Mastering the Art of Pruning and Training Climbing and Rambling Roses

Climbing and rambling roses can transform any garden, adding height, color, and fragrance. However, proper pruning and training are essential to ensure they flourish year after year. While the terms "climbing" and "rambling" roses are often used interchangeably, they actually refer to different growth habits and require slightly different care. In this post, we’ll delve into the best techniques for pruning and training these beautiful plants, helping you make the most of their elegant blooms.

Fresh after being trained

Understanding the Difference: Climbing vs. Rambling Rose

Before we dive into the specifics of pruning, it’s important to clarify the difference between climbing and rambling roses:

Climbing Roses- have long, flexible canes that need support, but they produce flowers on both old and new growth. These roses tend to bloom in summer and benefit from a more controlled training style.

Rambling Roses: on the other hand, grow with a more vigorous and sprawling habit. They tend to bloom once a year, often in spring or early summer, and their flowers are typically borne on older wood. Ramblers require more space and may not need as strict a pruning schedule.

Why Prune and Train Roses?

Pruning and training not only help your roses stay healthy but also encourage more blooms and shape the plant to fit your garden space. Pruning removes dead or damaged wood, boosts airflow, and reduces disease risk. Training ensures that the plant grows in a way that maximises sunlight exposure, enhances flowering, and maintains a tidy appearance.

Pruning Climbing Roses: A Step-by-Step Guide

1. Time it Right:

   For climbing roses, pruning should be done between January till mid-March, just before new growth begins. This allows you to remove any winter damage and shape the plant before the season’s growth takes off.

2. Remove Dead, Damaged Wood, Diseased and crossing/weak growth:

   Cut back any dead or diseased wood to prevent the spread of disease. This also opens up the plant for better air circulation, which helps reduce mildew and mould. 

Sometimes, it is hard to diseased wood, but rose black spot can occur on the canes, showing dark, almost black splodges (remove these to prevent further infection).  In some circumstances, you will want the branches of the rose to cross, but the thorns and rubbing can damage the stems, causing diseases in the future.  Also, removing weak growth will help the rose place all the energy of the plant into flowering and making a display.

3. Trim Long Canes:

   Shorten long canes that are growing in awkward directions. Aim to keep a few main canes that will support the structure of the plant.

4. Shape the Plant:

   Remove any shoots that cross over each other or grow toward the centre of the bush. This helps keep the rose open and airy, allowing sunlight to reach all areas of the plant.

5. Encourage New Growth:

   Cut back some of the older wood to just above a healthy bud. This will promote new growth and better flowering later in the season.

6. Tie In the Canes:

   As the canes grow, tie them to supports like trellises, arbours, or fences. Use soft garden ties (I use garden twine) to avoid damaging the stems.  NEVER USE GARDEN WIRE!  I see this regularly, and this harms the plant and is very hard to remove later when needing to reshape!

fresh new growth after being pruned a few months later

Pruning Rambling Roses: A Slightly Different Approach

1. Prune After Flowering:

   Rambling roses bloom once a year, so they should be pruned immediately after they flower. This ensures you don’t accidentally remove next season’s buds.

2. Remove Old Flowering Canes:

   After blooming, remove the spent flowered stems to allow for new growth. Cut back the old canes to the base or to a healthy lateral shoot.

3. Thin Out the Growth:

   Remove any weak or tangled stems to improve airflow and let sunlight reach the centre of the plant. Ramblers can get quite unruly, so thinning them out helps maintain a neat structure.

4. Encourage New Growth for Next Season:

   Like climbing roses, ramblers benefit from cutting back some of the older wood to stimulate new, strong canes that will carry next year’s flowers.

Training Your Roses: Techniques for a Beautiful Display

1. Use Supports:

   Climbing and rambling roses need something to cling to, so make sure you have sturdy trellises, wires, or obelisks in place. As the plant grows, gently train the canes along these supports, tying them in as needed.

2. Horizontal Training for More Blooms:

   For climbing roses, consider training some of the canes horizontally along the trellis. Horizontal canes tend to produce more flowers because they encourage the growth of lateral shoots.

