Climbing roses – planting, care & cutting

Climbing roses climb, and it is not uncommon for people to forget that this assumes that the roses need space upwards. In addition, all roses belong to the exclusive circle of sun worshipers, and it is the choice of location that has the greatest influence on the growth of the plants. Please note the following:

• The climbing roses must be able to climb upwards. In the best location, the plant can therefore grow tall without encountering limitations or light-consuming competition.
• However, this location should also offer enough sun, i.e. face south (south-east, south-west).
• However, if possible, the sun should not burn directly on the plant all day.
• Also, unlike many other plants, roses like wind.
• You even need an airy environment so that the moisture-sensitive rose petals dry off quickly after rain or dew has formed.
• Ideal for a climbing rose is a house wall that faces south and allows the air to pass freely and to which a trellis is attached.
• Other plants can climb up this house wall, but only those that do not rob the climbing rose of light and air.
• It is also best not to grow a large tree very close to this location that would deprive the rose of nutrients.
• The rose bed really has to be a bed with a rich volume of soil. A small gap in the earth between two asphalt or paved surfaces will not please the climbing rose.
• It is much more advantageous if the rose bed can be transplanted from a row of perennials or if a lawn is attached behind it.

All of this doesn’t sound straightforward, but it’s not for nothing that rose gardeners use the saying: In a good location, roses will grow well, in the right location they will do that too, but without developing rose diseases.

The right soil for climbing roses

Of course, climbing roses also have their demands on the substrate in which they are planted:

• Basically roses on almost any soil, but climbing roses in particular need a soil that still contains sufficient humus.
• You can work a little compost into the garden soil before you plant the climbing roses.
• In addition, climbing roses love loose soil, and compacted soil is also loosened up by the compost.
• Roses are very fond of loamy soil, which you can create for yourself by mixing in a little clay powder from the hardware store when you work in the compost.
• If your soil is really heavy, it is advisable to work in coarse sand to loosen it up.
• The pH of the soil should be checked if you suspect that it may be moving in the direction of acidic.
• That could e.g. This could be the case, for example, if there were previously bog plants such as rhododendrons or conifers nearby at the location intended for the roses.
• The ideal pH for roses is between 6.8 and 7.8, which is pretty basic. In this direction, the pH value can be influenced by lime.
• This loosening of the soil should reach at least a depth of about 60 cm.
• In critical places, you should check whether the water is drained off well after you have tilled the soil. Climbing roses don’t like waterlogging that much.

Planting the climbing roses

Once you’ve found the right location, the first thing to do is plan the number of climbing roses to plant. You need a certain planting distance. You can calculate this beforehand by imagining how your rose will grow. Then you can set the distances according to the ideally expected size or according to how much your climbing rose should expand at all. If you want to grow a complete wall as completely as possible, you have to place the plants closer to each other, about every 50 cm, than if the roses on a decorative wall should only add an additional accent. Even if you want different colored climbing roses to grow in such a way that their colors mix, the planting distance should be chosen rather small. But it also depends on the variety.

Once this has been clarified and the climbing roses have been bought, the following can be planted:

• This is best done in autumn, around October, which is the best time to plant in most areas of Germany.
• Then the ground is not frozen yet. So you can easily dig your planting hole, but it is already quite damp, while earlier in the year it is often still too dry.
• After planting, the roses have their rest over the winter, which they can use to form roots before growth in the upper area really starts in spring.
• An exception can apply to regions where it usually freezes very early. Before you expose your roses to frost immediately after planting, it is better to plant them in spring.
• In any case, you should moisten the roots of the climbing roses well before planting them. In the case of bare-root climbing roses, that means that they can stand in the water at least overnight.
• Then the planting hole is dug. As deep as the grafting point requires (see below) and so wide that the roots are not damaged when planting.
• Before planting, the roots should be pruned by about a third, and so should the branches in the upper area, so that the supply ratio is correct again.
• In the case of grafted roses, the grafting point belongs about three fingers below the ground. So she does not have to constantly struggle with root shoots from the rootstock.
• When using the climbing roses, please be careful not to kink the roots. Your rose needs every tiny root to grow well.
• Before you fill up the soil around the rose you should water your new rose properly “as a welcome” one more time, if possible, not with an ice-cold jet.
• Then it is filled up and the earth is trodden well. Then pour in a little more water. Perhaps the ground is still sinking and you have to refill soil.
• Then you can pile up the climbing roses straight away and cover them with a little mulch, leaves or brushwood. At least if you planted in the fall.

