Climber Rambles Rampantly

This article was first published on 05 Jul 2012.

Climbing roses can add wonderful structure and height to a garden. If you have ample room to plant a rambling climber then Rosa 'Wedding Day' is the one. Wonderful bright green glossy foliage, great health and good strong rampant growth make this rose perfectly capable of considerable climbing feats.

Flowers

Flowering starts from early summer, punctuated by a fantastic display of hips in the autumn. Plants produce large clusters of flowers with the buds apricot coloured. They open into highly scented single creamy white flowers with prominent yellow stamens.

Pruning

Prune in winter. My best bit of advice is to prune this rose on a yearly basis. How you prune largely depends on location and what you want to achieve. Firstly, remove all the dead and damaged canes. Then prune to reduce in size to contain the rose within the area in which you have planted it, or the structure that supports it.

I will have pruned the specimen in Dunedin Botanic Garden’s Rose Garden by mid August so pop by and see the result. It is at the south end of the main walk through the Rose Garden.

Cultivation

Plant this gem in free draining soil where it will get full sun. It is best placed so it can scramble into a well established tree or over buildings or some form of strong support structure.

Tie back new growth in early summer to prevent branches being torn and to achieve a good framework.

Linda Hellyer is curator of the Rose Garden at Dunedin Botanic Garden.