There are roses for almost every type of gardening. So which do you use when you have some vertical space such as a wall or blank side of a house or even an ugly old fence just begging for the splash of color roses can provide? Why, you can use climbing roses and ramblers of course.

Climbing roses can be used on some type of support structure or framework to provide color upward in a vertical fashion. They can even be used laterally like along a fence by training the canes out sideways.

These support structures can be the usual pergolas, trellises, arches and pillars. But did you know you could also get some ramblers to climb up into trees?

It's simply a matter of providing a good place for the canes to be tied to. To have a tree that ends up being draped with roses, you start with a hole about three to four feet away from your tree that you plant your climbing rose or rambler in (depends on the individual variety and how tall or long the canes will grow). Tip the rose in the hole with the roots away from the tree and the top towards the tree. Finish planting your rose properly.

Now there are a couple ways to provide the structure for the roses to grow up into the tree. One, you can provide bamboo canes tied on each side of the tree going back down to the ground on each side of the rose (you can tie them in a travois type manner around the tree). Or provide wires or nylon rope tied up into the tree to a strong branch. As the climbing roses or ramblers grow, you tie the canes to the bamboo poles or to the wire. Once the rose is well into the tree, it should grow on its own well enough without further training. What a sight that would be - a tree blooming with roses the summer long.

You can also do something similar with climbing roses growing up the side of your home. As said above, you simply need to provide the proper support structure for them to climb. Either use a trellis or use eyebolts with wire secured to them. Run the wires in a horizontal fashion across your home or you could try a fan-shaped version of wires for the climbing roses to grow on. As before, you will need to tie the canes to the wire or trellis.

Should you decide to use the trellis, you just might want to consider a system for it that will enable you to lay it, and the climbing rose attached to it, down on the ground if you should need to do repair work or painting to your home. Some suggest putting hinges on your trellis to allow it to fold down.

Another point with the climbing roses growing up the side of your home, is to try to keep it about two inches or better away from the actual side of the house. This allows air circulation behind the rose, which we know, helps fight the various rose diseases.

Copyright 2006, Sandra Dinkins-Wilson