Pruning Climbing Roses
A Gardener’s Guide to Pruning Climbing Roses
While climbing roses certainly make an attractive feature to any garden or home accent, pruning climbing roses can seem a daunting task to the uninitiated. Although the pruning techniques are a bit different from those of regular rose bushes, the reasons for pruning remain the same. Proper pruning encourages new growth, allows you to shape and train your roses, and helps you get rid of diseased or dead canes (branches).
If your climbing roses are losing their vigor or if you’ve recently acquired some and want to start off on the right foot, reviewing this guide to pruning climbing roses will help you in your gardening endeavors.
Important Notes Before You Start
It is important to mention and keep in mind that if you are planning on pruning a new plant, you should avoid pruning the main cane for 2 – 3 years. This main branch does not flower much, in and of itself, but is the parent branch to the lateral offshoots that provide the majority of the blooms. Waiting 2 – 3 years will allow the main cane enough time to produce several lateral shoots.
If you desire a special shape you would like to train your roses to, careful pruning may be done in conjunction with twist ties or nylon pantyhose to tether the plant’s canes to the trellis, wall, etc.
It is also important to know what kind of climbing roses you have before you grab the nearest pair of shears and start clipping away. In general, there are two types of climbing roses—once blooming and repeat blooming. These types require slightly different pruning care.
In addition to these notes, it is highly recommended that you water the day before you begin pruning climbing roses. This will lessen the shock that your roses will go through due to the pruning.
Pruning Once Blooming Climbing Roses
As the name implies, this variety of climbing rose only blooms once a year, but its blooming period is lush and glorious with vibrant blooms in multitudes. Pruning needs to begin right after the flowering period is finished.
Pay attention to the amount of new canes that grew in over the course of the year. If many canes were produced then you can start by removing a good amount of the oldest and weakest to the bud union. However, if only a few new canes grew you should focus on them and cutting them back a bit.
The canes you’ve pruned should then be trained horizontally to your fence or trellis. This will help encourage new growth and take some of the strain off of your plant. If you have a trellis or wire structure you may choose to intertwine some of the canes in a weaving pattern onto your structure, forgoing twist ties.
During the winter months, the only pruning that should be done would be to remove any suckers coming from below bud unions, seed pods, and dead branches.
Pruning Repeat Blooming Climbing Roses
Horizontally arranged repeat blooming climbers can bloom for several years on the same cane growth. When your roses show a lack in vigor, you know it’s time to start pruning back the old canes and allowing new growth to come through.
Pruning should occur during the winter or very early spring while the roses are still dormant. Begin by removing all of the suckers and dead growth that extends from the bud union. In order to promote healthier and more vibrant buds, you should also cut back every flowering lateral (the ones growing from horizontal canes) back to 2 or 3 buds at the most.
Careful attention should be paid to the leaves as well. Make sure you remove all remaining leaves, as they can lead to mold spores infecting your roses and causing diseased canes. After removing all unwanted canes and leaves, reposition your remaining canes onto your chosen support—horizontal is best.