Do Rose Vines Harm Oak Trees?

Roses and Oaks

• The most difficult part about training a climbing or rambling rose to clamber up a tree is making sure that the young rose gets enough light to flourish. Small to medium deciduous trees, like fruit trees, have open (rather than dense) canopies, which admit light to the rose. Mature oak trees generally have high canopies, allowing more light than trees with low canopies. The problem with big, older oaks is that they also have large roots that may make it difficult to find a big enough planting pocket for the rosebush.

Planting

• The rules for planting a climbing rose near an oak are the same as for any rose. Choose the side of the oak that gets the most sunlight and situate the plant in a deep pocket between roots. Water and feed regularly, as the rose is in competition with the oak for nutrients. Roses do not have tendrils or Velcro-like pads that help affix them to trees, so they must be trained on wires connected to ground stakes on the bottom and low branches on top. Eventually the thorns on some roses also help the plants stay in place.

Oak Advantages

• Since oaks are deciduous, roses planted near them and intended to climb them can get considerable sunlight in the early spring. In most climates, roses break dormancy and begin to leaf out and grow new shoots before deciduous trees begin the process of new leaf growth. If you are planting a climbing rose by an oak, do so as early as the ground can be worked in spring, after all danger of frost has passed, to give the plant the best chance at first-year growth.

Tree Killers

• Roses harm oak trees only when the tree in question is relatively small and weak and the rose is large and very heavy. If this begins to be a problem with an oak, prune the rose after it blooms to keep it from growing too large. Other vining plants are more problematic. Poison ivy is a parasitic plant that steals nutrients from its host tree. Wisteria is not parasitic, but the weight of the vigorous climber can bring down a small tree over time. Wisteria can also completely envelope a larger tree, blocking the sunlight necessary for photosynthesis.