How to Train Climbing Roses

Charlotte Weidner | February 14, 2026

Fast-growing, scented, and ruffled Climbing Roses set the stage for a romantic backyard getaway or delightful garden soirée with your friends and loved ones! Start setting the stage in your landscape with the huge selection of Climbing Roses for sale at Nature Hills Nursery!

Romantic Rose plants have been grown and bred since Ancient Egypt, and Climbing Roses have been a part of the Rosa genus for as long as Roses have been grown! Climbers can be found in all the major Rose types - These include Hybrid Tea Rose Climbers, Floribundas, Ramblers, and Polyantha Climbing Rose plants.

Climbing Rose bushes have canes that grow much longer and are more flexible than other Shrub Roses. Some ramblers may have a heavy early bloom and then sporadic blooms the rest of the year, while others bloom throughout the summer. Climbing Roses usually grow from 6 to 20 feet tall but be sure to check the Plant Highlights on every product page for specific details like growing zone, sun and moisture needs too.

Climbing Rose Support & Landscape Application
Pruning Your Climbing Rose For The Most Blooms!
The Sky’s the Limit With Climbing Roses!

Climbing Rose Support & Landscape Application

Climbing Roses have long, arching canes that do need support to grow best. They do not have holdfasts or tendrils, and they lack the ability to cling to a trellis or support by themselves. When left to their own devices, they are like brambles and simply tumble and grow over themselves into a dense (and wonderfully trespasser-proof) mounding hedge, or spill and cascade down a slope.

They need to be tied and trained to grow on their support in an orderly, vertical fashion.

Usually tied in a fan shape up and over an arbor or trellis. But did you know there are many other ways to grow them?

Train Climbing Roses into a lovely flowering screen to hide your swimming pool or seating areas from prying eyes. Make a retaining wall or exposed foundation disappear under a mound of fragrant flowers. Create an easy-care focal point wall for your outdoor kitchen or outdoor dining. Shade a garden bench or on a balcony with some strategically placed Climbing Roses!

Grow nearly thornless, semi-double, pink flowers with Zephirine Drouhin Climbing Rose bushes in full sun or partial shade. Keep Cupid's Kisses Rose in a pot on your balcony. Allow their petite canes to drape over the railing for an old-world appeal. Add drama with striped smoky orange and cream blooms. Enjoy the spectacular large flowers of Tropical Lightning Rose as a backdrop to your Rose garden or cut flower garden.

For a fantastic vertical accent, train your Climbing Rose on a post or mature tree trunk. Spiral the canes at a 45-degree angle around their support using strong, yet flexible plant ties or even old nylon pantyhose.

You'll love the flower power of a Climbing Rose grown up and along the top of a chain-link or split rail fence. Festoon several Climbing Roses along a fence using a secured rope or chain attached to the top for them to climb on.

Train up a series of posts, columns, or spiraling around pillars and post supports of your porch or patio, or even deck stairs. You’ll gain romantic curb appeal that turns heads! Add a trellis system over your front door for a tremendous boost of color. People even install trellises on their roofs for a blooming bower! Consider planting a Clematis vine on the same trellis to intertwine with the Rose for an interesting effect where you can pick contrasting colors or something that is in the same palate.

If you don’t wish to encourage upright growth, use Climbing Roses as a groundcover, or on a slope. Letting their canes cascade and scramble over a mound or Rock Garden. They will grow anywhere they get full sun!

Pruning Your Climbing Rose For The Most Blooms!

Allow the first round of blooms to flower on the oldest canes. Climbing Roses differ in that you will have to maintain some older canes until new shoots come from the ground. Then selectively remove the oldest, fattest stems to the ground after the first round of flowers in June. Prune Roses in spring only to remove damaged canes or dead tips that winter may have nipped back.

Climbing Roses generally produce a flush of blooms on last year's wood, along with new growth from this year. Clear away excess dead foliage from the area so you have an uninhibited view of your canes.

