Bourbon Rose 'Zephirine Drouhin'

Does anyone know how the rose would do in complete shade? I need something to climb an arbor and would love to have flowers. I have 4 hu...Read Morege oak trees in my backyard, so I literally have no sunlight. Maybe a little filtered sunlight at times. Thanks!

In Boston this has a reputation for being a mildew magnet. I used to maintain one in part shade that was usually covered in powdery milde...Read Morew.

I planted two this year, and they both defoliated from black spot. One now has a lot of dieback and looks as if it probably won't make it through the winter (this one gets weekly fungicide spray).

I am growing this rose in the central Va piedmont where we have tons of humidity and it is a blooming MONSTER. It was slow to take off p...Read Moreartly due to the deer nibbling at it, but now at 8' tall it is unstoppable. I had intended to weave it through a fence but there is no way it will slow down and be prissy like that. It is covered with blooms and scents the entire garden area. It is in its third year. I will post a picture of this beast.

Does really well in the heat of the Las Vegas valley. Gets morning sun and late afternoon shade. Is on a trellis against a west facing wa...Read Morell, but the east side of the house. Does get aphids. Have not seen blackspot here, but we are so dry that is not really a problem.

If you don't mind the blandly green foliage and are OK with candy heart pink, this is a very good medium-sized climber. It is nicely scen...Read Moreted, basically thornless, and resistant to pretty much everything. Even here in the Black Spot Capital of the USA it is only mildly troubled by it.

Lovely plant when it flowers, but in the site where I keep it, it stays evergreen as it never goes below 0C.. not entirely sure that's go...Read Moreod for a rose.. and waiting to see if it will die eventually.

Hope not though, it's got beautiful blooms and a great scent.

Last sping (2011) I planted a small two-year old own root specimen. It took off almost immediately and gave a nice floral display in May...Read More. Very little rebloom occurred, which may have been due to the horrendously hot summer we endured, or perhaps to the partial shade situation. The foliage remained quite healthy without spraying (I picked off yellowing leaves as they occurred) and the plant is much bigger. I am looking forward to this spring's display.

Reading this whole thread on Zephrine, it seems like it doesn't want too much sun & heat or too much fertilizer. I adore mine- growing a...Read Moregainst a 4ft fence & getting am sun then shade then partial hot aft sun in Michigan. After 5 yrs is now @ 17 ft tall & would grow taller, except I have trained it over an arch by simply tying it where I want it to grow with cloth strips & now bungee cords because it's so big. It has some dieback of canes after our zone 5 winter. I just take care to cut out the dead canes from the bottom. Also, it wants to grow a lot of cross canes that would saw on each other, so I thin it out from the bottom in spring and shape the sides to enhance that vase-like shape people mention. i had the blackspot, but then I stopped fertilizing so much, kept the ground below religiously clean, and --here's the real secret, I think-- I spray with natural Neem oil a couple times in spring a few weeks apart as buds are forming. Mine blooms all of June, then stops, then reblooms towards fall a little. And it depends on the year too. I have it intertwined with dark purple clematis Jackmani & the clematis kicks in towards the end & its pretty awesome. Also, my neighbors all comment on the way the fragrance carries--they love it. ALSO TO WOTWITGREW IN MO--DID YOU PLANT ZEPH RIGHT WHERE YOUR NEW DAWN WAS?? THEN WHAT YOU HAVE IS ROSE DISEASE--YOU CAN NEVER PLANT A NEW ROSE WHERE AN OLD ONE GREW. Look it up in rose books for further info.

Mine is about 7 feet tall on the north side of our rose arbor, which doesn't get a lot of sun. This is it's 3rd year and first year to ...Read Morebloom, absolutely gorgeous and the smell is magic. I read about it in the profile and now know that it won't bloom again until fall. I should have taken pictures. It is the perfect rose for the location. We tried Don Juan and not enough sun for it. Zepherine is very happy and we are well-pleased. It does have tiny spines on the small branches, though.

I have one planted on a trellis along the W. side of our brick house with hose irrigation. It is easily over 12 feet tall. I have to p...Read Morerune at least twice a year as it will easily overgrow the wall, which also has New Dawn intertwined amoung it. STUNNING spring dispaly & then nice sporadic bloom after that as I fertilize & amend the soil. No problems with black spot, but do spray for powdery mildew. WIth no thorns, it makes it very easy to prune & maintain.

Everyone says what a great plant this is, and I must be doing something terribly wrong.
I had a "New Dawn" rose by my walkway, a...Read Morend it grew so large that kids were cutting themselves on the thorns when they passed, so I cut it down -- It broke my heart to do that!!!
Then I saw the "nearly thornless" comments about this rose so I bought it to replace my lovely old standard, but this rose WILL NOT grow! It gets about ten inches in height, with VERY small canes, and then stays that size all summer. It dies back in winter, and then grows ten inches again. It has done this for the past two years, and I am going to give up and plant the New Dawn again.
Least you think I am unable to grow roses, I have over 40 hybrid teas and 15 other rose varieties (old country roses, shrub, climbers, etc.) in my yard. Zephirine Drouhin gets the same love and attention that they all get!!!

