Nick Bailey reveals his choice of the best repeat-flowering rambling roses
This special selection of beauties will flower for several months
Ramblers are among the largest and most floriferous roses out there. In June and July they can become so smothered in clusters of blooms that their foliage is barely visible. Several of them are scented and there’s a wide range of sizes and varieties in many colours, but they have a downside.
Unlike floribunda, climbing, English or HT roses, ramblers only flower for four to six weeks a year. This always felt like a bit of a let down to me – a huge plant that, although spectacular, only musters a short show.
That was until 15 years ago when I chanced upon a small and special set of rambling roses that do repeat flower. There aren’t many of them, but they’re spectacular with all the benefits of typical rambling varieties – and the amazing added bonus that they can flower from June to October. Now’s the moment to order them bare-root.
The first repeatrambler I chanced upon (and have planted many times since) is the near unpronounceable ‘Ghislaine de Féligonde’. It bears flowers in clusters, but each bloom is larger than a typical rambler, giving it more of a climbing rose look. Flowers open a butter-yellow with apricot hints and then fade through lemon and white. This transition means the plant carries at least three subtly different flower colours at any one time. It also differs from typically thorny ramblers in that its spurs are more like tiny prickles than vicious fishing hooks! It has a delicious musk scent and reaches 4m (13ft). It’s perfect in old apple trees and the like, but it’s equally happy on a north-facing wall. A seriously useful plant.
‘Léontine Gervais’ is similar to its French cousin in that it produces larger than usual flowers for a rambler, but these feel more like Noisette roses with a flat face of ruffled petals. Its colour falls somewhere between pink and copper. It’s great for large walls or medium-sized trees as it’ll reach 7m (23ft).
Somewhat smaller, at around 3m (10ft), ‘Rambling Rosie’ looks like a typical rambler with clusters of delicate crimson flowers flushed white at the base of each petal. Its smaller scale and summer-long blooming make it ideal for arches, obelisks or around doorways. But for a really classic rambler look, with the benefit of six months of flowers, ‘Super Fairy’ is the one to choose. It has similar qualities to ‘The Fairy’ but is larger, reaching roughly 4m (13ft). Its flower clusters are loose but so abundant that, at certain times, the plant’s foliage is all but covered. Try it over a shed or outbuilding where its abundance of blooms will mitigate any ugliness lurking beneath it.