Advice on roses - climbing ones

I know zip about roses, but want to get some climbing ones this year - need your invaluable input on this! AND, where to get them from!

I don't have a lot of climbing roses. Just a couple of New Dawns and an old moss rose which really isn't a climber, more of a rambler.

I highly recommend the New Dawn. It's very tough and vigorous and blooms all summer. Color is very pretty too - a very pale pink. Or check out some of the antique climbers, which are beautiful and have a wonderful scent you won't find in most modern roses.

Where to buy - Merrifield has nice roses if a little bit pricey. I've gotten all of mine either from Weber Nursery in Winchester or on clearance from Park Seed/Wayside. The bareroots from Park have done very well and they'll replace them if they don't. They have both moderns and antiques.

You might also want to check Costco. They often have boxed roses for around $8-$9 and they carry some nice varieties including some of the Austin roses. Lowes usually has a good selection of roses but I've never bought any there.

For online sources, you should check with the people in the rose forum. You'll be able to see lots of photos of roses and that will help you decide which variety you want.

Bec,

Send a question to Allan@carrollgardens.com and he will fill you in on the best and the latest in your area.

I have an Autumn Sunset I bought from him and it is truly a beautiful climbing rose. I almost screwed up one year by pruning it way back. Took 2 years for it o recover. Lesson learned! You do not prune climbing roses same as you would hybrids. All you can do is remove the clusters of spent flowers.

I once tried a couple of others, New dawn among them, but some of the climbers grow to 12' tall. Some of them also bloom only once a year. There are old ones and there are new ones. Allan will be able to help you out.

Gita

Gita - thanks for the info :-)

I go back & forth on roses, I love them, but I don't want to spray & fuss over them. Mostly, I plant Austins & the one that is the most vigorous (actually, I have 2) is 'Crown Princess Margarete', purchased last year, planted along a fence, I think I used Bayer 3-in-1 once early in the season, but after that they were on their own. They're both 4-6' shrubs & almost scarily prolific-they were purchased as J& P boxed roses early in the year. I haven't seen alot of Austins yet ( I got Bishops Castle & Janet in boxes this year), but later on, as the containers come in, before Mother's Day, you might be able to find a better selection...

Which ever Roses you choose, just make sure that they are highly disease resistant, especially to black spot which is very prevalent in the Mid-Atlantic area.

I just took a pretty good whack at my Zepherine Drouhine climbing rose... hopefully I didn't mess it up... but the canes were just getting out of control, and it was spilling out of its corner (with trellis), trying to take over the steps leading up to the deck. Now, I know it's virtually thornless, and I just bulldoze right past it -- but other people have been limbo-ing under it, so it was time to tame it back a bit!

BTW, I don't have the patience to fuss with roses, but I love this one... very little black spot (without spraying), and even the Japanese Beetles don't strip it down the way they do other roses. It's fragrant, and it'll even bloom in part shade (like on the north side of a house!).

Here it is blooming last spring.... I think I've got it whacked back to about this size again; we'll see how it grows out...

critter: Your 'Zepherine Drouhine' is beautiful! Yes, she can grow out of bounds rather quickly. I've trimmed back some of her canes and removed dead wood this past weekend, plus fertilizing. She is also growing along the north side of my split rail fence and I've trained her to go up and over an arbor gate. Bourbon Roses are notorious for getting Black Spot, so spraying frequently is a most! Her fragrance is sweet & delicious and I love her cerise pink blooms.

Ummm.... is ZD a Bourbon Rose? Pardon my ignorance, I really don't know roses... But I've almost never sprayed this one, and black spot has been very minimal on it (rampant on some others I've had, so it's not like my yard is some sort of blessed black-spot-free zone).

I took a bunch of cuttings and will try to root some, but I know zip about that (well, I know what I've read, but I've never actually tried it)... Becky, if I have any luck, I'll share... and if you want some unrooted cuttings for postage, rosethyme tells me they'll travel fine in a BE.

Excellent - I am with you, know zip about roses - and yes, I would love some cuttings - just send me d-mail with paypal info (if you have it) so I can send you money for S&H! Thank you much!

Zephirine Drouhin is a bourbon rose however it's pretty disease tolerant and not prone to getting black spot. I wish mine looked like yours, Critter. It's not doing well where I have it and I think I'm going to move it this spring.

Hi everyone, I have a ZD rose too and I picked it out especially because I liked the fragrance and I wanted something special for a location near our beloved pet dog's grave area. It is sending up several tall canes now and I'm not sure what to put for it to climb on. Any suggestions? I have it located at the front corner of our garage.

You know, the Zephirine doesn't touch the old moss rose for fragrance, but it's very nice. Wind, I put up a couple of sections of lattice across the back of my garage and attach the climbing roses to that. BTW, remember if you want a lot of blooms, run the canes horizontally, not vertically. The lattice is much easier for doing that.

