and build a new arch and attach them to that!? Any advice will be appreciated!
If the canes were not badly broken during the event, you should be able to build a new arch and attach them to it. You will want to prop the old arch up in some way so as to get the rosebushes canes up from the ground, yet not in the way of building the new arch. I would recommend adding some thin cable tie-backs to the arch to help prevent the wind from doing this again. The cables can be spray painted so as to blend in with the surroundings. If the canes are badly broken, prune out the damage and water the rosebush with some water with a product called Super Thrive in the water. Do this 2 or three times. It helps the rosebush overcome the stress and shock. Since this product is not a fertilizer it will not cause unwanted out of season growth or overstress the bush at such a time.
