Covet these climbers
The trouble starts if you grow some older varieties still for sale for sentimental reasons. In truth, they’re more hard work than they’re worth. One ‘classic’ rose that’s prone to disease is the pink climber ‘Zéphirine Drouhin’, which is a martyr to mildew. Much healthier climbers include the ‘patio’ climbers, which have small leaves but show exceptional health and are perfect for growing through obelisks or against a trellis. Try the delicately coloured, salmon-pink, peachy ‘Coral Seas’, which can grow to 2.5m (8¼ft), or the apricot-orange, perfumed climber ‘Scent from Heaven’, which is a similar height and received the Rose of the Year award in 2017, with the assurance from the breeder that ‘you’ll never have to spray it’.