Climbing roses are a fantastic way to bring colour and charm to a bare wall, arch, fence or pergola. Climbing roses produce main canes and side shoots, the main canes are the backbone of a climbing rose, the side shoots produce the flowers.
The secret to successful climbing roses is to train and prune to encourage side shoots. Train the main canes of the rose horizontally, across rather than straight up. This may mean a ladder effect, ‘across and back’. It is best to tie or clip the canes to the support, rather than weave, this makes it easier to prune back dead canes.
Some of the best known climbing roses aroundd include: