Roses

Top 5 White Climbing Roses – Compare fragrance, disease resistance and more

Last updated on January 24th, 2022

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Whether you are looking for a climbing rose to climb up a tree, for a shaded north facing wall or for climbing up a pillar, there are many white climbing roses to choose from. Although generally put into their own group, rambling roses are also a good choice and can compliment climbing varieties if planted next to each other.

The difference between climbing and rambling roses

Climbing roses usually flower for longer periods of time and many varieties can even flower twice and year, whereas rambling roses generally produce one fantastic display, usually around June for most ramblers. Climbing roses also usually produce larger flowers whereas ramblers usually produce clusters of smaller flowers. Both can produce a spectacular show.

To learn more about different types of roses click here.


Top 5 White Climbing/Rambling roses

1. Climbing Rose ‘Iceberg’

Iceberg white climbing rose

This stunning rose produces pure white to cream coloured flowers and it is one of the most popular roses available. With a moderate scent and average disease resistance, this rose ticks all the boxes. Growing to 500cm tall this rose is perfect for growing up a wall or pergola and will flower from around June and will even keep flowering well into September.

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2. Climbing rose ‘Madame Alfred Carriere’

Madame Alfred Carriere white climbing rose

Another absolutely stunning rose that produces blush-tinted creamy white flowers that have been awarded an ‘RHS Award of Garden Merit’. This rose produces highly scented, large flowers that are up to 10cm in diameter from July and will flower into September. This nearly thornless variety grows to around 300cm and is perfect near doorways because of its thornless nature.

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3. Climbing rose ‘White Cockade’

White cockade climbing rose

Source: wikimedia.org

White Cockade is a modern variety of climbing rose and produces pure fragrant double-white flowers and will also grow in a little shade where other roses may not grow. With an eventual height of around 250cm, it is perfect for climbing up a wall or fence and will flower into October.


4. Rambling rose ‘Rambling Rector’

Rambling Rector white rambling rose ideal for climbing up walls and fences, is also good for cut flowers and has average disease resistance.

Source: wikimedia.org

This rambling rose is perfect for rambling up and over pergolas, arches and pillars. It produces scented blooms of semi-double white flowers. This rose will flower for a slightly longer period than some other white ramblers available and will flower from July to September. The flowers have the added bonus of being scented and have average disease resistance, grows to around 600cm and are an excellent rose for cut flowers.


5. Rambling rose ‘Wedding Day’

Wwedding Day white climbing rose is fragrant and grows very large to around 8 meters.

This rose makes an excellent gift idea for a wedding as the name suggests. This large rambler will grow to approximately 800cm in size and produces a mass of creamy-white flowers with yellow centers. This rose is also fragrant and grows best in a sunny part of the garden in well-drained soil.


Top tips to help when planting climbing roses

  • Plant roses approximately 30cm (12′) away from the wall and angle them towards the wall. The soil near a wall tends to be dry so planting away helps the rose establish itself much more quickly.
  • Before planting add well-rotted farm manure to the soil as roses are very hungry plants.
  • Most roses prefer a sunny site so look for roses known to grow in shady areas if your planting area is shaded in an area, for example, a north facing wall.
  • Climbing roses need a support to climb up so ensure you have a support frame to fasten the rose too before planting.
  • Even roses with good disease resistance are prone to black spot, rust and mildew so spray with a fungicide in spring with a quality garden sprayer as the new shoots appear. Prevention is better than cure.

Other articles on roses you may be interested in:

If you want to take rose cuttings, follow our step-by-step guide here.

Have a look at our top 10 climbing roses here

If you want to know when to plants climbing roses to give them the best start have a read of our guide here.

Last update on 2024-04-06 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Welcome to my site, my name is John and I have been lucky enough to work in horticultural nurseries for over 15 years in the UK. As the founder and editor as well as researcher, I have a City & Guilds Horticultural Qualifications which I proudly display on our About us page. I now work full time on this website where I review the very best gardening products and tools and write reliable gardening guides. Behind this site is an actual real person who has worked and has experience with the types of products we review as well as years of knowledge on the topics we cover from actual experience. You can reach out to me at john@pyracantha.co.uk

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