Planting Rampaging Roses - Rosa Brunnonii

Our cottage, Rosewood, is a quarter acre sub-divided from the house's original nearly 2 acres. Although it's small the land surrounds the house well, allowing us good access on both sides with broad front and back areas. There's little depth but we've coped with that by clothing the fences in foliage which makes them disappear. It's now very private with a cottage feel but it was a battle to begin with.

When we bought the small but lovely house the garden, with the exception of a large conifer in the backyard and some lovely camellias, had been removed - not a rose bush, perennial or shrub remained. When the fence of the sub-division went in the place looked like a prison camp.

We'd brought a lot of plants and cuttings with us and they sat huddled against the fence waiting for us to get on and give them a home. Among the cuttings was Rosa Brunonii,  a Himalayan musk rose, it flowers once a year at our place, in November. Yes, it's gorgeous now as the picture shows.

I brought a cutting of this rose from  Exeter where a pair had been in the ground for three years on our windswept acres. The new hedges of Portuguese laurel we put in were finally doing their job when we left in 2005 and Brunonii is probably doing quite well now.

However, I wonder  if it's doing as well as the cutting has at Bundanoon - it's past the height of the gutters on our 1900 house, about 20 feet wide, crowding a Constance Spry and swallowing a large azalea as well as a number of smaller things that went in with it. The position in full sun with the house protecting it from any southerly or westerly winds has engerised this plant to throw out 20' shoots this spring.

I made a big mistake with this plant and I'll have to do something about it in the winter - prune it right down and move it. In the meantime it will have a deep summer prune so we don't lose the small things underneath.

There's a lesson here. I allowed the rose what I thought at the time was plenty of space but it's so happy in its position it has become something of a triffid. I'm pragmatic up to a point and will let things rampage so long as they contribute to the overall plan.

When they don't it's off with their heads.