How to Trim a Climbing Rose

A fully bloomed and flowering climbing rose plant can be an attractive accent to any home's exterior or garden area. Trimming and pruning a climbing rose is a necessary task to both keeping the plant healthy and in control. Climbing roses do not need to be trimmed or pruned during their first two or three years. This will interrupt their learning to climb and develop.

Things You'll Need

• trimming scissors
• gardening gloves
• gardening string

Instructions

1. Put on your gardening gloves. Climbing rose thorns are sharp.

2. Cut the dead and old wood from the plant. The old wood will be dull brown with gray thorns and will not bear any growth. Typically this is wood that is 2 years old and older.

3. Remove the damaged wood from the climbing rose. Wind, snow and rain put stress on it and can crack the canes. Do not cut all the way down to the base, if not needed, and if there is growth near the base.

4. Take out canes that have fallen off or seem to be inhibiting the climbing rose's growth. These include any canes that are crisscrossing or running together. If there is a conflict between two canes, remove the one that seems not to be climbing as well or has less growth sprouting from it.

5. Take out the suckers if there are any.

6. Trim the lateral rose shoots, taking away two to three buds.

7. Examine the climbing rose. If there is an imbalance to its structure such as its growth being lopsided, then reposition the canes.

8. Cut the pieces of rose can that seem to be out of control or are lost in their direction. Trim them to about two to three inches from the base. Do this only if there is no other alternative such as moving them.

9. Tie the loose pieces to the arbor or structure if you are using one. Use the gardening string to tie the loose pieces down.

Tips & Warnings

• Remove about a fourth to a third of the plant as a general rule of thumb. A blooming climber only needs to be pruned right after it flowers. Climbing rose grows and blooms better if it is horizontal.

References

• Video on Trimming, Pruning Climbing Rose
• Rose Gardening Made Easy