"VX" wrote ...
I have put the rambling rose Alberic Barbier in a dank corner because I
read
that it can do well in adverse situations. But after less than two years
in
the ground it is obvious that it is growing far too big for the situation,
will grow much bigger yet if left, so it will have to be removed.

The situation is a corner that gets almost no direct sunlight exccept for
a
tiny bit in midsummer. The climber needs to grow 6 feet high in that
situation before it reaches the sunlight, although even there this is
limited
as it is in a 9 foot gap between two buildings, between a north facing
wall
and a south facing wall. It is needed to grow up and across some trellis
for
a few feet- not really any more than that- and then stop. Or something
close
to that that I could reasonably cut back a bit from time to time. AB is so
vigourous that I have no realistic hope of managing it- it is a very tight
corner with very limited access and because of the difficult access, in
practise it grows faster than I can cut it.

Any climbing rose suggestions much appreciated! Or in fact any climber
that
would work in this situation and with these size restrictions. It doesn't
need to be particularly fast growing, but it does need to tolerate lack of
sunlight until it is 6 feet tall and capable of growing over the fence. It
needs to be shrubby ie not something that dies down each year. Most
importantly it does need thorns- this is for a thorny barrier. TIA for any
ideas.

Most climbers are going to need some sort of care, tieing in, pruning etc,
so despite what you say I would still suggest you leave the rose as it's
growing so well in a difficult situation and prune it every year to keep it
in bounds.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
17mls W. of London.UK