I have an enormous (12x12x6) Bella Donna rose. It's being taken over by bindweed. Until I cut it way down, I can't even access the bindweed to pull and/or spray it.But I've heard that damask roses hate to be pruned hard, and there will be a lot of dieback. Has anyone else heard this about Damasks? What to do ?

I know you can't just reach under such a big rose without major damage (to you, not to the rose). I'm wondering if you could use something like a piece of plywood to lift the lower branches up and away so you could reach the base of the bindweed to pull it or maybe to spray it, with the plywood shielding the rose.

I'm no expert, but growing season doesn't seem like the best time to hard-prune a rose, unless there's really no other choice.

heyandre said: I have an enormous (12x12x6) Bella Donna rose. It's being taken over by bindweed. Until I cut it way down, I can't even access the bindweed to pull and/or spray it.But I've heard that damask roses hate to be pruned hard, and there will be a lot of dieback. Has anyone else heard this about Damasks? What to do ?

Damasks can be pruned, but, they should be pruned right after they bloom so you will get blooms next spring or summer. You want to take out any dead wood or stems that are crossing other stems because they damage healthy stems when the wind blows. Most rose bushes benefit from pruning which stimulates new growth.
Lots of experienced rose lovers in here may disagree with me and I hope others respond to your question.
Welcome to the forum!

The Berkeley Horticultural Society has a web page on pruning old roses, and this is what it has to say about Damasks:

"DAMASKS: Thin lightly, and remove any dead canes. Severe pruning can result in dieback and possible loss of your bush. After flowering, twiggy pieces should be removed, and side shoots may be cut back 1/3 to encourage lower nodes to break and new canes to develop. The Damasks bloom only on older wood, never on new growth. The general habit is quite elegant and should be preserved."

You have my sympathy. Dealing with Bindweed is IMO in a class of it's own. My garden is plagued with the stuff, and most of my roses are grown in container pots due to feral cats. My climbers & ramblers generally are ground planted.
I certainly wouldn't go as far a pruning the roses. Although bindweed is without doubt the hardest to totally get rid of. I have resigned myself to cutting or pinching it off at accessible points, then concentrate on treating etc what's left in the ground. Once cut, the vines, if you care to call them such soon dryout and die then you can pull the mass out.

I have mostly large climbing roses and shrubs and they are plagued by a number of invading vines. I usually just pull out and break off whatever parts of the vines I can reach - repeatedly. If, however, you can pull out a significant bunch of the leafy growth of the vine without detaching it from the root, it is possible to stuff it into a plastic bag and treat the packaged vine with a glyphosate herbicide. It will eventually work its way down to the roots and kill the vine without endangering the rose or the surrounding soil. I used this technique to get poison ivy out of a very large Lady Banks shrub among others. Good luck!

That's a great idea and a more permanent solution than just yanking out the visible pieces, which is what I'm doing on some shrubs.

NEVER let bindweed produce seeds! They can remain viable in the soil for at least 50 years.
Good luck in getting a handle on it. Apply glyphosate as frequently as possible to any and all new growth.

Porkpal, brilliant idea on putting the growth inside of a plastic bag, then treating with weed killer inside the bag! I'm definitely going to remember that one

But doesn't the glysophate,once it reaches the roots of the weed, risk polluting the roots of the rose as well? What's more, I've read that yanking out the individual pieces ,if done faithfully, WILL eventually work. If top growth is regularly removed, eventually the root will exhaust itself?

If the roots have actually joined to the rose roots, a transfer could happen. I think this occurence is very rare. I believe that I am more likely to be exhausted by removing the top growth than is the vine, however I continue to try that too.

There is no transfer of glyphosate from plant to plant unless they are the same species and have grafted root systems. That's just not how it works. Of course if some of the glyphosate drips onto the rose there might be an issue.

Regarding the usage of glyphosate (Roundup), it is an established carcinogen, there have been multiple lawsuits against the company Monsanto who makes it. So be very careful handling it. That said, it is effective, and potentially useful in certain situations such as this.

Thank you so much, Claire. Turning automatically to the use of chemicals is an awful habit which we must learn to renounce,for the sake of our health and that of our planet. To me it seems absurd to apply dangerous glyphosate on a regular basis,as one poster advises. You just pull the new bindweed growth off by hand, on that same regular basis, and eventually the roots WILL die. Same results, same diligency required, but no risk to one's health.

If you enjoy doing that for 10-20 years, enjoy.

One rule of thumb that has served this forum very well over the past 20 years is that we typically treat one another with kindness and respect. Personally, I would never refer to someone's well-intended post with words like "awful" and "absurd". We are all friends here, with diverse experiences, knowledge and opinions, and make our own decisions about how to garden.

Thanks, Mike. Over a lifetime of gardening, I try to limit my use of chemicals, but I don't avoid them altogether, especially on weeds I can't manage to control by hand. And as I get older, my ability to "control by hand" decreases.

I believe the carcinogenic risk posed by glyphosate lies in its widespread use in large-scale agriculture, especially without proper protective gear.

Mike said: One rule of thumb that has served this forum very well over the past 20 years is that we typically treat one another with kindness and respect. Personally, I would never refer to someone's well-intended post with words like "awful" and "absurd". We are all friends here, with diverse experiences, knowledge and opinions, and make our own decisions about how to garden.

Well said, Mike.

Didn't mean to offend...and I DID write "we",so the criticism applies to myself as well as to others.

critterologist said: Thanks, Mike. Over a lifetime of gardening, I try to limit my use of chemicals, but I don't avoid them altogether, especially on weeds I can't manage to control by hand. And as I get older, my ability to "control by hand" decreases.

I believe the carcinogenic risk posed by glyphosate lies in its widespread use in large-scale agriculture, especially without proper protective gear.

Re: the dangers of glyphosate, it is not just a danger for those who work with it in agriculture, the bigger problem is that it has infiltrated the American food supply. The product is used on a mass scale for growing corn, soy, oats, wheat, and many other crops. Even the SEEDS of certain crops contain glyphosate, they are called Roundup Ready. Then the chemical is sprayed during the growing season, often multiple times. Wheat is dessicated with Roundup during the harvest phase. It's also used on many of the fruits and veggies we consume. It's a ubiquitous poison, and our produce aisle and grocery store shelves are filled with products containing Roundup, such as pasta and grain products, cereal, bread, snacks, and many more. 80% of Americans test positive for glyphosate in their urine, and it has also been found in breast milk. The chemical not only causes cancer, but a host of other illnesses including neurological and gut issues. The best way to protect yourself from glyphosate is to eat all organic, non GMO food. EWG (the Environmental Working Group) does an ongoing analysis of USA produce, and publishes the so-called Dirty Dozen, the most pesticide-laden fruits and veggies if they are NOT organically grown. It's quite shocking, I advise anyone to check it out. Sorry to get off onto a non-rose topic, but glyphosate is a pet peeve of mine, I've done a lot of research on it the past couple of years.