Maintaining climbing roses: watering, cutting & fertilizing

Climbing roses can enhance any garden with their unrestrained abundance of flowers. But proper care is required for the climbing roses to bloom so richly.

Roses (pink) have been extremely popular flowers for ages. When caring for your climbing roses, the main focus is not on fertilizing and watering, but on tying and cutting. Because, despite the name, the plants don't climb and squirm on their own. They do not have classic holding organs, but belong to the spreading climbers. In order for the growth to rise and as many flowers as possible to be formed, a lot of help is needed.

Water climbing roses properly

The first contact with water occurs even before planting. Water the rose for several hours before planting to avoid drought stress later on. During the growing season there is more frequent watering. Once the long roots have penetrated the ground, they only have to be watered after long periods of drought. You then water the plants in the morning or in the evening, but never in the blazing midday sun. In addition, water is poured from below, which reduces the likelihood of fungal attack on the leaves. After heavy rainfall or a generous load of irrigation water, the soil may have compacted. Do your climbing roses a favor by carefully loosening the soil. This way, more air comes back to the roots.

Fertilizing climbing roses: how and how often?

Freshly planted climbing roses are fertilized after the first flowering if they have grown properly. Once the plant has established itself in the garden, it is fertilized once at the beginning of April and a second time at the end of June after flowering. The soil around the roots is loosened and the fertilizer is carefully incorporated. Later in the year there is no more fertilization so that newly formed shoots can mature before winter. Do not use mineral fertilizers, especially for freshly planted climbing roses, but organic variants. Synthetic fertilizer is made from minerals that have been more or less chemically modified. Production is resource-intensive and the rapid release of nutrients can lead to over-fertilization and susceptibility to disease. Therefore, it is better to switch to organic fertilizers straight away. Since roses with their imposing flowers use up an incredible amount of nutrients, there are special rose fertilizers that are adapted to the needs of the elegant plants. Such a rose fertilizer is also ours Plantura organic rose fertilizer with long-term effect. This supplies your climbing roses with all the important nutrients and is also kind to the environment.

Cut climbing roses and keep them in shape

Since climbing roses do not grow into the desired shape through pure thought, the queen of flowers must be cut regularly and their growth steered in the right direction. Hence, your climbing rose needs to be shaped. Here you regularly pull new shoots on the climbing aid. Depending on the trellis, the shoots are placed around the frame in a spiral, fan shape or cross. The shoots are loosely attached with raffia, plant chips or rubber-coated wire. When it comes to shaping, the following applies: the more horizontally the plant grows, the more flowers can be admired later. If the colorful climbers simply grow straight towards the sky, the lower area becomes bald because the flowers only form on the top.

When to cut climbing roses?

But shapes alone do not make an imposing flowering rose arch. Correct pruning is particularly important for multiple-flowered varieties for flowering shoots and a healthy plant. The side shoots are shortened to two to five eyes. The cut is made at an angle and is made about five millimeters above an outwardly growing bud. This should be done once a year to encourage branching and flower set. When to cut in the year depends on how often the rose variety blooms in the year.

• Spring (climbing roses that bloom more often): cut back the side shoots; Remove 1 - 2 main shoots per year; Remove winter damage
• Autumn (climbing roses blooming once): Clean up after flowering and only cut back side shoots if necessary

The spring pruning only takes place when there is no longer any risk of frost. You can orientate yourself on forsythia. Because if the yellow flowers sprout in the garden, you can dare to cut the spring. When pruning in autumn, make sure that you only cut away what is absolutely necessary. If the plant gets frost in winter, there won't be much left in spring. After cutting back, the remaining shoots are pulled over the climbing aid and attached.

But not just an annual pruning is important. Regular trimming of wilted flowers also promotes long flowering. In addition, wild shoots of the wild rose rootstock are removed close to the roots. This prevents them from overgrowing the hybrid tea.

Note: Roses with bare roots should be shortened to around 50 cm before planting.

Hibernate climbing roses

At the base of the climbing rose, earth is piled up to protect it from cold weather and dehydration in autumn. In addition, you can set up a wicker mat to protect the lower two meters. The rose is wrapped with it and is thus protected from wind and sun. Shoots that tower above the whole are covered with burlap. With hardy varieties like 'Amadeus' or 'Laguna' you can do without the additional protection. Conditionally hardy varieties such as 'Rosanna' or 'Aloha' insist on extra protection.

These products protect your plants from frost:

• Thermo garden fleece: Ideal for protecting your plants from cold and frost in winter. Can be cut to size individually.
• Burlap sack / blanket: Reliable protection against cold and frost made of 100% jute. Decorative natural fabric with a long lifespan.
• Coconut mat: Excellent heat storage made from natural fibers. Breathable, weatherproof and durable.