How to get my rambling rose to bloom?

I bought a David Austin rose last year, it is a rambler called Kiftsgate, but although it is growing vigorously it doesn't seem to want ot flower. Any ideas would be helpful.

How to get my rambling rose to bloom?
Rosa filipes 'Kiftsgate' is huge - and very beautiful. The original plant, at Kiftsgate Court in Gloucestershire, covers several fully grown trees (oaks and beech).





Anyway, it will not flower on wood that it has made this season. In common with all 'ramblers' it flowers on the wood that it made the previous year. DO NOT prune it like a Hybrid Tea, but leave it more-or-less to it's own devices, tying in the shoots as necessary, and cutting out diseased or dead wood. It's a species rose - let it grow as it wants to, and it'll look great.





It is not repeat flowering, so don't dead head this one to encourage more flowers. They won't come. Leave the old flowers on, and you will get a bonus of some very pretty clusters of small hips in the autumn.
Reply:Kiftsgate is a very strong growing rose, so I hope you have plenty of space for it. All roses flower better if you can train the branches horizontally. Also a good old saying is ,Feed roses in the spring to encourage them and then feed again after first flowering to reward them. David Austin does a very good Rose Feed which I always use. You have certainly gone to the right place for your rose. I have several David Aurtin Roses in flower now, but they didn't all flower their first year, so be patient. Prune it in March next year, and cut back to about two buds from the main stem ,and try to bend over the branchescarefully, give the plant a top dressing of well rotted manure every year, and I am sure you will find it will flower like mad, for most of the summer. Good luck
Reply:some ramblers flower early in the season some late in the season ramblers only have one flush of flowers. I feed my roses with tomorite it has potassium 8.0% roses need potassium to make them flower. or you could get david austin rose food 2.5kg (5.5lbs) 6.99 I hope this helps


is the name r.filipes kiftgate.
Reply:You need a good fertilizer. When you go to the store you see fertilizers with for example 10-10-10 on the bag. The first number is for nitrogen. Second number is for phosporus. Third is for potassium. Something with a higher first number promotes green leaves. The middle number is responsible for root growth and for better flower blooming and fruit production. The last number is for all around plant health. Try to find something that has a higher middle number on the bag. I recomment Miracle Gro Rose food. Its 9-18-9


Good luck!
Reply:Are you feeding it? If so, is it a feed for flowering plants? Sometimes plants take a few years to establish themselves before flowering. Also you will need to prune it at some point!
Reply:Some plants don't bloom the first year. Give it another year but definitely give it plant food in the Fall and again in Spring. I wouldn't prune it until after it flowers and then just clip off the old blooms down to a leaf pattern with 5 leaves to keep it strong. Roses bloom for most of the summer if you take off the dead flowers.
Reply:Patience may be what is need here provided you have given your rose at least 6 hours of sun, the proper food, and no pruning.


When you get a DA rose then you are getting a very young rose. Young roses and especially climbers and ramblers can take a couple of years before they bloom. I would suggest that you contact DA personally because no one knows their roses better than they do.





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Reply:Sadly Kifsgate only has one show of flowers and should start to flower June to July,and is extremely vigorous. Make sure you give a liquid feed early spring with a high potash feed and again just before flowering.It should flower the first year.