VX wrote:
AB looks quite good. Is it a rambler insofar as needing to be cut back to
almost nothing and regrowing each year? There is a problem - the pergola I
have was put in an odd position for privacy purposes- one long side is a mere
18" away from the neighbours fence! Consequently pruning and related
activities will be a bit of an issue with such limited access. Add to that my
partial disability and I have a reason AFAICS to go for a climber rather than
a rambler. At least with a climber I think pruning is limited to trimming and
thinning out or whatever as needed- I don't have to worry about re-threading
the whole thing through the trellis every year, which I beleive I'd be doing
with a rambler. If I'm mistaken about this though, do please tell me!

AKAIK rambler pruning is simply limited to pruning out what you want to
prune out, and the same as pruning a climber. With something like MMe
Alfred Carriere, I used to prune out a couple of the oldest, thickest
stems every year just to reduce the overall mass of rose because it was
outgrowing its alloted space.

Sarah