7 Tips for Rose Garden Plans and Climbing Roses

Start training them as soon as you get them, while they are still young

Young plants are more flexible and will have an easier time bending around and over an arbor or any other climbing structure you wish to use.

Give a climbing rose bush something to lean on

A sturdy and long lasting support structure like a fence, wall, the arbor over the garage or patio, arches, pergolas or a trellis are good choices.

Be a good matchmaker

Match the size and sturdiness of your support structure with the likely mature size and weight of your rose.

Secure them to their support structure

Use something forgiving, like green garden tape.

Encourage lateral growth

Straight up growth has its limits. New shoots that are allowed or forced to grow straight up produce a chemical inhibitor which prevents their buds from breaking into flowering shoots. To avoid this potential pitfall, climbing rose bushes on walls and fences should be trained and secured in a fan shape.

Avoid hot surfaces

Avoid attaching a climber to a highly reflective surface or any surface that by its nature or location will become wickedly hot when the sun is out.

Make sure you are getting a climber and not a Rambler

Garden plans only work when you use roses that fit the design.

Remember, climbers are generally around 10 feet tall and bloom year round.

Ramblers bloom one time per year and are generally MUCH larger than their climbing relatives (think of the roses that grow over trees). Nevertheless, some nurseries clump climbing roses with Ramblers and under these circumstances you could easily walk away with a Rambler. Ouch!