What am I doing wrong????

I had planned to pull this out after its gorgeous bloom this year, as it is the only rose I have that gets black spot EVERY year. After ...Read Moreprolific blooming in April-May, it begins dropping leaves....even if I spray it weekly for weeks. I am surprised to see that so many in this forum find it resistant to black spot. Mine gets a lot of sun from noon till evening. I live in a humid area, however (SC). It is so pretty and so full of blooms just now, that I do not have the heart to get rid of it. Maybe I will try one more year with the spraying, and pull it up in the fall if I am not successful.

I have two Zephs and they bloom a little but not much.

I think part of the issue with the blooms is that I pruned too oft...Read Moreen at first trying to "train" the Zeph over an arbor.

I have since learned that they prefer to "fountain" naturally. Not sure what to believe, but I am trying just letting them grow. They don't look like the ones in the pictures on DG, I can tell you that! Mine are lanky canes with not many leaves and it seems like there's a lot of dead wood on them. Is this normal? I don't know. I remove the dead wood regularly hoping the rose will respond. I use Rosetone and deep water. I have other antique roses that do much better than Zeph has for me. I'm not giving up on this rose yet, though!

Love this rose!
I had one planted in my back yard along a tall fence that never did much and eventually died.
However, ...Read MoreI have two large clumps of them in my front yard that amaze us every year with beauty and fragrance.
I'm sure I probably got them from difference sources, but pretty much neglected both of them over the years.
I do cut them back so they don't dangle all over. Hubby complains if they whip him when he mows.

Gorgeous display in spring and then not much again until fall. The fall blooming is much lighter than spring though. Mine bloom about the same time as the iris in the same bed bloom. Very pretty.
We've let a strong, tall pecan seedling grow in the center of the bed though, so I will eventually have to move my beloved roses or risk too much shade.

Sawpalm - When I first planted mine, I had a metal arbor in the center for them, but the hubby moved it when strong winds knocked it over.
Since then, mine have been growing without support. The canes are thick and strong and they don't really start bending over until they reach about 5 foot. I let some grow taller.
They never did really twine into a support, the cane's are too stiff. When I had an arbor there, I had to tie them to it.
You should be fine without a trellis.

I have a Zephirine Drouhin and is it fantastic. After three years, it is the best ever. Question, does it have to be a climber? I need ...Read Moreto move it if it does. When I bought it I was told that it would climb but didn't have to. Anyone have experience in growing it without a trellis?

My Zephirine Drouhin has been a carefree delight for over 14 years. It pretty much gets neglected, but thrives beautifully in a partially...Read More shaded area of my backyard. I have never sprayed it, but it has never been plagued by diseases. I remember to fertilize it about every 2-3 years, yet it grows like a weed and puts out a huge, gorgeous display of flowers every May (we're knee deep in fallen petals afterwards) and keeps blooming lesser amounts of flowers till frost. I've seen it described as nearly thornless, but I have never encountered a single thorn yet. A few years ago in the month of October, a neighbor asked for a cutting from my rose and she did nothing more than stick it in the ground next to her fence and cover it with a clean, clear glass jar. In the following spring, she removed the jar. She later reported that this cutting grew 4 feet tall over the next few months. Unfortunately, she then adopted a puppy who chewed and dug it up.

To Michael Madden in Texas: There are two good sources for this lovely old climber in Texas that I know of. The Antique Rose Emporium car...Read Moreries it through mail order and at their locations in Brenham and San Antonio, Texas. Their website: http://www.weareroses.com
Chamblee's Roses in Tyler, Texas also carries it, by mail order or at their Tyler greenhouses. Their website: http://www.chambleeroses.com

My sister in the Austin area loved this rose so much that she bought a second one. The fragrance is outstanding, and lack of thorns is definitely a plus!

Good afternoon--
I am in the market for Zephrine Droughin climbing roses and would like to know where to purchase them. I am locat...Read Moreed in Richmond, Texas and none of the garden centers have them. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Michael Madden

In NW Indiana I've found this rose to be much more resistant to black spot and pests than my others and the foliage is a beautiful deep g...Read Morereen really all summer. I also get a good amount of growth from the canes each year which is what makes me keep trying. On the other hand it is not fully cane hardy here and I've had the canes die back to the ground without enough winter protection. Also, I've had it for 3 1/2 years and have had only a few blooms so far. However I do have to say it doesn't get as much sun as it probably wants. I think this is a beautiful rose worth growing but in zone 5, unless your conditions are just right, there are hardier, more prolific climbers to try.

