Roses

[clematis]

We have been given a rose which said it is a medium shrub/climber.
How do we train this to be the climber that we would like instead of a shrub?
Thankyou,
C.

[Clanad]

Keeping in mind that no rose is a true vining climber, you'll find that most shrub roses will produce one or more longer canes. These can be trained on trellis or other supports to go in the direction you wish. Keep the longer canes trained and prune the shorter ones in the fall or early spring. Most shrub or climber roses require a good feritlization... more so than floribundas or tea roses. I use a specialized spike... its a fertilizer treated with a biodegradable glue that makes a stick of fertilizer you can acutally drive into the softer ground around the drip line of the plant. I use two of them in the spring and don't have to re-fertilize for the season. (Seen here: http://www.easygardener.com/index.cfm?fuseacti on=category.display&category_ID=123 ) Your rose will like lots of water and sunshine so pick a good sunny spot where it can get at least 5 hours of sun per day, more being better. Water enough to keep the roots damp but not soggy.
I train several of my roses on towers like this: http://www.twenga.co.uk/offer/5802/88689573174 95789488.html (was fortunate to find one listed in the U.K., since I'm in the U.S.).
Best of luck!

[clematis]

Thankyou Clanad for your very informative answer.