In Search of the Perfect Climbing Rose

Roses are fantastic plants for your garden: beautiful flowers, a long blooming season, and often wonderfully fragrant! Still, not everyone loves roses. Many people think they grow too big for a small garden, or that they’re difficult to care for. But roses are actually very hardy and reliable flowering plants. And by choosing a climbing rose, you don’t need a lot of space. There are even roses with few or no thorns… Together with you, we’re going to look for a new climbing rose for our garden. This rose should bloom for a long time, have a lovely scent, and be hardy.

A second (climbing) rose

In our small garden, we’re already enjoying a beautiful climbing rose: Rosa New Dawn. We’ve trained this climbing rose to grow over the old wall near the patio. It’s a graceful, profusely blooming soft-pink rose that also has a wonderful fragrance. New Dawn thrives in both shade and full sun. For several years now, we’ve also had one of these (propagated from our own cuttings) growing on a hawthorn tree. This results in a beautiful, continuous bloom on the tree!

To brighten up the ivy hedge, we’d like to add a beautiful, profusely blooming climbing rose. It’s a space about 6 meters long, so the rose will have plenty of room to grow.

We chose a rose because there are very few other climbing plants that bloom as profusely and have such beautiful flowers as a rose. Fragrance also plays an important role in the choice. Since the hedge isn’t right next to the path or the patio, it’s not a problem if the climbing rose has thorns.

Our preferences and requirements for the perfect climbing rose:

• Abundant Blooms
• Repeated-flowering
• Less susceptible to diseases and pests
• Strongly scented
• Also interesting for bees and insects

33 Beautiful, repeat-blooming climbing roses that smell wonderful!

Our search for the perfect fragrant, repeat-blooming climbing rose resulted in a comprehensive overview, which we’d love to share with you below.

White and cream-colored roses

The following climbing roses bloom profusely for a long time and have a wonderful fragrance, with white or creamy-white flowers:

Rosa Guirlande d’Amour

A white rose with striking yellow stamens. It has small, semi-double flowers in pyramid-shaped clusters that have a delightful (and strong) fragrance. It blooms from June through October and produces small orange-red rose hips in the fall. It can be grown as a shrub rose or a climbing rose and is easy to train. Height: 2–3 meters.

Rosa Madame Alfred Carrière

A white climbing rose, sometimes with a hint of pink. Blooms profusely from July through October. The cup-shaped, double flowers are medium-sized. It is a strongly scented rose and a vigorous grower. Perhaps the most famous specimen grows against the facade of the renowned Sissinghurst Castle in England. Height: 3–5 meters.

Rosa Mermaid

White to pale yellow in color, with striking yellow stamens. It is a single-flowered rose with a somewhat more natural appearance. It reblooms very well. It is a thorny and (once established) vigorous grower that reaches a height of about 6–8 meters. Blooms from June through October.

Rosa New Dawn White

This white variety of the well-known New Dawn rose begins to bloom with soft pink flowers, which quickly turn pure white. The flowers are medium-sized and double. This climbing rose is also suitable for a shady spot. Height: 3–4 meters.

Rosa Schneewalzer

A climbing rose with white to cream-white flowers. The large flowers are double and have a wonderful fragrance. Height: 2.5–3 meters.

Rosa Sombreuil (Colonial White)

A rose with creamy white, double-filled flowers. It is an old-fashioned rose with a distinctive rose scent. Height: 3.5–4.5 meters.

Rosa Penny Lane

A beautiful rose with flowers ranging in color from champagne to white-pink. This climbing rose has large, double flowers and attractive dark green foliage. Height: 3–4 meters.

Rosa Uetersener Klosterrose

The graceful flowers of this rose range in color from cream-white to champagne. They are large, classically double flowers, measuring about 9–11 cm. This rose has a wonderfully sweet fragrance. Its dark green, glossy foliage persists well into winter. Height: 2.5–3 meters.

Pink Roses

The following climbing roses bloom profusely for a long time and have a wonderful fragrance, with pink flowers.

Rosa Brise Perfume

2–3 m. A rambler rose with a soft pink color. The semi-double flowers are small (about 2 cm), but numerous. As the name suggests, this rose has a strong fragrance. Although it is technically a rambler, this rose continues to bloom profusely. Height: 2–3 meters.

Rosa Eden Rose (Pierre de Ronsard)

A rose with cream-white outer petals and a (dark) pink center. This rose, with its classic appearance, has large, double-filled, cupped flowers that have a wonderful fragrance. This climbing rose grows to a height of about 2 to 3 meters. It can also be planted as a shrub rose. Eden Rose ’85 and Eden Rose ’88 differ very little from one another and are often sold interchangeably.

Rosa Gertrude Jeckyll

A world-famous rose with a pink to dark pink color. The large, double flowers give this rose a classic look. It is an English rose from the renowned rose breeder David Austin, which can be grown as both a shrub rose and a climbing rose. Strongly fragrant. Height: 2–2.5 meters.

Rosa Guirlande Rose

A rose with a soft pink to white-pink color. The small, semi-double to double flowers have a lovely fragrance, though it is slightly less intense than that of the Guirlande d’Amour (of which this is a mutation). This climbing rose has few thorns. Height: 3–4 meters.

Rosa Jasmina

This rose is lilac-pink in color. The cup-shaped, double flowers are medium-sized (6–7 cm) and have a sweet fragrance. This climbing rose grows to a height of about 2.5 to 3 meters.

Rosa Kathleen Harrop

2–2.5 m. This soft pink rose is a mutation of the well-known Zephrine Drouhin. This rose also has few thorns It also grows well in the shade. However, this climbing rose does not grow quite as vigorously. The large (9 cm) double flowers have a strong fragrance. Height: 2 to 2.5 meters.

