On Thu, 16 Jun 2005 17:56:06 -0400, "Ben Tuinman"
wrote:

We have had this climbing rose, called : Rosa Hybrid "Climbing Blaze" for a
number of years. As in previous years it grows very well early in the
season, and flowers in abundance. Again this year it has a tremendous "crop"
so to speak that are about to show its blooms, a beautiful crimson red. Our
trouble is that despite the promise on the label that this climber should
bloom from spring to frost, it always only shows one crop of blooms during
June/July, and then stops flowering. What should we do to promote blooms
throughout the summer. Should it be pruned back in a certain way ? Right now
we leave the canes alone, and only cut back the dead ones. Also, we train
this climber sideways along our fence, in order to guide new loots upwards.
We live in S.Ontario, zone 5, and the climber is located in a sunny location
of our patio. Much obliged ! Ben.

I used to have two on my sunny front patio when I lived in zone 5
(Buffalo, hi former neighbor!). I used to train them along the patio
and they responded vigorously with new upward shoots. I only pruned
the canes that arched out over the mailbox, threatening to put
someone's eye out, since it produces new shoots from old wood. They
had little ebbs and flows of blooms, but pretty much bloomed
continuously from spring to frost. I do think, though, that Blaze was
originally one of those once-blooming varieties and that the newer
improved versions were continuous. It sounds like you have the older
variety, mislabeled, but maybe someone here will offer something more
helpful.

You should have just staked out my old house and you would have scored
two gorgeous specimens after the woman who bought our house (loved all
the roses!) ripped them out and threw them to the curb. She didn't
know how to prune them. Cripes.

KC