Our Zephirine Drouhin has been a big disappointment in not producing. It gets about 4 hours direct morning sun, then lots of brightness. ...Read MoreIt gets fed monthly with systemic rose food as do our other roses. Zephirine was planted in 2001, a bare root from Oregon. It took 3 years to get the first bloom. Since then each spring we get one blooming episode at the same time the confederate jasmine blooms; the rose is between the pool and a fence covered with jasmine. But then sadly, nothing but long canes. Would really love to have a continuing display of Zephirine blooms.

I have two of this plant. They both grow extremely well, is VERY fragrant, BUT very susceptible to blackspot. Perhaps they don't like th...Read Moree humidity of the Mid-Atlantic? If it weren't for the fragrance and the beauty of the flower, I would think about replacing it with a more disease-resistant climber. Note, I said "think" !

I planted 2 of these years ago on either side of my porch. Now they are 10-15' tall and completely covered in blooms every May / June. ...Read More They are not in full sun and still bloom. The one with more sun is larger than the other. I do not fuss over them at all - they get minimal pruning and pretty much no other care. They really don't bloom much after June though - very few and sporadic throughout the rest of the year.

It's a fighter, bloomed, developed black spot and recovered the first year. Came back the second year thirsting for more sun, (I have it ...Read Morein a partial sun area). It's flowers are long lived. It's tenacity makes it easy to grow and it does grow fast!

Get it if you can!! Of the roses I currently know, one of my top favorites.. Who couldn't love such a beauty without the all thorns?? S...Read Moremells like a rose should.. amazing. Lovely color and just lights up a trellis like a garden magazine show model. Strong grower.. I have one by my back deck and it just grows and grows. I have plans for an arbor and this will adorn it. It didn't lose all of it's leaves over winter.. How nice is that?

From Countrysideroses.com:
Zephirine Drouhin
Class: Bourbon
Bloom: Medium red
Size: 10 - 15 ft. tall
Introduced: Bizot, 1868
Immensely popular because it is thornless, this climbing Bourbon rose has much more to offer. Cerise pink semi-double roses have an intoxicating perfume. New foliage is dark red and matures to a gray-green color. Takes a few years to reach peak blooming but worth the wait. Zones 6-9.

Great for only two weeks in mid-late spring. Beautiful at that time. But, very few blooms after the spring season. I have it growing i...Read Moren a sunny area which gets sun from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. It grows very rapidly and I need to constantly prune it back because it wants to grow higher and higher. Seems to be weedy?

This is my second year growing this rose. Last year I had Zephy growing in almost total shade and she grew so much I had to cut her down ...Read Moreand move her. Wish now I hadnt moved her! Now she is in total sun and has recovered well from the SEVERE pruning I gave her when I had to move her.
It is a gorgeous pink color and the fragrance is incredible!!
She is thornless and so far I haven't had to spray her for aphids or black spot as I have my other roses.

Of the few roses I have, she is now my favorite.

Does well in Kentucky. I have mine on the north side of my house growing against a stockade type fence. Its very shade tolerant, comple...Read Moretely thornless, and has pristine green leaves untouched by blackspot, when other roses in my garden in suffer with it. It has a gorgeous fragrance, and blooms and reblooms like mad. Beautiful bright pink. Cannot go wrong! Bought another for my backyard.

Report from the UK. Grown by my garden shed, on trellis, sandy soil with added spent mushroom compost, fed twice yearly with rose food. F...Read Morelowers all season June-Oct. Cut back in late March and light prune when removing spent flowers. Damp conditions mean blackspot is a problem, but with this fabulous scent I can forgive this wonderful rose. This plant is on its third year and was slow to establish but now its got going its wonderful.

It's thornless, which makes it a great (neighbor-friendly) choice for a fence or arbor. We trained it on a wrought-iron fence and it loo...Read Moreked great, except that I found the blooms were a bit, well...garish. I love a good pink old-fashioned type rose, but this one had just enough salmon in the color that IMO, it seriously detracted from an otherwise wonderful set of attributes. I left it behind in the move, and probably won't choose it again.

Shade tolerant, resistant to blackspot. Has performed beautifully in Zone 5. Generous, stunning flush of blooms in late spring/early su...Read Moremmer. Sporadic rebloom in summer, with a reasonably good flush in autumn. Very fragrant, attracts passersby with fragrance.

Beautiful bloom in spring but very sporatic during the summer and fall. Perhaps doesn't like very hot humid weather?

In north Florida, took a long time (years) to start blooming. Fairly good bloom in the spring, then only a few sporadic blooms. Beautif...Read Moreul, but for our area there are better roses.

Hardy in Chicago area. Easy to grow. Bloomed early summer. Fragrant.

The height of this plant can extend to 15-20 feet. It grows in full sun to light shade, and blooms off and on from mid-summer to frost. ...Read More It's mildew-resistant, thornless, and fragrant.