Rosa Madame Isaac Pereire

A historic (Bourbon) rose with dark pink flowers. The flowers are large, double-filled, and strongly fragrant. It is a vigorous grower. This shrub rose can also be used as a climbing rose. Height: about 2 meters.

Rosa Parfum Royal

A deep pink rose with large, double flowers. It has a strong, fruity fragrance. This climbing rose also has attractive dark green foliage. It grows to a height of about 2.5 to 2.5 meters.

Rosa Perennial Blush

The soft pink flowers of this rambler rose start out white. They are small, semi-double flowers arranged in large clusters. It is a repeat-flowering rambler rose that grows quite vigorously. This rose is also suitable for shade. Height: 3–4 meters.

Rosa Zephrine Drouhin

A well-known dark pink to fuchsia-pink rose. The large, double flowers, about 9 cm in diameter, have an intoxicatingly sweet fragrance. It blooms early and very profusely. It is a thornless rose, which is also suitable for shade. The foliage isn’t in the best condition: soon after the first bloom, sooty mold appears and some of the leaves fall off. However, this does not detract from the abundant blooms. Combining this climbing rose with another climbing plant or shrub makes this less noticeable. Height: 2.5–3 meters.

Orange, salmon-pink, and apricot-colored roses

The following climbing roses bloom profusely for a long time and have a wonderful fragrance, with orange, salmon-pink, or apricot-colored flowers.

Rosa Aloha

An apricot-colored rose that changes color to pink or pink-red. This climbing rose has large, double flowers (about 9 cm) and a fruity fragrance. Height: 2.5–3 meters.

Rosa Compassion

This rose is characterized by its salmon-pink to orange-pink color. It is a climbing rose with large, semi-double flowers. The rose has a wonderfully sweet fragrance. Its dark green foliage is also attractive. It grows to a height of about 2 to 3 meters.

Rosa Ghislaine de Feligonde

This well-known rose is apricot-colored and blooms in a creamy white shade. The small, double flowers grow in large clusters. It is a strongly fragrant climbing rose. This rose is also known as a thornless climbing rose and, as such, has very few thorns. In the fall, small red rose hips form. A shaded location is no problem for this rose. Height: 2.5–3 meters.

Rosa Moonlight

A climbing rose with yellow-orange blooms that fade to a soft pink. The large, semi-double flowers, about 12 cm in size, have a delightful fruity fragrance. It grows to a height of about 2–2.5 meters.

Rosa Westerland

This climbing rose is beloved for its warm orange to apricot-colored flowers. They then fade to salmon pink. They are large, double flowers with a wonderful fragrance. This rose also produces orange rose hips in the fall. It grows to a height of about 2.5 to 3.5 meters.

Red roses

The following climbing roses bloom profusely for a long time and have a wonderful fragrance, with red flowers.

Rosa Etoile de Hollande

A classic dark red flowering rose. The large (12 cm) double flowers have a strong, sweet fragrance. This climbing rose grows to a height of about 3.5 to 4 meters.

Rosa Senegal

This deep dark red rose (almost black-red in color) has medium-sized, double flowers measuring about 8 cm. This climbing rose also has a pleasant fragrance. Height: 3–4 meters.

Rosa Sympathy

A well-known red rose with medium-sized, velvety red double blooms. It is a strongly scented climbing rose and a fairly vigorous grower. It reaches a height of about 4 to 4.5 meters.

Yellow roses

The following climbing roses bloom profusely for a long time and have a wonderful fragrance, with yellow flowers.

Rosa Dukat

A rose with a warm yellow color. The double flowers are quite large and have a pleasant fragrance. This climbing rose grows to a height of about 2.5 to 3 meters.

Rosa Golden Showers

A truly yellow rose that gradually fades to a creamy yellow. The flowers have a light fragrance and are semi-double. This Climbing roses are also suitable for shaded areas. Height: 2.5 to 3.5 meters.

Rosa Maigold

A beautiful soft yellow to bronze-yellow rose with large, semi-double flowers. This climbing rose has a strong fragrance. However, it does have quite a few thorns. This climbing rose is also suitable for a shaded location. Height: 3–4 meters.

Rosa the Pilgrim

A somewhat more subtle yellow rose, with a soft yellow color and a white tinge along the edges. The flowers are double-filled and have a strong fragrance. It is an English rose from the world-famous rose breeder David Austin. The rose can be grown as both a shrub rose and a climbing rose. It grows to a height of about 2 to 3 meters.

Blue and Purple Roses

The following climbing roses bloom profusely for a long time and have a wonderful fragrance, with blue or purple flowers.

Rosa Indigoletta (Azubis)

A “Blue Rose,” though its color is actually more of a lilac-pink. This climbing rose does, however, have large, double flowers that smell wonderful. Height: 3–3.5 meters.

Rosa Perennial Blue

Lilac to purple in color. A climbing rose with small, semi-double flowers in large clusters. It is a mutation of the well-known 'Veilchenblau'. This climbing rose is also suitable for a shady spot. Height: 2–3 meters.

Rosa Rhapsody in Blue

Purple-blue in color. It is said to be the bluest rose available. However, the color (as with many blue roses) is better described as purple than truly blue. The blue is particularly prominent in low light (for example, in the evening). This rose has medium-sized, semi-double flowers. It is a shrub rose that can also be used as a climbing rose. The flowers have a light fragrance. Height: 2–2.5 meters.

We chose this rose: what about you?

As you can see, there’s still plenty to choose from! Although we really couldn’t decide between Rosa Guirlande d’Amour and Rosa Ghislaine de Feligonde, we ultimately went with the latter. Beautiful, graceful flowers, wonderfully fragrant, and lovely rose hips in the fall, too. In the summer, it fills a large part of our ivy hedge with beautiful flowers!