Climbers climb and ramblers talk a lot ;D
I nicked this of another site.
The Difference between a Climbing and a Rambling Rose
What is the differnce between a climber and a rambler? This is a frequently asked question. The simple answer would be that climbers climb and ramblers ramble, which is largely true and probably enough to guide most gardeners when they are choosing varieties, however there are more precise differences. Climbers flower on growth produced earlier in the year where as ramblers flower on the growth they made the previous year. Many climbers flower repeatedly or continuously throughout the summer whilst ramblers have just one flush, often followed by hips. Generally speaking climbers are more suited to growing on pillars, against trellis or walls and ramblers being more vigorous, will cope with such demanding tasks as growing into trees or over unsightly buildings etc. In both cases, it will take up to two or three years before they begin to look established and sometimes this long before the very vigorous ramblers start to flower.
