Climbing & Rambling Roses

Ramblers are the oldest group of roses and achieved peak popularity in Victorian times, but have been eclipsed of late by climbers. Come summer, they will produce a mass of colour in a single burst. Ramblers have two drawbacks. Firstly, their flowers are born on new stems, so will require pruning every year. Next, they are very vigorous and susceptible to mildew so will need attention to prevent a tangled mess. Although, both of these "drawbacks" will be of little trouble to most gardeners.

Climbers, on the other hand, bear flowers off mature wood, which makes maintenance easier. With larger flowers, nearly all cultivars likely to repeat flower; hence, their popularity.

Climbers can be divided into four groups further: large-flowered, cluster-flowered (similar to floribundas), species clumbers (similar to wild roses) and miniature.