Olympic Flame Climbing Roses

• Variety: Olympic Flame, a big red climber with a yellow eye
• Type: Climbing
• Colour: Crimson-red, pale yellow centre
• Fragrance: Light
• Height: 300-400cm (10-13ft)
• Spread: To 240cm (8ft)
• Flowering: June to October, repeat-flowering
• Disease resistance: Good
• Pruning: Late February: shorten flowered side shoots by two thirds and tie in the new growth
• Good for: Arches, pergolas, obelisks and big sunny walls
• Container suitable: No, this one needs open ground
• Similar varieties: Westerland (apricot, half the height, strongly scented), Etoile de Hollande (deep crimson, very strong scent)
• Sold as: Premium 4 litre potted plants, grown for us by specialist rose growers
• Plant: Year-round, whenever the soil is not frozen
• Delivered: All year. Collection from Castle Cary also available

Olympic Flame is a vigorous climbing rose carrying clusters of semi-double crimson-red flowers, each centred with a patch of pale yellow, repeating from June to October. It reaches 300-400cm (10-13ft) with a spread of around 240cm (8ft) and has good disease resistance.

Olympic Flame: Red Petals, Yellow Eye

Most red climbers give you red and nothing else. Olympic Flame opens its semi-double flowers wide enough to show a pale yellow eye at the centre of every bloom, ringed by gold stamens, so the whole cluster reads as red lit from within rather than a flat block of colour. The petals are crimson leaning towards cerise, and because the flowers are borne in clusters rather than singly, a mature plant against a sunny wall carries dozens of them at once. Open flowers are easy for bees to work, which is not true of the densely petalled reds.

It repeats in flushes from June through to October, and it is genuinely tough: hardy to H6, so it takes a Scottish winter without complaint, and it holds its leaves cleanly through a wet summer better than most reds. The scent is light. That is the honest word for it, and if fragrance is what you are after, buy a rose sold on its scent instead.

A Rose That Needs Room

At 3 to 4 metres this is a full-sized climber, not a fence-panel rose. Give it an arch, a pergola, an obelisk or a decent stretch of wall and it will cover the structure within a few seasons; put it on a 6ft fence and you will spend every summer cutting it back. Train the main stems as near horizontal as you can manage, because a stem bent sideways flowers along its whole length while a vertical one flowers only at the top. Prune in late February: shorten the side shoots that flowered last year by about two thirds, take out anything dead or crossing, and tie the new growth in while it is still whippy.

Planting Partners for Olympic Flame

Red wants cooling, not matching. Etoile Violette clematis threads deep violet through the red from July and takes the same February prune, or pick another from our clematis collection. At the base, Hidcote lavender covers the bare lower stems every climber develops, and Rozanne geranium sprawls violet-blue through the same gap from June to October. If you want a second climber with the scent this one lacks, Westerland is apricot, strongly perfumed, and half the size.

Why buy roses from Ashridge?

These come from specialist rose growers who supply us and nobody's supermarket, potted into 4 litres and ready to plant the day they arrive, at any time of year. We grow peat-free and without neonicotinoids, so an open-centred rose like this one is safe for the bees that work it. Which? Gardening named us Best Plant Supplier, and if your rose fails we replace it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How big does Olympic Flame rose grow?

Around 3 to 4 metres tall with a spread of 2.4 metres, so it needs an arch, pergola or large wall rather than a fence panel. It reaches full size in three or four seasons.

Is Olympic Flame rose scented?

Only lightly. Every rose has some scent, but this one is grown for the colour of its flowers rather than their perfume. For a strongly scented climber, Westerland or Etoile de Hollande are better choices.

What is the difference between a climbing rose and a rambling rose?

Climbers are manageable in most gardens, mostly repeat-flower, and train well against walls or fences. Ramblers flower once, grow far more vigorously, and suit big spaces: pergolas, arches and mature trees.

Is Olympic Flame rose disease resistant?

It has a good level of resistance to black spot and powdery mildew and grows well without routine spraying. Give it air movement around the plant and clear fallen leaves in autumn. Our black spot guide covers treatment if it does appear.

When can I plant a potted Olympic Flame rose?

Any time of year, as long as the ground is not frozen. Summer planting simply means watering regularly through the first season. Our rose planting guide covers the method.