Rambling roses can be a great addition to any reasonably sized garden. If you need to cover an ugly wall/fence, or grow something up a dead tree then a rambler will do the trick very quickly. They can grow up 10ft in one year and produce a mass of flowers from late May to July. Some will reach up to 50ft (Filipes Kiftsgate) while others will only get to around 20ft (Rambling Rector, Seagull, Bobbie James, Pau'ls Himalayan Musk, Goldfinch). Most colours are available and there is even a relatively thornless one (Veilchenblau) and some semi evergreen ones (Alberic Barbier, Felicite et Perpetue). The flowers are usually small and single, but varieties such as Cecile Brunner, Albertine and Felicite et Perpetue have more complex blooms. However there are things that the amatuer rose grower needs to know. These varieties only flower once on the growth they have made in the previous year (unlike climbing roses that flower on old and new growth). Sometimes you will get a small flush of flowers towards the end of the season, but they are mainly a 4- 6 week wonder. Despite what some people may say they are not suitable for an arch or a small trellis because of their size and also their vicious thorns. To complicate things more there is also a group of repeat flowering ramblers which do not normally get as big as the old fashioned ones and give you flowers throughout the summer to greater and lesser degrees (Open arms, Little Rambler, Perennial Blush/Blue, Super Fairy, Rambling Rosie, Lilac Bouquet). These varieties should be treated as climbers as they behave the same, but tend to have the smaller old fashioned open flowers. The big difference about ramblers (apart from those mentioned above) is the pruning.
These are the only roses that you should really attack during the Autumn/Winter rather than the Spring. The tendency is to leave them for year after year and then suddenly realise that they have taken over the garden. They gather a lot of dead wood over the years and it becomes almost impossible to get to it once all the new leaves start growing in the spring. In the Autumn it is still possible to distinguish the new wood (which the rose will flower on the following year) from the old wood which can now be cut away.
Doing this every year and tying in the new growth will stop the accumulation of deadwood over the years. So you see, it's all quite simple really.
Want to learn more? Why not come to our winter course on Rambler pruning?
See our Events https://www.apuldramroses.co.uk/events-1
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