Rosa Golden Gate or Golden Gate Rose is a hardy, disease resistant climbing rose that has been awarded the RHS Award of Garden Merit for its low-maintenance beauty that lasts all season long. Introduced in 2005, the Golden Gate rose was developed by the German nursery Kordes as an exceptionally healthy climbing rose variety. The semi-double fragrant yellow flowers are produced from June to September, against a backdrop of glossy green leaves.
Reliably winter-hardy throughout the UK, Rosa Golden Gate will grow to a height of 2.5 metres when trained against an upright support, which is essential for a climbing rose. It is important to prune roses to maintain a good shape and health. Once the plants are established, prune annually in late autumn or during the winter, removing any dead wood and opening up the branch structure for good air circulation. Older stems can be cut back to the base to encourage fresh, vigorous growth.
Roses are heavy feeders and the Golden Gate rose is no exception. While they will tolerate any soil, as long as it is deeply dug and well-drained, you do need to add plenty of rich organic matter to the soil when planting, and thereafter top dress with well-rotted manure or a specially formulated rose fertilizer twice a season, first in March and then again after the first flush of blooms finish in early summer. Rosa Golden Gate was bred specifically to be disease-resistant without the use of chemicals, and so is an excellent choice for an organic gardener.
A climbing rose such as Rosa Golden Gate has many uses in the garden. Attach the growing stems to a wall-mounted trellis to clothe it in fragrant gold, or on freestanding trellises alongside a patio or courtyard for a lovely privacy screen. Train them up a pillar or doorpost to welcome guests into your home with glorious scent and colour. Two Golden Gate roses planted at each base of a metal arch, and trained until they meet at the middle, will create a welcoming portal into either a formal outdoor room or an informal cottage garden. Or, cover a walkway with an arching roof of blooming Golden Gate roses, creating a rose tunnel to delight those walking within it!