Someone help me make up my mind. PLEASE

Ok, here's the deal. I have these Old Wild Cherokee Rambling Roses that I planted in one of my front beds a few years ago. They have huge long runners and everywhere they touch the ground they root and then you have another plant. Anyway, these are the same roses that the indians used to mark trails and so forth with many many years ago. The roses blooms are beautiful single pink and the entire thing is completely covered in blooms for about 3 weeks out of the year. That's it!!! Unfortunately, they are also covered with the most awful thorns you've ever seen. The thorns are worse than goucho wire, which is a type of barbed wire. I want them out of this bed. I've been thinking about just tossing a big chain around them and dragging them out of the beds with the John Deere and putting them in the burn pile. I've pruned these suckers several times but they are a death trap and reach out and get you anytime you get near them.

Now you know what I'm dealing with and here's the problem where I want the advice.

Do I get rid of them completely? Or do I use them on both sides of a project my DH is working on for me.

Still looking for the folder that the picture of the rose bushes are in. So I'm posting another rose, our great grandaughter Kamberlynn.

I asked George to cut down a couple of big Cedar trees and make me a huge cross on top of our hill near the road. This was suppose to be my Christmas present but the weather didn't allow it to happen. Then it was suppose to be done by New Years. The weather was still a problem. Now he's got the trees cut down and ready to put them up on top of the hill. Today I got to thinking about the roses and the thorns, and the crown of thorns they put on Jesus head as he hung on the cross. Then I started thinking about transplanting those huge rose bushes (severely pruned) on each side of the cross. If I do transplant them they will spread out over the hill within a couple of years. It will look beautiful when it's it blooms but only for a short time. I could get rid of them and buy some knockout roses when they mark them down and have them on sale. That way the roses would bloom off and on for months on end. Dear garden buddies and friends please be honest with me and tell me what you think I should do.

Dog-gone-it. I can't for the life of me find my photos of the rose bushes in full bloom.

my thoughts:
1. do knockoff roses come in climbing variety? ground varieties aren't going to be that tall.
2. even a cross made of cedar will occasionally need maintenance to keep from rotting in your climate. I know the kind of old rambling rose you are talking about, and no one's going to want to maintain the cross with those thorns around, they are just deadly nasty.
3. those roses are easy to start, near impossible to stop, so good luck either way.
4. there are other nice climbing roses that are long lived, gently thorned, and climbing, which might be nice on your cross. I grow Zephrine Drouin, which has no thorns at all, but gives somewhat the appearance that it does. It took 4 years of DH being around it before he was convinced it really didn't have any.

Boy you are exactly right. I never even considered the up keep of the cross and the roses covering it completely. It would be beautiful when it was blooming but it would be a booger to keep trimmed and shaped like the cross.
Maybe I should consider your Zephrine Drouin or a Sarah Banks rose. I think it would stand out more if I were to train a pink or reddish blooming rose on it. ??? So many things to consider. I think I will just trash the old roses. No sense in moving them somewhere else they will be a major pain in the bottom to maintain or work around. See, I knew I needed advice from others. There are so many things that I don't think about when starting a project. I need to learn to think things through before jumping head first into them. Thanks for your thoughts, now I'm off to google the rose you mentioned. Thanks!!!

Our windmill had an old Blaze climber on it and it was beautiful, though it had thorns. Maybe a more modern red climber with fewer thorns would look good on your cross.

Hi HJM, I had an old home that had been in our family for over 100 years. I grew Blaze on a fence out front and it was beautiful, but it too had those thorns that reach out and grab you if you get anywhere close to it. (grin) At least right now I know I'm getting rid of the roses I'm yanking out of my front bed. Bonjon helped me see the light on that one.

I wish we had a Big Old Windmill on our farm. All I have is a store bought one made out of metal that stands about 8 or 9 ft tall. I also want a water wheel for my pond. You know the kind that use to run mills and things. Ahhhh, I'm dreaming again. Thanks for your thoughts and reminding me about the rose Blaze.
MARIAN

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.

I love that swing and use to have one very much like it. They are sooooooo comfortable to set in and swing. I loved bird watching are just swinging and enjoying the gardens after working in them. Now I have to glider chairs made out of the wood instead of a swing. I'd love to have another one like yours. I'd paint it that bright orange like I paint everything else in the yard. You know even in the dead of winter with that bright orange out there against the dark green of the pine trees and other everygreens it makes things colorful and brighter. Everything else is kind of baren and colorless from all the harsh weather we've had lately.

I think I'm leaning very much towards getting a couple of roses like yours Bonjon. I may get some Lady Banks roses to plant along the fence. Ahhh always getting deeper into my empty pockets for more plant purchases. LOL

Thanks for posting your photo. At least you could find your picture of your rose bush. I looked for hours and hours through thousands of photos I have on my computer and I could not find them. Of course there are still tons of photos to look through too. (argh)

Happy Gardening or at least dreaming about it.
Marian

I think that if your rose bush requires alot of work, then it may not be worth it... This is one of the reasons I like Iris. They are not that needy.... the less work the better. Although I understand the symbolism with the large thorns, there are other roses that you could plant that will be more enjoyable... just my two cents. &:-)