Climbing roses are an important type of rose, fulfilling the need for roses which take up less space and can act as a vine. Climbing, or pillar, roses are usually located against a wall or a fence, and add depth and color to a rose garden design, as well as covering up any blank spaces easily. Many people also prefer the look of climbing roses, as a wall of roses can be very visually appealing.

Climbing roses are a different type of roses from rose bushes and shrubs, and thus climbing rose care is different from care of shrub roses.

As with any other rose, climbing roses need flower fertilizer, plenty of sunlight, and well drained soil with lots of organic material. Some types of climbing roses do not need as much sun as other types of roses, which could be easier to fit into a typical flower garden. The lighter color climbing roses generally tolerate shade better than the darker color climbers.

Climbing roses often need trellises or some form of pegging, to help them grow in the direction they are wanted to grow. These roses can be trained to grow horizontally, diagonally, or even straight up a pillar. It just takes time, patience, and some string or pegs.

Choosing the right climbing rose is very important. Some climbing roses grow to 25 ft, which can make spraying for fungi or other diseases difficult. Avoid future difficulties by choosing disease resistant varieties and by asking the how high the rose can grow before purchasing. Heights that types of roses can grow to vary from region to region, so make sure to check how high a rose can grow in a specific area. A major difficulty with climbing roses is that many gardeners do not know how to prune a climbing rose properly. Chopping a rose which is meant to grow to 25 or 30 ft down to 5 ft ensures that the rose will never bloom. Or trying to prune something that is 4 -5 times higher than the gardener can reach may be too onerous a task.

Pruning climbing roses is still very different from pruning rose bushes. While with rose bushes, a round shape is often best, with climbing roses, keeping the rose within the area of the garden it is supposed to cover is the main point. Cutting off any dead canes and deadheading are also important.

While rose bushes can be pruned year round, climbing roses should not be pruned until after their first bloom. This will also allow the gardener to look at the shape of the climber, and decide how to train and how to prune the rose.

Climbing roses can add a lot of dimension to a flower garden. In exchange, they are a new lesson for beginners to gardening to learn about the care of roses. They will prove to be worth the time it takes in extra cut flowers, more depth and variety to the garden and greater familiarity with roses in general. The beginning rose gardener will be happy to find that a climbing rose is actually easier to grow, requiring less pruning and growing vigorously on its own.