Climbing Rose Collection

Where to Plant
Choose a sunny position with fertile, moisture-retentive but well-drained soil and a strong support for the stems. Climbing and rambling roses don't cling by themselves, so they need to be tied to wires, trellis or another suitable support as they grow.

Planting Bare-Root Roses
Unpack your roses promptly and soak the roots in a bucket of water for a couple of hours before planting. Dig a generous hole, spread the roots out naturally and position each rose with the graft union around soil level. Backfill, firm gently and water well.

Planting Potted Roses
Water well before planting and dig a hole slightly wider than the root ball. Remove the rose from its pot, gently loosen any tightly packed roots and plant at the same depth it was growing in the pot. Backfill, gently firm and water thoroughly.

Watering
Water regularly during the first growing season while the roses establish, particularly during warm, dry weather. Roses growing against walls and fences may need extra attention because the soil immediately beside these structures can be surprisingly dry.

Feeding & Mulching
Feed with a suitable rose fertiliser in spring as new growth begins. Repeat-flowering roses will benefit from another feed in summer. Mulch with well-rotted garden compost or organic matter to conserve moisture and improve the soil, keeping the mulch clear of the stems.

Top Tip
When planting against a wall or fence, position the rose away from the very base rather than squeezing it directly against the structure. This gives the roots better access to rain and allows more room for them to establish.

Walls & Fences
‘Climbing Iceberg’ and ‘Starlight Express’ are excellent for covering walls and fences, where their long stems can be trained across a network of wires or trellis. Spreading the stems out rather than allowing them to grow straight upwards helps create a broader display of flowers.

Arches & Pergolas
Train the more flexible stems around arches, pergolas and other garden structures, tying them in with soft garden ties as they grow. This allows the flowers to be enjoyed at different heights and helps create a more natural-looking display.

Give ‘Albertine’ Room
‘Albertine’ is actually a vigorous rambling rose rather than a traditional climber and can eventually reach around 5m high with a spread of around 4m. Give it a substantial structure and plenty of room to develop, making it particularly useful for covering larger walls, pergolas or other sizeable supports.

Choose a Spot You'll Enjoy
All three bring fragrance as well as flowers. ‘Albertine’ is particularly fragrant, making a position near a path, seating area or garden entrance a lovely way to enjoy its perfume during its spectacular midsummer display.

Training Young Roses
As new stems develop, tie them to their support with soft garden ties. Where space allows, train climbing stems horizontally or at an angle rather than straight upwards. This encourages flowering shoots to develop along more of the stem and helps cover the support more evenly.

Pruning Climbing Roses
‘Climbing Iceberg’ and ‘Starlight Express’ can be pruned once established by retaining the main framework of long stems and shortening the side shoots that have flowered. Remove dead, damaged, weak or badly positioned growth and tie in strong new stems to replace older ones when needed.

Pruning ‘Albertine’
‘Albertine’ flowers mainly on growth made in previous seasons, so avoid cutting it back hard in spring. After flowering, remove some of the oldest stems when necessary and tie in vigorous new shoots that will carry future displays.

Deadheading
Deadhead ‘Climbing Iceberg’ and ‘Starlight Express’ as flowers fade to keep the plants tidy and encourage further flushes. ‘Albertine’ puts on one spectacular main display in midsummer rather than flowering repeatedly in the same way, so regular deadheading is less important.

Top Tip
Don't prune all three roses in exactly the same way. The repeat-flowering climbers benefit from maintaining a permanent framework and pruning their flowering side shoots, while ‘Albertine’ needs its older flowering wood and vigorous new stems managed as a rambler.

Cover the Base
Hardy geraniums and nepeta can soften the ground around climbing roses while adding another layer of summer colour. Leave some clear space immediately around the rose itself so it isn't competing heavily with neighbouring plants while establishing.

Add More Vertical Colour
Clematis can make a natural partner for established climbing roses, using the same wall, fence or pergola to extend the display. Choose varieties with a suitable eventual size and flowering season so neither plant overwhelms the other.

Add Spring Colour
Spring bulbs provide colour around the base before the roses reach their peak. Alliums work particularly well, carrying the display from late spring towards the beginning of the main rose season.

Use the Different Flowering Habits
‘Albertine’ provides an impressive flush of fragrant pink flowers in midsummer, while ‘Climbing Iceberg’ and ‘Starlight Express’ repeat flower into autumn. Growing them in the same part of the garden can help extend the overall rose display rather than concentrating all the colour into a few weeks.

Bare-Root Roses
Bare-root roses are supplied during autumn and winter while dormant, without a pot or compost around their roots. They will usually arrive with woody stems and exposed roots, with little or no foliage. This is completely normal and fresh growth will appear as temperatures rise.

Potted Roses
Potted roses are supplied established in compost and can be planted for much of the year, avoiding frozen, waterlogged or extremely dry conditions. Their appearance will vary naturally with the season, from fresh growth in spring and leafy or flowering plants in summer to less active or leafless plants later in the year.

If You Can't Plant Straight Away
Keep bare-root roses cool with their roots moist and protected from drying out, and plant as soon as possible. Potted roses can be kept in a sheltered outdoor position and watered as needed until you're ready to plant.

What to Expect After Planting
Climbing and rambling roses establish a framework of long stems that can be trained over their support. Young plants won't arrive at their eventual climbing height; their coverage develops as new stems are produced and trained over the following seasons.

Mature Size
‘Albertine’ is the largest in the collection, eventually reaching around 5m high with a 4m spread. ‘Climbing Iceberg’ reaches around 3m high with a 2.5m spread, while ‘Starlight Express’ grows to around 2.4m high with a 1.8m spread. Allow plenty of space and choose a support suitable for the eventual size of each rose.