Do I need to contact David Austin about my non-rambling ramblers?

[TheSandHurtsMyFeelings]

Pics attached, hopefully!

So these two DA Paul Noel ramblers were planted as bare roots in the winter of 2021/22 (can't remember exactly when). The garden and soil had been badly neglected for 20 years before that so I wasn't expecting them to romp away in their first year. I followed all the planting instructions, have fed, watered, manured and mulched as per directions etc.

But...2 years on and they're still tiny. Last year there were a couple of weeny little blooms and some buds that shrivelled up and dropped off before flowering.. This year the growth does look a bit more promising but even so, they should be much bigger than this, shouldn't they?

The wall is west-facing so gets plenty of sun during the spring / summer months. We're in the south east.

(Also, I know they look as if they've been planted right up against the wall but they weren't originally, they just seem to have grown in that direction!)

What am I doing wrong?

Pictures 🙄

I planted mine in crap soil and neglected them ever since. They’re still going strong. One’s about 15ft.

Dont roses like rubbish soil?

Well, it was reeeeaaallllly crap 😁But even so...I was hoping for a bit more of a show than these pathetic specimens!

The saying goes 'the first year they sleep, the second they creep, the third they leap.'

I would give it another year. And lots of manure.

I have two DA climbing roses planted the same winter as yours, and they’re 3 metres high. I’d write and ask politely if this is what they would have expected. Apparently they’ll replace roses that aren’t growing properly. And it certainly wasn’t my husbandry as I manured them when they were planted and then forgot about them.

They're very good about replacing. I need to contact them about two claire austin climbers I bought as bare rots in the autumn. Despite using the granules and following the instructions to the letter 2 of the the 12 I bought are just brown dead stumps. The other ten are green and healthy looking.

Yours are actually alive and green and so I'd anticipate that they will say its to do with the position/planting. Are they getting enough sun (although Paul Noel should be ok in partial shade)

Ah that's interesting @CatherinedeBourgh - I've not heard that one before! I'll give them a 12-month stay of execution then 😁

Will probably contact DA anyway and ask advice. They look healthy enough at the moment just...very small.

@inkblackheart they're on a west-facing wall so they do get plenty of sun from spring onwards.

I just don't seem to have much luck with roses in that garden, full-stop. I've also got a Wollerton Old Hall a few metres down which is also fairly pathetic (although newer and transplanted from elsewhere so I'm reserving judgement as yet!). I even planted a Rambling Rector bare root this winter at the far end of the wall just to 'test' - with the idea that if that didn't take off within a year or two it's obviously a cursed site for roses!

It's a very long, bare wall and I had visions of it tumbling with roses within a few years of us moving in, but perhaps my enthusiasm outweighs my expertise 😕

Roses are a bit of a dark art I think. I have two Generous Gardeners either side of a rose arch. They are tiny and show no sign of wanting to grow taller 2 seasons on

Always worth sending photos and asking if it's normal. I haven't tried rambling roses but with shrub roses they've had a slow first year, flowered wonderfully in the second year then really taken off in year 3.

So they've got back to me and said I need to feed them every 2 weeks with liquid seaweed. Seems quite labour-intensive for non-container plants but I'll give it a go and see what happens.