Bridge of Sighs Climbing Roses

Rosa Bridge of Sighs - Climbing Roses. 4 Litre Pots.

A radiant apricot-orange climbing rose with nice dark glossy foliage to create an exciting contrast. The flowers are semi-double (good for bees), exposing the yellow stamens, and well-scented. The lower ends of the canes are pretty thorny, lessening towards the ends, which are almost thornless. To 2.5m

Browse our Climbing Roses or all of our Rose Bushes.

Features:

• Colour: Apricot-orange
• Flower Shape: Semi-double
• Fragrance: Medium to strong.
• Flower Period: Repeating June-October
• Leaves: Dark green, glossy.
• RHS Plants for Pollinators
• Height x Spread: 2.5m x 1.2m.

Growing Bridge of Sighs Roses

Good, well drained soil with a decent amount of sun is all you need, and something to grow it up. Roses thrive on clay as long as it is not too waterlogged in winter.

Did You Know?

Bred in 2000 by Harkness Roses, registration code HARglowing. It is named after Hertford Bridge over New College Lane in Oxford.
Dave insists on calling it Bride of Cigs, on the irrefutable basis that it's not fair for the second 'g' to always have to be the silent one. 

How to Plant Climbing Roses

You can order bareroot roses for delivery from November to March. Containerised plants are available year round. 

Soak your roses' roots or pots for a little while before planting. This is an opportunity to prune the stems down to six to ten inches, and inspect the roots to trim off damaged ones.

Choose a spot with reasonable light: semi-shade will do, but full shade will not. Prepare the soil by breaking it up with a fork while removing roots, stones, etc.

• On dry, sandy and chalky soil, dig a big hole, then backfill it with a soil mix improved with three quarters organic material, including compost and manure for fertility, and leafmould or our Rocket Gro soil improver for water retention.
• On good garden soil, adding some organic material is beneficial, especially manure. Dig a shallow hole, deep enough to allow the graft/union to settle right at soil level, and wider than the roots.
• On really heavy clay, which rose roots love, you do not need to dig: slit planting is good, and you can use organic material as a mulch on top.

Spread some Rootgrow mycorrhizal fungi around the bottom of the hole,  where it will make contact with the roots.

Arrange a mound on the floor of the hole to set your rose's roots on, so they spread out, and the graft-union is slightly above soil level. Backfill the hole with the planting mix, firming it down as you go, at first with your hand to fix the rose in place, and then with your heel to firm it. Dust some bonemeal on the surface and water in thoroughly. In the process, the soil will settle down so that the graft is clear of the soil. 

How to prepare and plant a bareroot climbing rose video.

Mulch well in spring, and keep well watered during dry periods for the first year. Deadhead repeating roses to encourage continuous flowering. 

Newly planted roses shouldn't need much rose food, maybe a dash on poor dry soils. When they are settled in the second year onwards, feed them during the growing season with homemade compost teas and foraged sea weed, or some of our Neudorff rose food.

Mature shrub roses need gentle pruning compared to floribundas and hybrid teas. Prune to tidy the shape in winter. First remove the usual dead, diseased and badly positioned wood, ideally cutting out whole shoots back to a main stem, or outward facing bud. Then remove the wispiest stems, and some of the oldest wood from the centre.