Is it always semi-shady in this location? It looks like its a bit light-starved, which would account for most of its performance issues.

It’s actually in full sun most of the day. It gets shady in this spot around 4pm, which is when I took this picture.

Hi Victoria. Is it possible you did not prune the rose hard enough last winter? If you haven't already checked out some YouTube videos on how to prune a climber, that might be worth watching. Here's one that's good: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2zkccqPzYk

You probably do need to prune more aggressively (see the video) but do not prune it heavily in the middle of the summer. During the growing season, you can continue to tie the main canes horizontally and slowly train them to run along the base of your window.

I don't see that much foliage damage from bugs, and I don't think that's the issue with the blooms.

Pruning and shaping the rose will make a big difference. Also, in the spring, add compost around the base of the plant and make sure to water it consistently. Roses need a fair amount of water to bloom well.

In the meantime, be sure to clean up the foliage around the base of the plant. You may even want to replace any mulch at the base of the plant (throw away the old stuff) so that bugs like sawflies and aphids don't overwinter under your rose and proliferate next spring.

I do have to respectfully disagree with Paul re: the DA roses getting black spot. Depends on the variety. I don't have experience growing this particular climber, but my Wollerton Old Hall has never had a problem with black spot, and we get a lot of humidity in the summers here. Some of my hydrangeas on the other hand, black spot all over. I have heard that older varieties of DA roses were more prone to disease, though.

Note that climbing roses usually bloom on lateral canes (growing out of the main canes). So unless you are tying the laterals back as well, I would expect them to droop outward, placing the blooms away from the wall. Maybe you could think about moving them someplace else on your property, spacing them out more, and doing an "espalier" effect? (See picture 2 at this link.)

@victorialiggett2

Albrighton ramblers can be a very beautiful rose. You siimply need to train it to grow uniform. Here is a video I use as a model to train my climbers. It will give yours symetry and uniform blooms all over. It shows pruning & training an Eden rose which also is a very wide & 12 ft height rose. Check out this link….. try pruning it back end of winter to orompt spring growth. If you follow this videos guidelines, your rambler will lay flat & bloom uniformly & profusely.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=iNfSaH5fLUM

FABULOUS VIDEO! Your rambler will be beautiful!

Thank you all! The videos are very helpful. Everyone is correct that this plant is going to be too big for this space. Sadly, I don’t have anywhere else on my property that I can move it, so I’m committed to this for now.

I do have follow up questions. When the plant shoots off new lateral canes in the middle of summer, should I tie those back horizontally as well? Or should I tie them vertically so they stay perpendicular to the main canes?

Paul, you mentioned cutting off limbs that insist on reaching beyond their boundary. When I do that, can I cut a main cane where I’d like it to end (say, 7 ft from its base)? Or will that make it angry?

After first frost , springtime, you prune it once hard like the video demonstrated. Afterwards, during the growing season you check it weekly, dead head bloons & prune back any stem/canes that grows too long or in a direction that looks unshapely.

The size of Albrighten Rambler can grow 10-12 ft tall /8 ft wide. It is similar in growth to my Eden roses. My own Eden climbers have about that potential to grow that tall/wide….. similar to the Heirloom Roses video I suggested. You can prune for your Albrighten in a similar way. However, I do not want my Eden 12 ft by 8 ft, which would be too tall /wide for me. I bend canes horizontal and grow it maybe 8ft tall by 7 ft wide and prune it back anytime during growing season, a couple times, each time it starts reaching too tall, after it has a flush of spent blooms. I may snip off a cane at any time, too! It had 130 blooms in 3rd year on a 7ft tall bush. You can keep your rose rambler a little smaller than 12 ft. My New York freezing cold restricts growth a little, too. You may have to prune more often duecto the ever warmth in the south.

I hear canes can get very thick on Eden over many years….. I wonder if that is true of Albrighton?

I am trying to restrict my Eden’s growth & in a colder climate. Over the years I may have a problem w/ her desire to grow big. You may have a similar problem. For now I will enjoy. since it seems to be working well. No worries! If I ever haveca problem….I’d just pull it out & start over.

A photo from “Iron & Twine,” off internet, blog. She has an Albrighton Rambler… growing a little more ”naturally training,” (not as perfect trained as the Eden video). She is growing it on a child’s cottage playouse. It lays ”flat,” trained on the walls of the playhouse. She pruned off all canes that would stick out. Tie canes back anytime you see new growth as they are most pliable when fresh young canes. If you wait, canes harden & then they are hard to tie flat.

You may read her article….. on her care of Albrighton Rambler…

https://www.ironandtwine.com/blog/2021/albrighton-rambler