Question
I have a 5 year old climbing rose (Don Juan) that took 4 years to bloom but once it did, it was exquisite. That first bloom was last year.  This year I pruned it the last week of March back to the main canes (as I did last year) but now all I have is new growth from the base to about 12" up the canes. The main climbing canes are horizontal on my fence and stretch out about 10'.  The canes don't look dead but don't have any signs that they are going to leaf out. It's been a cold winter (Zone 5) but I don't think it's been any worse than the last 5 years.  Do you think that it will still leaf out or will I have to cut it back to the new growth.  Thanks much for your input.

Answer
Don Juan is what they call a tender climber and may have been frozen in the cold winter. After a nasty winter, it is always a waiting game to see just how much damage has been done. I ahave gone through a very nasty one this year and have pruned my roses back 4 times. Many times canes look like they are dead but come back and many times they look green but are dead inside. Give Don Juan another few weeks to make sure and then just prune back to the normal green growth. No need to go any farther.