I added numerous climbers a few years ago, trying to pick both disease-resistant and very hardy ones. My favorites, after living with them for a while, are:

Fourth of July (red and white with yellow stamens)
Westerland (sunset orange with bits of golden yellow)
William Baffin (part of the Canadian Parklands series that are super hardy and also floriferous. Can become a monster climber.)
Darlow's Enigma (probably the best of the lost for hardiness, disease-resistance, and fragrance)
Dortmund (red single flower and repeat bloomer)
Greetings (not really a climber; but a shrub with long limber canes that could be trained onto a smaller trellis or railing. It's my favorite for the large clusters of blooms; I've had had as many as 35 blooms in one cluster before; and that's not unusual on this plant. Picture below)
Veilchenblau (tolerates some shade and it's color is actually better with some shade.)

You may want to consider roses grown on their own roots, rather than grafted ones. Own-root roses can grow back after a harsh winter that would kill a grafted rose. This is particularly useful if you're considering some that are marginally hardy. Many on-line sources are available for own-root roses; and I have found more and more locally available in the past year, although their availability is still spotty out here in the boondocks.

Also, Rose Forum regulars have been experimenting very successfully with using Messenger to fight the effects of disease; so check those threads out, too.

mickgene: Your Rose "Greetings" is beautiful! It's wonderful that it is so floriferous!! I've always wanted to try "Darlow's Enigma" because I have read so many good things about it.

Excellent point about choosing Roses that are grown on their own root as opposed to grafted Roses. Thankfully, our Winters have been fairly mild for the past few years and therefore I'm trying some marginal Roses this year. I'm planning to grow "Elle" (Hybrid Tea), which is a zone 7-10 Rose. Does anyone grow it? It's suppose to have excellent disease resistant & good fragrance.

Are you happy with the Canadian grown Roses? How do they hold up with our hot and very humid Summers? What about disease resistance?

Spraying with Messenger every 3 weeks helps to prevent a lot of the fungal diseases that Roses are susceptible to. It helps to boost their natural defenses. Definitely a real plus!

Hart, what is the old moss rose? Also...my ZDrouhin rose is located at the front corner of the garage, I don't think I could run lattice along the side because it is too shaded. I wish I had a photo to post...it is just at the corner where the sun hits. It is sending tall canes leaning against the garage. Thanks for your tips :)

wind, I've seen gorgeous garages with roses trained on lattice placed above the doors, so the whole gable is covered with blooms.

Shirley, I haven't had any problems with our humidity for any of the roses I've tried except for Climbing Dainty Bess. The other Canada PArkland rose I have is John Cabot which is a prodigious bloomer but also a true JB magnet. And I wage guerilla war against those guys, so I wouldn't wish such a problem on anybody. :)

I just ordered three ZD last week from Jackson and Perkins. I hope that in time it will look like yours critter. I am planning to have one framing the corner of the garage, with the other two on either side of the front door. I still have to buy something for it to grow on. Since I have a brick house, is it possible to train it to just grow on the brick or will this cause moisture problems in the future. Also, would I be better placing in directly against the house or should the support be further out? Inquiring minds want to know.

They should arrive next week.

I don't know what variety the moss rose is. It's dark pink, which could be the common moss rose or several other varieties.

Hey, Mickgene, haven't seen you for a while. Good to hear from you.

Hi hart. I've been barely hovering along the fringes for the past few months, trying to wean myself from so much time on DG. But I can see you're still a busy bee. :)

pennefeather, roses are less susceptible to disease with good air circulation around them. So having the rose right on the house is less than ideal. And since they have no clinging parts, you'd need to attach screweyes and wires or some such contraption to have them right against the brick (or maybe that's what you were planning.) But roses on the brick wouldn't cause the same kinds of problems for the brick itself that something like ivy would. If the side of the house you're putting it on is either South or West-facing and gets loads of sun that would help keep the rose parts from being wet during the day despite not having circulation on that side, it's probably do-able.

I just ordered a few Climbing Roses from the Great Lakes Rose Co-op. 2 America and 3 White Dawn I'll be putting them on my split rail fence out in front of the house. I haven't had much luck with Roses. My Dad use to get me one every once in a while. But something always happened to them. You know my Son mowed them or the Goats ate them. Then there is my careless gardening. I do have one that has somehow survived. But now I have a lot more time and the kids are all grown up and the barn animals are all gone, so I thought I try Roses again. I

I too have a few White Dawn roses along our split rail fence...they are nice! I like their glossy leaves too. I don't do any extra special care and they grow beautifully.

I love my climbing roses; have them along my front picket fence(southeast exposure. My two Fourth of July's are very prolific. I also have two Blaze's-haven't done nearly as well as the 4th's but still pretty. My newest is a yellow climber-seems to be doing well & going into it's 2nd year. Does anyone know of a hardy & prolific lavender climber? One day when I have the time (& room!), I'd like to do tea roses. So many to choose from!
Pink daffodils: newly planted last fall & they're not coming up yet so I'm worried. I hope they start-very anxious to see them. I had purchased them from Breck's, along w/ other bulbs. The standard yellow's seem to be doing ok. Have to take into consideration usually half don't survive. I hope the area I planted them is not too dense as far as drainage. I really tilled well & prepared the soil the best that I could. Hope all of that work was not in vain...

