A Rose By Any Other Name (Climbing Rose)

Member Name: Sarahjh

Product:	Climbing Rose
Date:	09/12/08 (88 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Roses that will climb walls and trees and make a good show every year.

Disadvantages: none

Climbing roses tumbling over an arbour are so attractive, the standard and bush roses are lovely but for me they don't have the appeal of the climber.
If you like uniformity in your garden then climbing roses just wouldn't be for you, they do run wild and have irregular but beautiful blooms that often form in clumps or bunches.
Climbers will happily tackle the tallest of walls and sheds and cover them in a mass of bloom.
Because of their vertical nature they are suitable for almost any garden, you can intertwine them with other climbing plants like honeysuckle or clematis, this gives texture and blend to your garden.


I could tend to go off of the beaten track a little here because I am pretty passionate about climbing roses. When I was a child we had an amazing garden, so very loved and cared for, a magnificent old climbing rose ran all along one wall. The rose was called `Albertine` a famous old rambler , strongly scented, producing masses of double pale pink blooms. Every summertime it was an absolute picture.
The old fashioned roses have such beauty, to my mind they easily outshine the modern varieties.
If a rose is generally known as a climbing variety it will grow to be over 2 metres high, often having a longer flowering period and either a heavy scent or in fact no scent at all.


When the time comes for pruning I am always gentle, I hate to see any living thing `cut back to the bone`. After the rose has completely finished flowering then I gently prune it, concentrating on keeping the shape and the flow of the rose.
As new growth starts to appear again don't forget to `train` it, making sure that the new canes are trained into position.


Climbing roses tend to grow very quickly and they benefit form being fed, so try to feed them twice a year, maybe March and July. An organic rose fertiliser or maybe a bone meal, but do take on board that bonemeal is slow to act but long lasting.
I have to confess that when mine flower the lure is too great and I am forever snipping off clumps of fragranced blooms to put in the house.


The Chelsea Flower Show saw some new roses introduced, one of them in particular struck me as extremely beautiful, called `Wisley`-an English Musk Hybrid. A soft pink cabbage type rose that will grow as high as five feet, maybe not a climber or a rambler but never the less a spectacular rose.

Any reputable garden centre will be able to give you information on climbing and rambling roses, take a look im sure that you will be pleasantly suprised.

Summary: The old fashioned climbing roses are the very best