I couldn't stand that, Moses, so I just let them do whatever they want.

Moses, my Zeffy's have strong canes so I just wrap some soft twine around the whole column of canes then pull the twine gradually tighter as the year goes on. As they grow they loosen up and go where I want them to go.

Now this is coming from a person who knows zip about raising roses so take heed... lol

You have to start training them young. So you are working with those canes last August, when they were still growing. You'll probably need more tie-points, particularly lower down, to make this work.

Genetically, almost all repeat blooming hardy climbers (zone 6 or lower) are descended from a very small gene pool of roses. This is not a group known for being cooperative. I thought the little pictures of how to train climbers were a total fiction until I was working with some Dr. Huey. That rose is extremely easy to train, and made me realize it isn't so much that I had to clue how to deal with climbers, but that the climbers didn't want to be dealt with.

My easiest climber to train has to be Cl Pinkie, the others ( in my garden) need to be trained almost right away or they become too stiff.

I third training them when they're very young. Agree that if you take an incremental approach to getting a stiffer cane to bend where you want you will have more luck than forcing it. I tied something as a weight to the end of an upright cane one time to get it to gradually bend. It was one of those flexible bendable toys..I had a blue Bugs Bunny hanging on for dear life at the end of my cane. A stiff old cane will not care what you want but a new cane will take some guidance.

There is a new product at Dollar Tree this year which is wire coated with a soft rubber . It is easy to cut and easy to use like a twist tie. The coating is thick enough that it seems protective of the cane. I am using it to attach canes where I want them to go. It is repositionable.

Oldrosarian,

"Horticulturally Challenged," you crack me up!

Moses