Irises: Someone help me make up my mind. PLEASE, 1 by bonjon

bonjon wrote:
Many modern hybrids on grafted stock have a 10yr life expectancy. Blaze is also old, and not that far removed from ramblers - it's got some nastier thorns, too, one flush of color, then not much. A darker red like blaze is also harder to see from a distance.

Try to find out the growth pattern for the rose, if you can. Different types of roses grow in different shapes. Ramblers tend to grow up a certain height then cascade down. Climbers "go long", can be trained in any direction but vary in how LONG.

I chose ZD because it's in a high traffic area (so thornless). It doesn't quite get full sun (it can withstand a tad of shade and still bloom, not many roses can). And it grows 18-20 feet long (so can climb up my 2nd story deck).

Somewhere I have a great photo of ZD in full bloom. This isn't it. It's only pinned up about six feet in this photo, then it sprawls. Roses do not vine up like a vine would. They have to be trained, have a support system. My FIL pinned a circle of old wire fencing around it and the deckpost for me. The one at Witherspoons is trained to a trellis, goes straight up over 15', a pillar of pink.