Climbing Rose 'Kiss Me Kate'

A strong choice with a beautiful perfume, this climbing rose is garden worthy. The blooms grow to an impressive 9cm across with up to 41 petals. The stems are well proportioned and great for cutting. This wonderfully healthy rose climbs with vigour, growing up to 2m. It is also noted to grow in tropical climes.

Rose ‘Kiss Me Kate’ rates a top 5/5 on our perfume scale. The Kordes perfumer describes it “Lovely-flowery this rose presents a fresh top note of freshly ground lemon peel. This citric-sweet aspect is completed by a fresh green apple scent. A ripe, slightly soapy rose note dominates the heart note, blended by the breath of a sweet raspberry note from time to time. The scent is underlined by a discreet impression of aromatic myrrh in the bottom note”.

Climbing roses are an easy way to add flora height and charm to the garden. These romantic plants look divine tumbling over a fence, stately on an archway, glorious on a pergola and charismatic on a pillar or post. They act as fantastic screens for unsightly areas and can enhance any size of space.

You can train them onto anything that they can be tied to, for example pergolas, lattice, fencing wire or frames. They won’t need pruning for the first few years (unless it is dead or unwanted growth), as they flower best on two year old canes. For best blooms on a flat surface the stems should be trained horizontally, or on uprights like an archway they should be spiralled.

The basics of rose care are simply ...

1. Keep the plants moist at all times, but never allow the roots to sit in water.

2. Feed generously, and frequently, two or three times over the flowering season.

3. Keep pests to a minimum (this is usually not a problem if you start with a strong variety, and keep it well watered and well fed).

4. Prune back once a year.

5. Keep the area around the roots weed free, and ensure 4-6 hours of sun per day. Loamy soils are ideal, though Roses will grow in heavy top soils (if well drained) and sandy soils (if kept watered and fed more frequently). For Roses to thrive, good drainage is critical.

When providing your roses with a supporting show and companion planting try and leave a bit of space around their root zone clear.

Supplied as: Bare rooted
Size: na