Rambling Rose vs Climbing Rose, Differences, Care, Uses

When it comes to buying a rose that you want to use up a wall, trellis, or fencing. Then the two choices are really a rambling rose or climbing rose. So in this article, I’m describing the differences – and similarities – between rambling rose vs climbing rose.

Starting with a quick way of identifying each one first…

Rambler roses have more flexible canes and a large number of smaller flowers in larger clusters. They grow to around 20 feet (6m) high and have sharper thorns. Climbing roses produce thicker straighter growing stems, a good amount of single or clustered roses, and reach around 12 feet (3.6m).

So armed with that, you might now be able to tell the difference between a rambler rose vs a climber rose. But there are other key differences when it comes to caring for them, and choosing the right rose for the right place, so let’s get into some more details.

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Rambling rose vs Climbing rose

Rambling roses and climbing roses are two types of roses that are often confused with one another.

While they may look similar, there are actually quite a few differences between these two types of roses. Here’s a reference table as a quick guide too.

	Rambling Rose	Climbing Rose
Height	20 feet (6m)	2 feet (3.6m)
Soil	Most well-drained soil types, shade or sun	Loamy well-drained soil, Sun
Growing	Fast, Sporadic, Thin canes	Slow, Measured, Thick canes
Flowering	Late Spring – Early Summer, along the canes, Lots of Small flowers,	Blooms Spring through Summer, clusters, Medium Flowers
Watering	Longer roots, drought-tolerant	Shorter roots, regular watering
Pruning	Light pruning, Late Winter/Early Spring	Heavy pruning, Late WInter

Rambling rose vs Climbing rose – Planting and Growing

You might say that rambling roses are the “wild side” of roses compared to the more classical, and “formal side” that are climbing roses. This is how I view it.

Soil and location

Rambling roses are generally less fussy about soil type and location than climbing roses.

They will happily grow in both full sun and partial shade, and in most soil types as long as it is well-drained.

Climbing roses are a little more particular. They prefer a sunny spot and rich, moist but well-drained soil.

Growing

Rambler roses are fast growers, putting on a lot of growth in a single season. This can make them a little unruly and difficult to control. They can grow to around 20 feet (6m) tall

Climbing roses are slower growing, but this gives them a more compact and manageable habit with thicker stems. They tend to extend as wide as 4.5 feet (1.4m) and will grow up to around 12 feet (3.6m) tall.

Flowering

Rambling roses produce large clusters of small, five-petalled flowers.

Rambling roses typically flower in late Spring, through to early summer, but will last for several weeks. With a possible second flush of blooms sometimes appearing in September.

Their flowers will be prolific, running all along the length of the stems, and often being slightly less double flower than those of climbing roses.

Climbing roses have medium-sized flowers with five or six petals.

They flower a little later than ramblers, with their main flush coming around June to August – depending on the variety. They often repeat flower throughout the growing season, from early summer through to autumn.

The flowers of climbing roses are larger than those of rambling roses and are generally double in form. They are borne in clusters rather than along the stems as with ramblers.

Climbing roses require training and support as they will not naturally scramble up trees or walls as agile as ramblers do.

Rambling rose vs Climbing rose – General care

Now we’ll go on to some of the aspects of caring for rambler roses compared to climber roses

Watering

It might help you to read my dedicated article about watering roses, but when it comes to water rambling roses vs climbing roses, there are some key differences.

Rambling roses have longer roots and can, therefore, reach further down into the soil to find moisture. They are also more tolerant of drought than climbing roses.

Climbing roses have shorter roots and so need to be watered more frequently than ramblers – especially when they are in flower.

Pruning

It’s probably in the pruning where these two types of roses differ the most.

Rambling roses are generally pruned in late winter or early spring, and only lightly. You just need to remove any dead, diseased, or damaged growth, and then thin out any overcrowded stems.

Climbing roses on the other hand are usually pruned quite hard in late winter or early spring. This involves cutting back the main stems by around two-thirds their length.

I always think that you can actually prune roses at most times of the year, but tend to avoid doing this too much during the growing and blooming phases – except for the usual deadheading.

And also when it comes to rambling roses, it almost seems wrong to prune too much. Like I’m somehow stifling their free will. But of course, you do need to prune them!

Rambling rose vs Climbing rose – General uses

Both types of roses have their own unique uses and features that make them ideal for different purposes.

Rambling roses are often grown-up trees, fences, or pergolas. Whereas, climbing roses are commonly used to cover walls, trellises, and over or around archways.

Rambling roses are typically used to cover larger areas while climbing roses are more often used to decorate smaller spaces.

So you would likely pick rambling roses where you want to cover a large area, with a more free-ranging array of flowers and plants. But where you are looking for a formal, or more “arranged” feel to your pergola, wall, or display, you would likely want to opt for the climbing rose.

You might find rambling roses scrambling up the side of a stately home, but you’ll likely find climbing roses arranged neatly around the archway to the formal gardens.

Ultimately, the decision of which type of rose to grow depends on your own needs and preferences and the type of garden or space you’re trying to create.

Rambling rose vs Climbing rose ~ More roses help 🌹

I hope this article has helped with understanding the difference between a rambling rose vs climbing rose.

In the end, it doesn’t really matter which you choose. Both rambler roses and climbing roses are wonderful whatever setting their in. So my advice is simply to pick the one you like the most and go with it!

Here are a few to try…

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