3. Shape with Purpose:

   Aim to create a balanced shape that complements the structure of your garden. If the plant becomes too wild, don’t be afraid to prune hard—just make sure you’re cutting back to healthy buds or shoots.

4. Mind the Stems:

   Climbing roses will naturally try to grow vertically, but by regularly guiding the canes into the shape you want, you can encourage a more expansive, controlled growth habit. Rambling roses, which tend to grow in more wild directions, may need more frequent attention.

Got a new rose arch?

When this picture was taken, the rose was only two years old to cover the arches. it really doesn’t take long!

Common Mistakes to Avoid

-Not Using Proper Tools:

Dull shears or loppers can damage your plants. To avoid introducing disease, make sure your pruning tools are sharp and sanitised before use.

- Ignoring the Base: 

 Always remember to pay attention to the base of the plant. While it's easy to focus on the upper canes, the base needs proper attention to ensure the entire plant thrives.

Conclusion: Patience and Consistency Lead to Gorgeous Roses

Pruning and training climbing and rambling roses can seem like a daunting task at first, but with the right approach and a bit of practice, it becomes second nature. By understanding their growth habits, pruning at the right times, and training them thoughtfully, you’ll enjoy a stunning display of roses that will add beauty to your garden year after year. With patience and consistency, your climbing or rambling roses will reward you with abundant blooms and an exquisite fragrance that’s impossible to resist.

This is slightly more complex, but still uses the same methods to train a rose to a post and rail fence.

Below is a shot video of me removing a climbing rose, putting it back up and pruning.

JD Horticultural Services Tools for the Job:

Sharp pair of secateurs.  Niwaki offer great tools and always recommend and use them!  Their cheap Pairs set you back £40 (ish), but my pair cost over £120 as I use them regularly.

Sharpening/cleaning/disinfecting kit:  You will need something to shape the secateurs.  Garden centres offer and are good and cost around £10 and are sufice.  We again use Niwaki equipment for this and their hand-sharpening stone set. Also, for cleaning their clean mate stone and camellia oil to bring the secateurs back to life.  For disinfecting the tool, I use a general kitchen disinfectant.

Pruning Saw: You can pick up garden pruning saws cheap from DIY stores, Garden centres and even at time supermarkets.  They are fine, but most of the time I do not find they make a good cut (lots of fraying or splitting when cutting), and most do not have the availability to swap the blades.  I recommend Silki Saws as the blades last a long time, the blades are extremely sharp (having an incredibly good cut) and you are able to have the blades changed regularly.  The saws I have cost £45 and £90 (£25 for replacement blades), but this is due to the work I do.  If you prune regularly (all sorts of plants/trees in the garden), I Highly recommend using Silki!

Check out my saws

I have two saws. The large one for tree work, the smaller one for intricate saw work on roses and fruit tree pruning.

Pair of thick gloves!:  It is no secret that roses do have thorns. Ramblers from my experience having the worst of them!  You will want a good pair of thornproof/resistant gloves (especially using a saw).  With the number of gloves I have used in my time as a gardener there are few that live up to this expectation, also being able to use tools and equipment to feel for them. But a UK brand called Gold Leaf Gloves seem to be the best in my opinion.  Ones for pruning I use are either Though Touch or Winter Touch.  These will cost anywhere from £20-35 a pair.

Twine:  Most garden twine is good, I do not have a business-specific shootout, but for tying in most branches, you’ll want a three-ply twine (this is a thickness), any thinner snaps and does not hold the plants well.  If you have a vigorous rose, Niwaki again have a great Coir Twine and hold the main stems very well.

Loppers:  I do not use, nor recommend using loppers for pruning (unless is need to cut to points where a saw cannot).  I do use them when it comes to clearing up and is a very usful tool, especially when the rose clippings are on the ground.

Garden waste removal:  Don’t forget a garden waste bin (if you have one) or something to take the waste.  This will want to be sturdy as the thorns will break them

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Happy Gardening and Avoid those Thorns!