We have a gorgeous rose bush in our back yard – lovely blooms, that is, but very badly behaved. The previous owners planted it too closely to the windows outside. Every time the wind would blow, the bush swayed and scratched the window.
Irritating.
I was inspired by photos of gorgeous climbing roses and decided that I needed to retrain our rose bush to grow away from the window.
Retraining required a few simple things: chicken wire, plant ties and brick clips.
First step: Prune the rose bush. After much reading, I realized that I didn’t need to fear being “too harsh” with the bush. I cut out all of the dead wood, old canes and spent blooms. This reduced the overall bush size by nearly half.
Second step: Measure and attach clips to the wall. You can purchase brick clips at online hardware stores. I was most impressed with the selection and price at Lee Valley Tools. Brick clips are inexpensive, but you need to know the height of your bricks and order appropriately.
Much better, right? I can’t wait to see how it grows and fills in over time.
I think the roses will be happier, too. Aren’t they pretty?
And, FYI – fixing this rose bush was one of my 101 goals!
It's been years since you posted this but it is just what I needed to know! I have just now learned about Brick Clips but couldn't figure out how to use them to train my new climbing rose! Thanks so much. Happy gardening. 🙂
I'm so glad it was helpful!!!! Enjoy your roses for years to come.
[…] I tried reshaping them, pinning them to the side of our house. I blogged about that project here. […]