Where are you? What zone? Don Juan likes hot climates. That could be a reason for not growing more in 3 years. Good soil, full sun, adequate water are also essential.

Try tying the rose canes to the pergola instead of wrapping. Most people use jute string. I find solid 14ga black coated wire works great as you can reuse it. Don't tie the string/wire tight around the canes.

I live in Israel, pretty hot during the summer.

My main question was whether i can cut the canes to the base to start over

Can toy elaborate on what 14ga wire is?

This is one of the roses. It is the same since last spring (and winter of course) it blossoms, but no new shoots

Hi ittayd,

I'm from a much different climate than yours. I have no experience with Don Juan and can only help with one thing. I can see 2 areas where the center of the cane is brown. A brown center is not going to be healthy. When you prune it is best to cut until the pith (the center of your cane) is white all the way thru.

Do you know your plant hardiness zone. This is helpful to know what you can expect from your rose. I'm in zone 5 where it gets very cold and live in a wet climate. Most of my roses die to the ground each year but are crown hardy and regrow in spring.

Thank you Patty. Did you see the brown center in the cuts?

Yes in the second photo, thou it is difficult to tell if it is a hole or dark pith. In the bottom photo at the top the second cane from the right. Then a bit further down above the flower is another one.

OK, thanks again. And to my original question, do you think I can cut to the base to start fresh?

There are other members of this forum that that are much better at this question then myself. All that I can add is that if I were to grow Don Juan. It would be crown hardy here but not cane hardy. So mine would be cut to the ground every year and basically grow as a shrub. At the proper time for pruning in your area. I would say yes it can be done. A climbing rose would not be happy with you doing this often. It will give up on climbing for you. Hoping someone else comes to answer again, in case I have offered poor advise.

Just adding to what Moses said, in my experience, another option is that you could cut all canes back as recommend except 1 or 2 good ones... if there are any that you like how they are wrapped.

It's hard for me to tell from the photos, but you may have a couple canes there that are wrapped nicely.

Then as the new canes develop, you can decide over time if you want to cut the "old" good ones. That way you're doing it in phases.

Definitely easier to train when they're young and flexible! Don Juan can be fun, flexible and great to pillar, so hopefully the new canes will give you a better experience. With a post that size, it might be easier to try to keep the cane angle at around 45 degrees as you wrap it around... so a little more upright and close to the pillar. :)

Have fun! :)

ittayd— 14 ga wire is what we here in the states us to wire our homes with (15amp circuits). It’s normally molded with two other wires to form one single wire. The two other wire are also 14 ga, one bear copper while the other is coated with a white coating. Black being the hot wire. However, in some cases metal conduit is used to contain the wires. In this case the three wires are not molded together.

The wire can be purchased in 500 foot spools and can be either solid or twisted wires. Any hardware store should carry it. The solid wire is great for feeding around a lot of canes that you want to hold together. You just form a curve with the wire then feed it around the canes.

The larger the gauge number the smaller the wire. 14 ga is about 1/8 inch diameter.

BTW there no reason that you can't use White 14 ga wire. With your white posts it may be a better choice. If you use just bear copper wire it will turn very dark over time. Hope that helps....

Thank you all!

Moses, regarding training in the same direction, say I decide to go clockwise, so canes go left and up. Now what if a shoot starts from the right instead of the left? Should I trim it and wait for a new one to shoot right?

Ittayd,

By no means, NO! Never prune away good, vigorous growth, especially basal canes.

Basal canes are those that emerge from the crown of the rose. These canes are your most valuable growth. They are basal canes that all should spiral up your post in the same direction, not necessarily other kinds of growth.

Remember, as Cori Ann wisely advised, wrap your basal canes at about a 45 degree angle around your post. That way snapping and bent canes are minimized. Do it while they are pliable and young and still extending.

Lateral growth is the growth that emerges from up and down the basal canes. These are the growths on which the flowers emerge. There are secondary laterals that emerge from the primary laterals after flowers at the end of the primary laterals are deadheaded. Flowers may also form at the terminal tip of the basal cane when it has finished its full lengthening, often 4+ meters from where that particular cane emerged from the rose's crown!

Directing the lateral growth is less strictly controlled than the mandate of having all the basals spiraling up the post in the same direction. Let them choose the direction they will grow, tying them in just to keep things neat and safe for passersby who would get snagged on thorns otherwise.

BTW, Ittayd, there is a PINK version of climbing Don Juan that is reported to be an even better rose than Red Don Juan. Here in the USA, Chamblee's Rose Nursery sells it. They have a web site you can access. I mention this Pink Don Juan because a pink colored rose flower may not crisp and wither from the heat as a red flowered rose like Red Don Juan's blooms may do for you. If you are interested, how to get the rose to you is the next question?

Shalom, Moses

I've grown DJ for years. Take the longest cane and strap it downwards creating an arch. Climbers like to grow up from branches and doing this eliminates unwanted competition. It also tends to stimulate growth.

-Adrian.

kublakan, I did this, but the rose stopped growing... and doing it later, when the cane is long is impossible since it is already wooden.

Moses, thank you again, I will try your advises. I'll look for the Pink variant here.

Have you tried watering in fish emulsion and cutting about two to three inches off of the tips? It seems to look happy enough. Also, if I was trying to get it to put out new shoots, I would fertilize and nip the buds off as soon as they begin to appear. This forces the plant to put forth its energy into leafing out.