Training climbing and rambling roses to grow against your homes facade makes a stunning natural feature and boosts curb appeal. Discover how to get it right.
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Training beautiful roses to climb up the front of your home lends a romantic, nostalgic feel and is a great way to add curb appeal. However, achieving the look you want is not always straightforward.
These classic flowers come in endless different varieties, colors, bloom types, and even growth habits. Climbing roses are the obvious choice for covering a facade, but vigorous rambling roses make up the other main types of roses suitable for training to climb a trellis or alternative support structure.
Whether youre just learning how to grow roses or are a seasoned grower looking to take things to the next level, follow these expert tips to enjoy a gorgeous, aromatic floral display.
Climbing roses are one of the most romantic and beautiful ways to decorate the front of your home Their lush blooms and sweet fragrance can transform even the drabbest façade into a fairytale cottage
In this article, we’ll look at 10 gorgeous climbing rose varieties that are perfect for growing on the front of your house. We’ll cover their key features blooming seasons care tips, and advice for siting them.
Why Grow Climbing Roses On Your House?
Climbing roses offer some great benefits when grown against the front of a house:
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Abundant blooms – Many repeat-flower from spring to fall for maximum impact.
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Fragrance – Most have beautifully scented flowers to perfume your garden.
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Versatility – Grow against walls, fences, pergolas, or over doorways and windows.
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Low maintenance – Modern shrub roses need less care than old ramblers.
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Curb appeal – Climbing roses give homes true stand-out factor.
10 Stunning Climbing Roses For The Front Of Your House
1. ‘Eden’
This gorgeous rose has lightly fragrant, cupped blooms in a unique blend of yellow, pink and cream. It flowers freely from early summer right through to the first frosts. ‘Eden’ has dark green, semi-glossy foliage and looks beautiful grown against a brick or painted wall.
2. ‘Crown Princess Margareta’
With its large, elegant, gently scented apricot-orange blooms, this is one of the most regal climbing roses. It has excellent disease resistance and flowers repeatedly from early summer onwards. The blooms develop warm yellow tones later in the season.
3. ‘Snow Goose’
A pure white climbing rose that will look stunning against a brick or painted house. The medium-sized, cupped blooms are produced in clusters and have a light fragrance. It has dark green foliage and excellent disease resistance.
4. ‘Lady of Shallot’
With large, chalice-shaped blooms in a mix of yellows and oranges, this rose makes a bold statement. It has a powerful, fruity scent and dark green foliage. ‘Lady of Shallot’ blooms throughout the summer and fall.
5. ‘New Dawn’
A prolific bloomer with clusters of lightly fragrant, pale pink flowers from early summer to frost. This versatile rose grows up to 10 feet and can be trained as a climber or left to form an arching shrub.
6. ‘Zéphirine Drouhin’
Cherish this rose for its intensely fragrant, semi-double blooms of bright cerise-pink that fade to light pink. It has light green foliage and blooms from spring to autumn. ‘Zéphirine Drouhin’ thrives in shade.
7. ‘William Baffin’
This hardy, repeat-blooming climber has clusters of medium-sized, deep pink flowers from summer to fall. It has a light apple fragrance and glossy, disease-resistant foliage. ‘William Baffin’ can grow up to 10 feet tall.
8. ‘Madame Grégoire Staechlin’
Also known as ‘Spanish Beauty’, this elegant rose has large, fragrant flowers of creamy-white, flushed with pink. It blooms freely from early summer right through fall. The lush, deep green foliage provides a lovely backdrop.
9. ‘Dortmund’
With its sumptuous, fully double red blooms and intense fragrance, this is a real show-stopper. It repeats flowers generously from early summer to fall. Grow against a neutral wall to let the blooms pop.
10. ‘Gertrude Jekyll’
This English rose has large, cupped flowers in shades of pink and apricot. It has a lovely myrrh fragrance and blooms repeatedly from early summer. The bushy growth habit works well against walls or fences.
Where To Position Climbing Roses On Your Home
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South and west-facing walls receive the most sun – ideal for repeat-flowering varieties.
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East-facing walls offer morning sun – suited to roses that bloom in early summer.
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North-facing sites work well for roses that like partial shade.
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Grow over doorways, windows and arches for impact.
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Use trellises to train roses up walls if no direct support.
How To Plant And Care For Climbing Roses
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Prepare the soil well by digging in compost or manure. Roses thrive in fertile, humus-rich soil.