Check for dead, spindly, or diseased branches and cut them out first. Following the cane back to a fat bud just below the problematic area. Sanitize your snips or pruners after each cut!
Select several strong, healthy canes to become the new structural foundation. Structural canes grow thick and have a woody, bark-like appearance versus the fresh green of newer canes. They also have many swollen buds ready to pop.
Remove any crossing and rubbing canes, opening the interior for air circulation and sun
Remove less-productive canes (keep sanitizing between cuts!)
Discard prunings and foliage away from your Roses to prevent the spread of any fungal issues or diseases.
Top off the soil around the base of your Rose with a 3-4 inch thick layer of Arborist mulch chips - but don’t allow the bark to pile up against the canes or over the crown.

Now is also a great time to secure canes to their support!

Horizontal branches produce the most flowers, so tie the secondary canes at 90 to 45-degree angles to their support.
Use stretchy landscape ties, strips from old t-shirts, or old pantyhose to loop around the cane and your support. Check them yearly to ensure the stems are not strangling.

After Flowering Pruning (Deadheading)

Deadhead blooms just above the first full leaflet (one with 5 leaflets) below the spent blooms.
Then slant a pruning cut just above that leaf. This will stimulate new blooms
Larger Climbing Roses can be sheared to clean up the plant and remove spent blooms

With a bit of yearly attention, you will be treated to an ongoing display of ever-blooming Climbing Rose!

Renewal Pruning

Rejuvenate the structural canes every three years. Because Climbing Roses bloom on last year's canes, you'll want to wait until after the first flush of blooms has finished and then either deadhead or completely remove any of these oldest around June.

The Sky’s the Limit With Climbing Roses!

Explore the options at Nature Hills Nursery for a wonderful selection of Climbing Roses for sale. We baby our expertly grown Roses for years and often have more mature sizes available to give your landscape a head start!

Create the garden of your dreams this year. There is nothing as romantic as an acrobatic Climbing Rose!

Happy Planting!

Want more information on caring for your Climbing Roses? Check out our #ProPlantTips for care, winterizing Roses, and un-wintering Roses, and about Winter Watering!

Previous Next

Compare Plants

Browse the features and specs side-by-side to find the best fit for your garden.

A table comparing the facets of 1 products
Facet	Zephirine Drouhin Climbing Rose View details
Rating
Rating	(63)
Type
Type	Shrub
By
By	Nature Hills Nursery
Flower Color
Flower Color	Pink
Growing Zone Range
Growing Zone Range	5-9
Mature Height
Mature Height	8-10 ft
Width
Width	4-6 ft
Price
Price	Regular price From $39⁴²

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you train climbing roses to grow along a fence or wall?

Climbing roses lack tendrils or holdfasts, so they must be manually tied to your fence or wall support rather than clinging on their own. Use soft ties or garden twine to secure the long, flexible canes in a fan shape, spreading them horizontally along the fence to encourage the most blooms along the entire length. Canes trained at a more horizontal angle will produce significantly more lateral flowering shoots than canes allowed to grow straight up. Begin tying new canes as they develop throughout the growing season, and check your ties regularly to prevent them from cutting into the canes as the plant matures.

When is the best time to start training a climbing rose?

The best time to begin training a climbing rose is during its first year of planting, when the canes are young, flexible, and easiest to direct. Early spring, just as new growth begins, is ideal for major training and tying work, though you can secure new canes throughout the growing season as they develop. Tie canes loosely in a fan shape to your trellis, arbor, or support structure using soft garden twine or rose ties to avoid damaging the canes. Check your ties regularly throughout the season and reposition any new growth before it becomes too stiff to bend safely into place.

What structures and supports work best for climbing roses?

Climbing roses grow best when tied and trained to sturdy structures like arbors, trellises, fences, and pergolas, since they lack the holdfasts or tendrils needed to cling on their own. Their long, flexible canes, which can reach 6 to 20 feet depending on the variety, respond well to being spread in a fan shape across a support to maximize bloom coverage. Choose a structure strong enough to hold the weight of mature canes and tie new growth regularly with soft garden ties to keep them growing in an orderly, vertical direction.