Well, I ordered a few climbers, got my planters with trellises and can't wait to get started! I also ordered a bunch of Clematis to plant with the roses - I hope the trellises will be enough for them to grow on - I am "hiding" the garbage can behind the planters and will also plant one or two along the fence so I can grow them/it on it.

warwick3md, my pink daffs are in their 3rd year (also came from Breck's, called Replete.) They bloom much later than the yellow ones do here.

Just got the roses and clematis I ordered, looks like they will be spending a few days indoors! :-(

HELP!
My Weigelia (variegated) appears to be doing very poorly. I noticed a lot of dying/dead branches late last summer & pruned lightly. It appears to be almost dead now-I am not seeing any new growth or buds. This shrub is about 4 yrs old now & was just beginning to get some height & volume. Mysteriously, this is in the same area as my dying climbing (4th of July) rose (an extremely hardy & prolific species.) Any ideas or recommendations???? With this cold snap, it's hard to evaluate & I'm not sure about cutting back at this time....
Mickgene, thanks for input about the repletes- The pinks are beginning to grow & bloom-very pretty along side the yellow.
Stay warm gang (did see a butterfly a few days ago!-poor thing...)

You don't have a black walnut in your yard do you?

If not, check your soil. Is it too wet? They like good drainage. Any signs of insects? If not, get you a good garden book and start checking for diseases that could affect both roses and weigelas. The Ortho Garden Problem Solver is good because you can look by plant and it has pictures of what various insect and disease problems look like.

I think weigelas have a certain amount of dying branches every year, so it may not be anything other than needing a good pruning of dead branches.

I also have 2 weigela, 'Wine & Roses', in the front bed (eastern exposure), that I was ready to write off, but my boss said it's too early for them & to wait awhile. I agree, thoough, they look dead, even if they make it, since they're in the front, I may replace them with either 'Kleims Hardy' gardenia, or loropetalum.

warwick3md: I have a large well established vareigated Weigelia growing along the South side of my split rail fence. It thrives on total neglect, strong sunshine 14-16hrs per day and the only water it gets is from Mother Nature. Where is yours growing? I would snip off a branch that has some leaves on it and take it to a nursery. Perhaps it is being plagued by an insect.

Well, my pink daffodils, which are chromacolor and decoy, are or were just about to open. I guess tomorrow will tell if they are going to turn to mush or open. I might not see them until next year.
I have many climbing roses, but this is only my 2nd season having some and 1st for others. I have 2 Edens and 1 White Dawn in their 2nd season, but they were very small to begin with. The White Dawn has been more vigorous so far, and very healthy. I also have a Madame Alfred Carriere that in just one season has made it up an obelisk. Her canes are also very pliable and easy to bend. I guess the best couple I have would have to be Blaze which I got at Walmart, mind you, and they are huge, and 1/2 way up a large panelled trellis.
I do think an EARY start on Blackspot control is a major help, and messenger. I had bright green healthy canes and new leaves before this last whip of cold weather. I sprayed with both a few days apart when I saw the new leaf buds opening. I also had fertilized a little.
I'm no expert, like I said only a couple of seasons.
We'll also see if the new growth makes it through the cold snap.

Bec, I'm sorry -- I totally missed your post above about wanting cuttings! The cuttings I got are all really thin near the tips, not that "thickness of a pencil" that everyone keeps talking about, so I don't know if they'd be worth the postage to try them. I'm trying to root some regardless (stuck some pretty long canes in the ground just to see what would happen too), and if I have any luck I will share!

I got 3 Zeph. D. roses (big ones) really cheaply from Park/Wayside wholesalers last year, gave one to each of our moms and planted one in a new bed... This year, I keep checking but they still have their site marked "closed for the summer" (summer of 2006, that is)... maybe they moved to a new site or just stopped doing the wholesale deals, does anyone know? I think there was a minimum order of $100, but the clearance prices were just lovely.

Actually, just when I was ready to give up on the weigelas, they are leafing out, almost overnight, I swear I couldn't even see any buds on them, they looked dead! They're on the eastern side of the house, raised bed, not great soil, but regularly watered-since they're leafing out, they get a reprieve-even though I'm wondering if loropetalum or Kleims hardy gardenia might be better for this choice spot, right near the front door.

I'm waiting to see what the damage will be, w/ these recent cold nights. Many of the perennials look ok, but I think it's too early to assess the damage...

Thanx Critter - I have 6 or so to plant now that it hopefully will warm up, and another 6-7 coming I think! :-)
I don't think I have too much damage on my perennials, though some leaves look "gnarly" from the cold!