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Plant climbers 3-4 feet away from the wall to allow air circulation and prevent mildew.
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Water newly planted roses well until established then deep water once a week in summer.
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Apply a balanced fertilizer in early spring and again after first flowering.
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Prune established climbers in winter, cutting out dead, diseased or crossing stems.
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Tie in new shoots as needed and prune lightly after flowering to encourage reblooming.
Add Support Structures To Show Off Your Climbing Roses
You may need to add some extra structures to help train and display climbing roses to their full potential:
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Trellises – Flat or diagonal trellises secured to walls give roses something to climb up.
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Obelisks – Place obelisks nearby for roses to weave through.
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Arches – Create a focal point over pathways and entries.
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Pergolas – An ideal way to enjoy fragrant roses overhead.
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Railings – Use along porches, balconies and decking.
Climbing Roses Bring Timeless Beauty To Your Home
With their elegant flowers, heavenly scent and ability to transform bare walls, climbing roses are one of the most rewarding plants you can grow. Choose varieties with repeat-blooming tendencies to maximize floral displays. Site them in sunny positions against walls or fences for best results. With just a little care, climbing roses can enhance your home with nostalgic, romantic beauty.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best climbing rose for the front of a house?
Some top choices include ‘New Dawn’, ‘Crown Princess Margareta’, ‘Lady of Shallot’ and ‘Gertrude Jekyll’. Go for repeat-blooming varieties in colors that complement your home.
Should you grow roses on a house wall?
Yes, climbing roses are perfect for growing against house walls. The wall provides extra warmth and support. Position them in full sun for best flowering.
How do you train a climbing rose on a wall?
Use trellises or wires to support the stems. Space the canes out horizontally. Tie in new shoots. Prune lightly after flowering.
What is the difference between climbing and rambling roses?
Climbing roses produce larger but fewer blooms on shorter stems than ramblers. They are easier to control. Ramblers have smaller flowers but in greater profusion on long flexible canes.
What plants complement climbing roses in the front yard?
Try mixing with lavender, catmint, salvia, sage, grasses and small shrubs like boxwood for texture. Underplant with bulbs like crocus or alliums.
Climbing roses are a romantic, nostalgic way to adorn your home’s exterior. With the right variety and care, they can enhance your curb appeal and create a welcoming focal point. Position them in a spot where you can enjoy their beauty up close.
How To Plant A Rose Next To A Wall
Before you can train your rose to grow up the front of the house, you need to plant it. Planting a rose near a wall takes a little more consideration than in a bed.Gardening tips, videos, info and more delivered right to your inbox!
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Consider how much of the wall’s width you want the rose to cover and the spread of the rose variety you have chosen. Plant the rose right in the middle of this area of coverage, about eight inches (20cm) from the wall.
Where there is hardscaping close to walls, such as gravel, ideally this should be removed as it can be a heat trap – especially in hot climates. ( credit: Getty s)
Unlike some vining plants – English ivy, for instance – roses cannot cling to a wall on their own. They require some type of support that you will train the rose to.
You’ll need to attach something to the wall that you can tie the rose stems to. This could be a trellis or lengths of horizontal wire spaced approximately every 18 inches (46cm).
Attach the trellis or wire to the wall using wood or masonry screws, depending on your home’s construction materials. Alternatively, you can sink a trellis into the ground, but this might not be as stable as needed as the rose gets larger.
If you have pillars in front of the house, you could train the rose to these instead of the wall. ( credit: Getty s)
Rambling Or Climbing Roses?
First, it’s important to choose the right rose for the job. The most commonly used roses in gardening today are hybrids, which have a shrub or bush growth habit.
For training up the front of your house, you need a climbing or rambling rose variety. Both produce long canes that will grow vertically on a support structure, but there are some key differences:
- Climbing roses are less vigorous growers but have large, single blooms, similar to popular tea hybrid roses. They will flower repeatedly if you take time to deadhead them. Flowers bloom on new wood and need more regular pruning and maintenance.
- Rambling roses grow more vigorously than climbers. Their flowers are smaller and grow in sprays. Ramblers typically only bloom once per season, but newer cultivars are changing this. Rambling rose canes are softer and more flexible than those of climbing roses. Flowers bloom on old wood.
Either type of rose is appropriate for training on a vertical surface. The choice of one or the other depends on your preference. Shop Stunning Roses
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