Climbing Roses

Question from Sue:

I attended one of your talks once and someone asked you to name a few easy-to-grow climbing roses. You named several. I was foolishly not writing down your suggestions. Would you please give me a short list of your recommendations. I want to order a couple of bare-root climbers, but not until I hear from you. Many thanks!

Answer from Pat:

Probably the easiest-to-grow, large-flowered climbing rose for California gardens is ‘Fourth of July’. Once established, it is almost never out of bloom, it seems to be almost immune to diseases and pest problems are minimal. I have seen several neglected ‘Fourth of July’ roses that cover themselves with blossoms non-stop. The only negative aspect is that it is very thorny. I have one growing on an arbor in the teeth of the ocean wind (because it’s about the only rose I could think of that would survive in that spot.) I am not madly in love with its striped red and white flowers—not my favorite color scheme— but it looks great where I have it with a lot of blue nearby— and foliage is deep green. This is a good one to train sideways each way on a fence or you could plant one on each side of an arbor as I have it growing.

Another favorite of mine is yellow Lady Banks rose (Rosa banksiae ‘Lutea’). There is also a white form, said to be fragrant though mine is not, and a double-white form of Lady Banks rose. (I like the yellow one best.) This is a large rambling rose, evergreen in frost-free zones, too large for an arbor but perfect for a long pergola, as I grow mine. I planted 4 of these, one on each corner post supporting a 20-foot-long pergola, or you can let it climb into a pine tree or into tall shrubs. I have one growing that way also. It’s into a pine tree now and cascades romantically out of a Senegal date palm tree as well. One wouldn’t think this would look good but it does because it’s long canes cascade in a graceful arch, much the way the palm fronds do. Lady Banks rose is drought-resistant. It has no thorns and, once established it is prey to no diseases or pests. You can’t beat that! And it mixes beautifully with other climbers or with flowering shrubs, like plumbago or blue potato vine (Solanum rantonnetii.)

Lady Banks is a species rose from China that has been cultivated in gardens for 2,000 years at least. It blooms with masses of small, double, light-yellow, fringed flowers from earliest spring through June. Lately mine has begun to bloom in fall and bloomed all winter through spring, stopping in June. Prune after bloom, never in December or January. After the first massive flush of bloom, then cut back lightly and it will bloom again. Last year mine bloomed in several waves of bloom and I could have cut lightly after each one. After the last blossoms fall in June, that’s the time to cut it back hard. Don’t prune at all until it’s three or four years old, except to remove dead wood. Thereafter if you or someone who works for you prunes it in winter along with other roses, this will prevent all bloom for the following year.

One cannot discuss easy climbing roses for California without mention of the pink sweetheart rose, Rosa ‘Cecille Brunner’. I grow that one on an arbor but it’s really too large for an arbor. It blooms massively in spring. I truly love this rose and have had no troubles with it. I also have the ever-blooming selection of climbing ‘Cecille Brunner’. It does bloom year round but has an ugly shape. I don’t recommend it.

Other good ones for you to look up and consider include Red, single with conspicuous yellow centers: ‘Altissimo’, Pink: ‘New Dawn’, Yellow blend: Golden Showers (good on a tutuer), Fragrant apricot: ‘Royal Sunset’ (one of my favorites, good for an arbor or against house. Has flowers on stems appropriate for picking.) White: ‘Sombreul’, very effective, romantic-looking, old-fashioned French climber that does wonderfully in Southern California and has a warm, pinkish or yellowish blush to the flowers. I far prefer ‘Sombreul’ to the easy-to-grow, but in my opinion, undistinguished and ordinary-looking white, climbing rose, ‘Iceberg’.

There is also a list of easy roses of all types on page 92 of my current book.