Pruning climbing roses

[HeyWayne]

In an attempt in inject a bit of colour (other than green) onto my plot, I bought a climbing rose a couple of years ago - Dublin Bay.

I bought a couple of those cheap Roe Zarches for it to climb up, and should have probably built one myself as the metal has rotted away at ground level and I'll probably be doing some remedial work to it over the winter when the plant is less fulsome.

Having never grown roses before I'm a little light in the experience/knowledge of caring for such plants, however I seem to recall some read wisdom which states that roses need a good pruning during winter to encourage bloom the following year.

However, this seems count-intuitive when you want the rose to climb surely?

Do I therefore prune back all the "bushy" growth and concentrate on leaving the main stems to tie back to the support, or is there another nack to it?

Felco's at the ready (obviously not until winter...)

[Helgalush]

I cant really help as I am a beginner with roses myself. I planted two new climbing roses this spring (White Star) and it did really well at first, lots of pretty blooms. Then it seemed to stop growing altogether and no more blooms came. The little leaflet that came with it said to prune a little after they have have bloomed once to encourage them to bloom again. They have and the plant seems to be putting on more growth.

Whether I have done right or wrong I dont know, but at least it is climbing again.

I've pruned my bush rose but I think I have done it wrong, its covered in red growth and I think this might be a problem called "suckers". Will have to google that.

Hope someone will be along soon to advise you. Sorry if me posting confuses things at all.

[Jardiniere]

having the same problem meself.....got his gorgeous beautifully perfumed red rose to grow in really poor soil up against my boozy hut... its put up one long stem (but its got seven leaves!)and have pruned the other part and its still producing lovely roses even in this erratic summer...raining for days then temperatures of 40 plus..... but dont know what to do with it next......surely theres a rose expert out there somewhere?
Picture of rose and boozy hut attached

[TEB]

I planted a Dortmund climbing rose about 4 years ago and for the first few years only pruned weak or unwanted material, then last year I pruned back new growth to about 6 inches from its main stem, I should have done this after final flowering but only got around to it in October. I also have a Zephirine Drouhin rose which I have treated the same way and is now about 15' tall and this year produced 100's of the most stunningly scented flowers.

[Glutton4...]

I'm no Rose expert by any means. I favour the old 'Tidy after Flowering' and 'Prune hard and feed Hoss Poo in Winter' for t'others. Can't remember who told me that, but it was many years ago!

[its hilly]

Used to have massive climbers up the side of a cottage I rented. An old rose lover gave me this advice..
The first year or so prune them lightly/med after flowering to encourage them to bush a bit. As they get bigger top them at the height you are happy with, and every year take about 1/3 of the oldest wood right off at the base to allow new fresh flowering stems to form. And feed feed feed, horse poo left to rot in over winter is a good mulch as well.
Once they are well established little short of a nuclear explosion will harm them, so you can hack them right back if they are getting leggy or out of shape, although they wont flower as well the first year after you do that.
They tend to be a bit bare at the bottom so think of some nice bushy muck lover to plant at the feet to hide that, and enjoy.