I've been instructed to first prune out all dead, diseased, and damaged canes, and then prune healthy canes above a bud facing towards the support whatever it is. So instead making the pruning bud on an outward bud facing away from the center of the bush, the cut is made on a bud facing the support which is usually on the inside of the cane facing inward /downward. Does that make sense?
You can also thin the canes if there are more than you want.
These are instructions for recurrent "semi-climbers." If you have a once-blooming rambler, the instructions are different. You prune out the canes that have bloomed, and let new canes take their place that will bloom the following year.
Then there are climbers that bloom on both old wood and new that might be once blooming, or possibly blooms in both the spring and the fall, and those instructions wouldn't follow the instructions for ramblers.
Do you know the name of your climber? Have any pictures?
And welcome!
