Climbing and rambling roses everywhere in June

Lady Sandwich writes:

I look round Mapperton gardens in late June and I see climbing and rambling roses all over the place, mostly out of control and definitely out of reach. There are some on the pergola – Emily Gray, Parkdirektor Riggers, Veilchenblau, Blairii No 2; others are scrambling over the Red Wall – Goldfinch, Rambling Rector, Albertine, filipes Kiftsgate; and about the house and stable blocks are, amongst others, Zephirine Drouhin, Mermaid, climbing Iceberg, Niphetos, Aloha and the greatest and most difficult Gloire de Dijon. Also around are Mme Alfred Carriere, Lady Hillingdon and that hybrid from rosa gigantea, Cooper’s Burmese.

I’m only mentioning some of the roses we have at Mapperton and I have to admit I’m an old-rose enthusiast; you won’t find modern roses here except a self-sown heroine by the Orangery; we admire her for her bravado.

There’s quite a difference between climbing and rambling roses. Ramblers are bigger, in fact huge with some going up to 40 foot; they flower once a year, are mostly sweet scented and come from two main stocks, the Japanese multiflora, introduced in 1862, and the German wichuraiana in 1891 and named after its German discoverer Max Ernst Wichura.

And you prune them differently; in fact the pruning difference is probably the most important reason for knowing what sort of rose you are dealing with. Climbers are usually more controllable and can be grown up a pillar or a pergola or over a hedge. Just for your information, you may think that the wonderful New Dawn is a climber; she’s not, she’s a wichuraiana rambler.