Climbing roses come in many colors and with a variety of blossom types, but the variety is not as rich as in the standard rose bush.  Landscapers love climbing roses because they are so versatile, they are colorful throughout the growing season, and they can have a wonderful aroma.  There are many “classic” or historical types of climbing roses as well as modern hybrids.

Providing Support: Tips For Growing Climbing Roses

Unlike ivy, clematis, wisteria, and other vines, climbing roses – also known as pillar roses, ramblers, trailing roses and everblooming roses – are not actually “vines.”  They do have especially long stems and do well with a support structure to climb upon, but they do not have tentacles to attach themselves to a support surface.  Even so, their presence, and the friction they create as they rub against objects can do damage to the surface, so it’s best not to have them trained to climb on your house.  This can cause damage to your residence.  Instead, train them to climb on another support feature near your home such as a fence, arbor, archway, or even an old stump.

How To Attach Your Climbing Roses To Their Support Structure

How much support your climbing roses will need is somewhat dependent on the type of rose as well as the direction that you’d like it to grow.  If you’re training the rose horizontally across a fence, for example, are able to “lean on” the fence more easily and may not need a lot of additional support.  Roses growing straight up a post, may need to be gently tied on, or have branches arranged and interwoven around the post in order for them to benefit from its presence.  Gardener’s twine or wire is suitable for this purpose.

Did You Know?

Climbing roses that are trained to grow laterally rather then vertically often produce more blooms.  Vertically trained climbing roses will produce short spurs along their main stem or canes which will produce blooms.

A Rose Is Still A Rose

Aside from pruning and growth habit considerations, climbing roses have many of the same needs as regular rose bushes, including full sun and rich, well-watered soil.

Consider the mature size of your climbing rose plant before settling on the variety you want to place in your yard.  While they all look small at the garden center and beautiful in the rose catalogs, there are other considerations to take into account.

Some climbing roses can reach 30 feet in length – this may be ideal for you – or far too big.  My parents laugh about the plants they put in their yard when they landscaped it.  They said all the plants looked great and well-established after 5 years, but now, 20 years later, many of the plants look too big for the space and have become overgrown.  Whether it’s a tree or a climbing rose – the mature height is still an important thing to take into consideration.

Climbing Roses Require Little Pruning

One nice little perk about climbing roses is that they don’t require a lot of formalized pruning.  In fact, pruning too much can actually lead you to cut off the blooming stems of the plant and result in fewer blooms.   Really you only need to prune climbing roses every 3-4 years.  The purpose of this pruning will just be to get rid of small canes or less vigorous canes near the base of the plant.  Young, flexible longer canes are easy to work with and train as you help guide them onto the proper structures in your yard.

The Toughest Thing About Growing Climbing Roses

The hardest thing to deal with when it comes to climbing roses is being patient at the outset while they are getting established. They can take longer to start producing their beautiful summer displays.  After the first 2 seasons or so, the plant should be well rooted and have had time to grow canes which will set buds and bear flowers.  Then you’ll see your new climbing rose in all its glory.  The fragrance and beauty should be well worth the wait!