Should I be posting this on a rose forum?

I thought that the oddball weather conditions of the Bay Area would be better answered here.

(Patience Lisa, Patience.)

My usual method to restoring an overgrown climbing rose is to cut the oldest canes right to the ground. I prefer to do this in January, but if you have the strength and resolve to do it now, I would go ahead. The vertical growing shoots that are left I would bend down to as horizontal as possible and tie them there. This will slow the regrowth and encourage blooming. Al

Lisa hi,

I think you should post this on the Antique Rose Forum. I don't know the rose, but others maybe able to ID it. It helps to know the rose before one prunes. That said, Al's advise is spot on. If the growth is too thick, I'd prune it down and start weeding out thicker older canes.

Carol

There's a long growing season ahead of us. Usually I prune in late Jan/early Feb. But you will be fine pruning now, the rose has lots of time to recover.

Remember this is our dry season, so do water it every couple of weeks and feed it regularly. If you want to discourage the aphids/ants, knock them off with a water spray early in the morning so the water will evaporate by noontime. Good luck!

Thanks, y'all! I'll go looking for the antique rose forum.

I'm not sure this is a genuine antique, but you never know. It is planted in the back area of an industrial complex in Oakland.

Go to this website and check out the pictures of "Sally Holmes". Could this be your rose? If it is, it's okay to prune it back anytime during the year. This rose gets to be huge.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sally Holmes

I just wanted to thank everyone who replied to this thread, back in the day. I was not able to prune this rosebush at the time you suggested. I had a huge family emergency and had to leave the country.

But, I have to say, that I'm sort of glad that I didn't cut this plant down to the ground. I love its exuberance, and the food it is providing for the bees.

Here is a link that might be useful: photos of rosebush, and the bees that love it

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I just remembered how to post photos!

This bush is about ten feet tall. I adore it.

You could post the pic over on the antique rose forum, they should be able to id it. It looks very nice.