How do you attach climbing rose canes to a trellis or fence without damaging them?

To attach climbing rose canes to a trellis or fence without damaging them, use soft, flexible materials like jute twine, stretchy plant ties, or strips of old pantyhose to gently secure the canes. Avoid wire or rigid ties that can cut into the cane as it grows and expands over the season. Tie the canes loosely in a figure-eight pattern, with one loop around the support and one around the cane, leaving room for growth. Check and adjust your ties every few weeks during the growing season to prevent them from becoming too tight and girdling the cane.

How often should you train and redirect new climbing rose growth?

Climbing roses should be checked and redirected every 2 to 4 weeks during the active growing season, as their long, arching canes can quickly become unruly without regular attention. Because climbing roses lack tendrils or holdfasts, they rely entirely on you to tie and position new growth against their support structure. Use soft garden ties or twine to secure new canes in a fan shape across your trellis, arbor, or wall before they become stiff and harder to redirect. Make a habit of walking your garden weekly so you can catch and train new growth while the canes are still young and flexible.

How do you encourage climbing roses to bloom more throughout the season?

To encourage climbing roses to bloom more throughout the season, focus on proper pruning and training techniques that direct the plant's energy into flower production rather than cane growth. Train the long canes horizontally or in a fan shape along a trellis or arbor, as this slows the sap flow and encourages more lateral shoots, which are where blooms develop. Remove spent flowers promptly on repeat-blooming varieties to prevent the plant from putting energy into seed production. Feed your climbing roses regularly with a balanced rose fertilizer during the growing season and ensure they receive adequate sunlight, as most varieties perform best with at least six hours of direct sun per day.

Can you train an established rose bush to climb a support structure?

Yes, you can train an established climbing rose to grow on a support structure, though it requires patience and consistent effort. Climbing roses do not have tendrils or holdfasts, so their long, flexible canes must be manually tied to a trellis, arbor, or fence in a fan shape to encourage upright, orderly growth. Begin by selecting your strongest, most pliable canes and securing them loosely to your support using soft ties or twine, spacing them out to maximize sun exposure and air circulation. Work gradually over one to two seasons to reposition older canes without breaking them, and prune away any weak or crossing growth to direct the plant's energy into the trained framework.

How do you train climbing roses to grow horizontally for more blooms?

Training climbing roses horizontally along a fence or trellis encourages the canes to produce more lateral shoots, which results in significantly more blooms along the entire length of the cane. Since climbing roses lack tendrils or holdfasts, you will need to manually tie the canes to your support structure using soft garden ties or twine. Bend long canes as close to horizontal as possible and secure them in a fan shape, spacing canes evenly so light and air can reach all parts of the plant. Start training in early spring before new growth emerges, and continue tying new canes throughout the growing season to maintain your desired form.

Do climbing roses lose their leaves in winter?

Most climbing roses are deciduous and will drop their leaves in winter, particularly in colder climates and hardiness zones below zone 6. In warmer zones such as 7 through 10, some climbing rose varieties may retain their foliage and behave more like semi-evergreen plants. After your climbing rose drops its leaves in late fall or early winter, take advantage of the dormant season to inspect and tie in any new canes to your trellis or support structure before spring growth begins.

How do beginner gardeners get started training climbing roses for the first time?

Climbing roses don't cling to structures on their own, so your first step is to install a sturdy support like a trellis, arbor, or fence before your rose begins actively growing. As the long, flexible canes develop and reach 6 to 20 feet depending on the variety, gently tie them in a fan shape across your support using soft garden ties, spacing canes evenly to encourage good airflow and maximum blooms. Check the plant details for your specific variety at Nature Hills to confirm its mature size, sun requirements, and hardiness zone so you choose the right support structure from the start. Begin tying new canes early in the season while they are still pliable, and revisit your training regularly throughout the growing season to guide new growth before it becomes tangled.