Question
Hi, I have recently bought a Francesca rose (as my neice is also named Francesca Rose) and had it growing in a large pot in the conservatiry during the recent frosts in England.  I grew fine, but sort of outwards instead of upwards.  When the weather improved I put it outdoors where it has continued to grow, but this time upwards instead out outwards.  The older "sideways" branches are starting to drag on the floor, and this is a shame because it is these ones that are in bud.  What I would like to know is - 1) is the francesca rose a climber?  should I be training it up the wall?  and 2) should I cut off the branches that are on the ground to encourage it to grow upwards instead of sideways?  A lot of questions I know, but I would really like to have a healthy rose so that it can grow alongside my neice!
Best regards
Lucy

Answer
Tell me Lucy -- is this Rose "Francesca" the one pictured at RoseGathering (www.rosegathering.com/francesca.html) or Rosefile (www.rosefile.com/Gallery/aSinglesClustersAJ/pages/Francesca4296_jpg.htm)? How charming that your niece shares her name with such a lovely flower.

This Hybrid Musk was bred by the man who practically invented the class. Hybrid Musks were relatively new, and therefore small, when a rose-loving English Reverend began to create his own hybrids. To quote Trevor Nottle in Growing Old-Fashioned Roses: Musks were "a race of roses bred in England by the Reverend Joseph Pemberton between 1912 and 1939 with the expressed aim of obtaining roses which would provide a continuous and bountiful display of bloom for the garden on bushes that were free growing and healthy. The good Reverend also held fragrance to be of great import..."

Hybrid Musks can be trained as climbers, as pillars or even grown as hedges. So in answer to your first question, Lucy, Yes, this is very much a climbing rose you have and you most certainly can train this rose up a wall. Francesca is said to reach a height of 6'-10' (185-305 cm) with a width of 4'-6' (60-185 cm).  Shade-tolerant and vigorous, this class of roses tends to flower most heavily on second-year wood, blooming in large clusters all summer long, and producing an abundant crop of hips at summer's end.

Eventually, Lucy, you will have to learn how to prune Francesca to encourage proper form and a profusion of blooms. But I refer you to the very detailed advice of the Berkeley Horticultural Nursery (www.berkeleyhort.com/roses/r_pruning.html) about "Pruning Old Roses": "When in doubt, the best policy for old roses is to do nothing."  Since your niece is so closely identified with this elegant flower, I think you ought to have her at your side as you tend to it and pass on your experience to her.  

I do love the Musks.  If I had room, I would grow them alongside my Bourbons in our garden.  Newer roses never stop trying to pretend they are Musks and Bourbons.  But for their vase life, fragrance, and forgiving nature, the originals will always be the unsurpassed gold standard.

Please feel free to contact me again if you have any further questions.