Patio climbing roses have been around for many years with the last 20 years seeing a number of varieties released from English Rose Breeder Chris Warner. These have become popular with their smaller blooms and generally more contained growth habit making them ideal for small gardens. This month, we feature one of the best
‘Sugar Plum’ is one of the first roses to flower each season and produces small, well formed blooms of magenta purple – a hard colour to describe but certainly nothing like it in the patio climbers and even in large flowering modern climbers. The blooms are produced singly or in small clusters over the season and is quick to repeat. There is some fragrance from the blooms. Generally trouble free and easy to grow in any garden. Train it horizontally along a fence or pergola to get the best from it, or wrap the canes around a pillar if growing vertically.
Bred by Chris Warner from ‘Laura Ford’ x ‘Big Purple’, it won a Certificate of Merit from the NZRS Rose Trials in 1999 and is rated 3rd most popular patio climber by NZRS members for 2015 – 16. Readily available, it is well worth growing in your garden.
Read more about Patio Climbing Roses here
