Oh, Bart. I feel so for your tree damage. Not sure what to do.

had something smilar happen with Ceske Praci cest on a sapling cornus mas and had to stake the tree and direct the roses growth to the neighboring trees to spread the weight. I do agree it is probably adding to the issue. I would remove it if the tree is more important. Perhaps you can plant the rose elsewhere?

That's a shame. And a lot of work for you. Maybe you could ask an arborist his/her opinion?

Could you just heavily prune it so it's not so weighted on the tree but you still get to enjoy some of the flowers?

Could you just heavily prune it so it's not so weighted on the tree but you still get to enjoy some of the flowers?

I think I would ask the opinion of a professional arborist before I decided anything, really. That way I could make a decision with the most amount of information available, since I personally just don't know much about tree management.

I feel your pain, Bart. I'm sorry. You definitely should seek an arborist's advice about the tree but I think you've answered your rose question. I know it feels like a betrayal to eliminate a plant, a rose, which has stood by you for so long, but times, climates, conditions change. Whether it helps endanger the tree or not, it does require water (which is scarce and precious), and as you reported..."Also, as beautiful as P's HM is, in my climate it's bloom is all too brief; it starts out so late in the season,and the excessive hear zaps the flowers VERY quickly; I think that this year, for example, I only saw it at it's peak of beauty one or two days." It's your decision whether to be satisfied with what the rose requires from you only to provide you the beauty of its flowers for one or two days. Perhaps in our "younger years" with younger bodies we may have made such exceptions but in today's bodies with today's requirements and resources, is two days for that amount of effort and water sufficient? I found it wasn't for me so the varieties and seedlings which expressed displeasure with what I could provide them have been and continue to be removed to limit the requirements on me, space, water and other resources. It helps to remember that condition aren't going to return to what they once were and water is going to continue being an increasing issue. But, again, it's your choice. I have found it works for me. Good luck!

Could you prune it to 1/2 or 1/3 its present size, as much as you dare, so that you could get it to "start over"? It would give the tree a respite, retain some shade and give you time to contemplate the problem.

Cath

Thank you all for your comments and support. An arborist is out of the question: I wouldn't know where to find one here in Italy and just can't afford professional help; we don't have that kind of money.

Pruning or moving it is also sort of off the table-this thing is HUGE; taller than the mature oak tree, if you calculate the fact that its canes "weep" down. So, yes, I have of course answered my own question,and basically I think that an arborist, too, would advise me to remove the rose. I can saw down all the canes at the base, and then remove as much as I can reaching up from the ground with loppers. There will remain a great deal of the plant still up in the tree, where I can't reach, but it will die and dry out (thus becoming lighter in weight) and will eventually fall down. It will be very sad and probably pretty ugly, but will be best for the tree. The tree was there first; the rose only because I put it there.

In consolation, the huge rose will provide my garden with precious organic matter,and I think there might be a tip-rooted younger plant somewhere in the messy area behind the tree...

Photos? It sounds like the rose is quite intertwined with the tree.

It is, but I don't have a camera...

Painful as it sounds, I agree with those who say to take down the rose and preserve the tree, and, if you can put a plant of the variety elsewhere, get a tip-rooted piece of it to transfer.

So, did you finally get rain? Thank the Lord drought is finally breaking up here, though I was taken aback yesterday to see how low our reservoir is. A friend suggested that water had been released for the farmers. Forecast is for rain on Saturday, and I hope it comes through.

We have a problem with 'Treasure Trove'. It's a big rose, a putative offspring of 'Kiftsgate'; ours collapsed its pergola a while back, probably after the two feet of snow we got a year and a half ago, and we haven't dealt yet with building a new pergola, which will need to be a very strong one. The ground is steep and rocky, really hard to work with; currently TT lounges on the ground. It was originally growing up a big black locust that came down in a storm, so I have some fellow feeling for your problem.

Melissa - just curious - is TT happy lounging on the ground? Is it blocking your access to another part of your garden, or could you just leave it there and let it continue growing?

Jackie

Jackie, the rose is happy enough, but I'm not. We had rather nice steps going down under the pergola, which TT blocks; a yew hedge, now horribly in need of trimming, on one side, and various ornamental plant odds and ends on the other. I can get around the rose, but in its current state it's a hindrance and its section unsightly, which is not what a garden is supposed to be.

Do you have a bathtub? If so, please soak in a bath with colloidal oatmeal. You can make it yourself using a food processor or good blender and you just grind the dry oats up very finely. It works magic for soothing irritated skin, IME. If you don't have a tub you can make a paste with the ground oats and some water and spread it on you for a bit before showering it off. It should help your itchy bug bites.

Also that sounds like my nightmare and I'm so sorry that happened to you. I have had a few experiences being chased and bitten over and over by biting flies and it really affected me and gave me a huge fear that I still deal with today. I hope you start to feel better soon, bart.

Holy moly Bart Bart ! How do we get ourselves in to these crazy and dangerous prediciments.

1. We dont want to bother anyone

2. The cost of hiring a professional is prohibitive.

I think that we have all done things that in hind sight we cant believe that we did.

I am so glad that you werent horribly injured. The bug bites sound nasty though.

So glad that you lived to tell the tale

Be safe out there

Be safe, indeed. I was on a nearly vertical tall ladder the other day, one of its feet resting on a log, sawing off the top of the tree the ladder was leaning against. Steep terrain. I wrapped one arm around the tree I was cutting, to slow down a possible fall. All went well, but I wouldn't call it terribly prudent. Oak is really hard, and I'm glad I've never had to deal with major fallen wood of it.

Every year I'm plagued with bug bites that are remarkably similar to bites of what we call chiggers in the southern U.S. They're the main reason I take a prescription antihistamine during the warm season: it cuts down considerably on the itching and swelling, and I've never noticed any side effects. You might want to talk with your doctor about it.

Man, I'm looking forward to fall. The weather does seem to be moderating a trifle here, and thank goodness. I hope your turn comes soon.

Finally cooler days and definitely cooler nights. Soon it will be fall and the gardens winding down and then I can snivel aboug it being dark at 5

Thanks all for your solidarity. I want fall to come ASAP. Things are very slightly better here, in the sense that it sprinkled rain a bit yesterday,but it's still way too hot.

Melissa, I've done dangerous ladder stuff, too. I TRY to remember to take the time out to bury the ladder's feet as much as possible, though sometimes it can't be done. Also, to tie the ladder to the tree-trunk, and if possible tie yourself to the tree-trunk by the waist or something. It is essential to remember that ONE IS NEVER SAFE. Most accidents do take place in the home,where people's guard is down.

Wise words, bart: thanks!

My DH is a retired general contractor. Before he got his license, he worked as a carpenter for many years. So, 35 years or so involving working on ladders often, and yesterday he slipped off a ladder! Luckily he was working in our garden, and only scraped his leg a bit. His excuse for not stabilizing the ladder first was that "I was only going up 2 rungs". I guess 2 rungs does not count as being on a ladder, at least not in his mind - ALWAYS be careful around ladders.

Jackie