Watering the climbing roses

After planting, you should make sure that your climbing rose gets enough water throughout the entire growing season. In this phase it does not forgive drought. When the rose is well rooted, the subject of watering can be seen in a more relaxed manner. The climbing rose has stretched its roots quite deep into the ground in order to still get moisture even in short periods of drought.

However, if it is warm in summer and stays dry longer, the climbing rose needs additional water. After all, it has many leaves to take care of, which quickly evaporate a lot of water when it is warm. Then you should water the climbing rose in the morning or in the evening. Never in the midday heat, when every ray of sunshine heats the floor uncomfortably. The climbing roses are always poured from below. Water on the leaves should generally be avoided; various mushrooms are particularly happy about this. Even if it is very dry and very hot, it is sufficient to water the climbing roses once a week up to a maximum of twice. The water requirements of roses are usually overestimated rather than underestimated.

Proper fertilization – a climbing rose has enormous needs

This is the best way to cover the nutritional needs of your climbing rose, which are not exactly low. A climbing rose sometimes has to supply “several levels” of leaf mass:

• In the year of planting, your climbing rose no longer needs any further fertilizer. You have already brought in enough nutrients when preparing the soil.
• Next spring, however, she would like to have a supply of nutrients punctually at the beginning of the growth phase.
• You can supply these nutrients in different ways: As a synthetic long-term fertilizer from the bottle, in the dosage according to the manufacturer.
• If the rose is outdoors, you can also fertilize by sprinkling concentrated compost, perhaps enriched with a few horn shavings and pressed cattle manure.
• The last-mentioned variant is called “organic fertilization” or “fertilization with natural fertilizer”. Your roses will most likely like it better than the fertilizer.
• The organic fertilizer consists of waste products from nature that have a long-term effect.
• Compost is an organic fertilizer that can supply the rose beds well, depending on whether you can add cow dung and horn shavings and bone meal, all of which are slowly digested in the soil.
• Such a fertilizer has a lasting effect, strengthens the plants and ensures that they develop beautiful and abundant flowers.
• The synthetic fertilizer, on the other hand, is made from minerals that are chemically modified in a more or less complex manner.
• This fertilizer consumes a lot of energy during production and, although it allows the roses to grow quickly, it can also overwhelm them and make them more susceptible to disease.
• The synthetic fertilizer can also be overdosed very quickly, as it is sold in a very concentrated form and has to be diluted yourself.
• In extreme cases, when it is spread over several years and without adding compost in between, a mineral fertilizer ensures that the humus content in the soil decreases.
• Sometime between the beginning of July and the middle of July, fertilization is carried out a second time, and then no more. The new shoots need enough time to mature by the beginning of winter.

The cut of the climbing roses

The cut of climbing roses is less complicated than most feared:

• At the beginning you pull up a framework of strong branches in the desired shape by leading the appropriate shoots in the correct direction along the trellis.
• Once a year, all new side shoots should be cut down to a few eyes, in the case of roses that bloom once, after blooming.
• Roses that are constantly blooming can be pruned in spring, then you can immediately remove all dead wood that has been damaged during the winter.
• If you remove the withered flowers at a time, more buds will come.
• Of course, you should always use scissors every now and then whenever you notice dead branches. Otherwise a climbing rose is actually allowed to grow until it gets too high and has to be slowed down in height.

Conclusion
There is no reason not to venture into this garden dream,
you can choose between many different types of climbing roses. There are “climbers”, which tend to grow upright, and “ramblers”, which tend to entwine. Single-flowered and multiple-flowered climbing roses, refined hybrids and real-root climbing roses, from which you can pull cuttings and even use the rose hips. If you find out the best time to cut each variety, you will probably enjoy every climbing rose.