Choosing disease-resistant climbing roses is a smart choice for any garden.
They are long-lasting, easy to care for, and so beautiful!
Read on to learn more about disease-resistant climbing roses: their background, benefits, and 8 popular examples of them that you can plant in your garden.
What Are Disease-Resistant Climbing Roses
A disease-resistant climbing rose is a hardy variety of climbing rose that is able to resist common diseases that affect roses.
Examples of such diseases can include (but are not limited to) rose rust, mildew, and blackspot.
While a rose plant is labeled as “disease-resistant”, it does not mean that it is invincible when it comes to disease.
Furthermore, while a rose plant can be resistant to one disease, it can still be susceptible to a different disease.
Is Caring For A Disease-Resistant Climbing Rose Any Different?
No. While disease-resistant rose varieties offer a reprieve for gardeners, proper care for roses is still a necessity.
When caring for a disease-resistant climbing variety, we still strongly recommend that all gardeners maintain the same cultural practices in order to maintain fortified, healthy rose plants.
How Disease-Resistant Climbing Roses Are Bred And Developed
Disease-resistant climbing rose plants are cultivated using a selection and development process.
When plant breeders identify that a certain variety has a genetic trait that makes them disease-resistant, they try to separate that genetic trait and cross-breed with other varieties in order to develop disease-resistant climbing roses.
Common Characteristics Of Disease-Resistant Climbing Roses
You may notice that many of these disease-resistant climbing roses share many similar traits. Some of which include:
- Repeat bloomers.
With some notable exceptions (Apricot Glow, Jacotte) most of these disease-resistant climbing roses will produce yields of roses multiple times throughout the growing season.
- Vigorous growers.
All of the climbing rose varieties that we will introduce are notable for their vigorous growing habit.
Benefits Of Disease-Resistant Climbing Roses
- Reduced Need For Chemical Treatment
By selecting a disease-resistant rose variety, you will almost entirely eliminate the need to use chemical fungicides on your rose plant.
Long-term exposure to chemical treatments can have damaging effects on the longevity of your rose plant, as well as any surrounding plants that may be within the range of the fungicide.
In addition, chemical treatments can negatively impact the wildlife in your garden by deterring helpful insects such as bees or butterflies.
Without the need for chemicals in your rose garden, both flora and fauna are able to thrive naturally.
- Extended Lifespan Of The Plant
As we discussed in the previous section, a reduction in chemical treatments can contribute to a longer lifespan of the climbing rose plant.
Damage that a plant sustains from disease can drastically alter its lifespan, causing you to lose your plant earlier than anticipated.
- Lower Maintenance Requirements
Roses can be a labor-intensive plant to own, and disease-resistant varieties make caring for roses so much easier.
Gardeners do not have to stay as vigilant as they normally would be with a disease-susceptible variety.
While gardeners of all skill sets can benefit from disease-resistant climbing roses, the lower maintenance requirements make this a great match for new rose gardeners.
8 Popular Varieties Of Disease-Resistant Climbing Roses
1. Allegro Rose
The Allegro rose is a pink climbing rose that has a cupped, old-fashioned bloom form.
When these large, double flowers bloom, they often do so in small clusters throughout the season.
The plant itself grows upright and bushy, producing an abundance of dark green, semi-glossy foliage.
2. Apricot Glow Rose
True to its name, the Apricot Glow rose is a beautiful apricot hue with a very full, cluster-flowered bloom form.
Each rose can contain between 50 to 80 petals.
This particular rose variety will only bloom once per season, either in the spring or the summer.
The bush itself is a vigorous grower with an abundance of glossy, deep green leaves and its branches are protected by thorns.
3. Glenn Dale Rose
The blooms of the Glenn Dale climbing rose start off with a lemon-yellow hue and will slowly fade to cream as the blossoms age.
These white climbing roses have an open bloom form and have a full petal count (between 26 to 40 petals per flower).
When Glenn Dale roses blossom, they do so in solitary once during the growing season.
4. Jacotte Rose
The Jacotte rose has an open, cupped bloom form.
Its salmon-hued petals open up to reveal its yellow center.
These roses are semi-double and often bloom in small clusters.
Jacotte roses produce a high yield of roses once during the growing season.
Its vigorously growing bush has an abundance of glossy, dark green leaves.
5. Grand Award Rose
The Grand Award rose is truly grand with its very full, cluster-flowered bloom form.
Each rose has around 80 to 90 petals.
Grand Award roses are continuously blooming roses.
The plant itself has glossy, green leaves.
6. Peach Melba Rose
The Peach Melba rose has a bloom form that can be described as open-cupped and old-fashioned.
These flowers start peachy-orange in the center and slowly transition to warm pink around the edge.
The plant grows bushy and upright with dark green, leather leaves.
7. Honeymoon Rose
The roses of the Honeymoon mostly bloom in solitary, though they occasionally blossom together in small clusters.
These roses have a very full, old-fashioned bloom form.
Honeymoon roses have no shortage of petals, each rose can have up to 50 petals.
8. Pearly Gates Rose
Pearly Gates roses have an old-fashioned bloom form.
These plants are vigorous growers and will produce high yields of large flower clusters.
Its leaves are a dark green hue with a semi-glossy sheen.
Conclusion
With advances in rose breeding, there are so many different examples of disease-resistant climbing roses that it can be hard to choose the right one.
Disease-resistant roses are a fantastic addition to anyone’s garden no matter their skill set or background in gardening.
They are easy to work with, and will benefit your garden greatly in the long run!
