Gardenworld

From June right through until the first frosts of autumn, climbing roses provide a spectactular show of blooms.

They make good cut flowers: some are sweetly scented and many produce attractive red hips that last on the plant into the depths of winter. If trained, the stems become ornamental features in their own right enhancing the plant's appearance year-round.

Training Roses Scrappy 'bird's nests' or briars can be transformed into elegant living sculptures and, if done properly, the plant will flower more freely and be less susceptible to disfiguring fungal diseases such as black spot and mildew.

Climbing roses should always be tied to something solid. For this project we fixed wires to a wall and made a framework of willow hoops to increase the ornamental effect and to make tying-in easier.

Climbing rose care
Roses grown against a wall need extra care to help them establish. This is because the bricks in the wall absorb moisture from the soil and the wall itself casts a rain shadow. Therefore, plant at least 50cm away from the wall training the rose back towards it and mulch annually with a 10cm layer of well-rotted farmyard manure.

You will need....

Bundle of willow

Tar impregnated twine,

Garden twine,

Secateurs,

Step ladder,

Gloves

Instructions:

Step one Take the rose down from its old supports, gently flopping it on to the ground and fix new wire supports in position if necessary. Step two To make the rsoe more manageable, thin any old and spindly branches and cut back side shoots to two buds from the main stem. The rose will send up next year's flower spikes from these buds.

Step three Make hoops by bending willow rods into circles and tying their ends together with string. Step four Wrap two or three more willow rods around the hoop to make it rigid and hide the string.

Step five Tie the hoops to the wires with tar-impregnated twine. For a helix design, start with a small hoop in the centre and build up a spiral of ever-growing hoops around it. Step six Tie the rose to the hoops with soft twine, leaving 12cm gaps between the stems. Keep the stems as horizontal as you can: the flatter they are, the more flower buds they'll produce. Avoid pushing the stems behind the wires or hoops as this makes future pruning and tying-in difficult.