We have four climbing roses in the back garden.
One is Golden Showers - a yellow rose. This rose grows up the back of the summer house and has amazed us. It was cut down to the ground and the summer house was just about built on top of it. Since that shock it has come back stronger and healthier than ever and has an incredibly long flowering period, sending up blooms until the weather finally becomes too much for it.
Then we have White Cloud which we bought this year to add to the blue and white border. This rose is still fairly small but is showing promise.
Then we have a rose that we have had so long that I can't remember its name - it could be Crimson Glory, (a name that seems to ring a bell somewhere in the deep recesses of my memory). It's very vigorous and thorny with no real perfume but a lovely flower. It's been given the freedom to roam and is in need of a bit of taming and training.
Finally we have Compassion which is trained up an obelisk. It maybe is a bit too vigorous for the height of the obelisk but I manage to keep it under control.
We want to add more climbing roses to our garden and I have been going round in circles pouring over varieties, I think that I have found one that I like and then find it is susceptible to disease, has no fragrance or only one flush of flowers.
My problem is that I am in search of at least four or five perfect roses. As well as being disease resistant, they must have perfume and a long flowering period. On top of this I am looking for particular colours and we're not to keen on the really full cabbage type flowers. Oh, and I don't want them to be too vigorous!
I want a cream rose (not a pinkish cream) to go in the white and blue border. Many that have been recommended are lovely but too cabbagy and others when Googled hint that they may just be more yellow than cream. At the moment I am leaning towards Creme de la Creme or Big Ben (trouble with Big Ben is that it is exclusive to one company and I'd like to get all the roses from the same place).
Then I want to create a yellow and red bed so I am looking for a red rose and a yellow rose. At the moment my tiny short list includes, Etoile de Hollande and Chris.
The final one or two roses are intended for the cold frame courtyard and could be any colour really although I am leaning towards a sort of apricot. Maybe something like Lady Hillingdon. I quite liked the single Meg but read it can be susceptible to black spot!
Has anyone grown any of the ones on my mini short list and can give me some advice or do you have a favourite climbing rose that would meet my requirements.
Posts
I'm not a huge rose person so have only grown a few. I do love them though. I only have a pink climbing rose. I love it (Zephirne Drouhin) as it smells heavenly, isn't one of those cabbage flowered roses, I never have to spray it, and has no thorns. Since it goes over my arbor the last one is really nice as it doesn't attack you when you walk into the garden. It meets your requirements except that it is pink, not apricot. And a really vibrant pink too. There ends my knowledge of roses. Good luck finding the ones you want.
ReplyDeleteWe use to have Zephirine in the front garden, Daphne but it was killed when we had some building work done, As you say it ls a lovely rose but pink,
DeleteWith the amount of varieties on offer its such a struggle to pin point what you want. I'm after a few new bushes but am feeling dazed by the whole thing. I might close my eyes & use a pin to pick for me. I hope you get there.
ReplyDeleteIt;s mind boggling, Jo and obviously the sellers don't tell the whole story. I'd like to see them in flower before choosing but then the choice is limited,
DeleteWe bought White Cloud in flower but we were lucky as it was on impulse. We knew nothing about it and it turned out to be a good choice,
For your white and blue border I can recommend you the rose 'Penny Lane', it is a beauty with the perfect colour I think and in my garden strong and disease resistant. Etoile de Hollande is an excellent choise for a red rose. Lady Hillingdon is a beauty but it takes some time before it is settled, she also does not like hard frost. Meg also is one of my favourites and doing excellent, but flowers only end of May to June.
ReplyDeleteWish you good luck in finding some wonderful roses.
Thanks for this Janneke I'll look at Penny Lane. The red looks settled. Maybe Meg teamed with another rise that flowers longer or later. Do you know anything about Bridge if Sighs
DeleteI checked Penny Lane Janneke but photos show a pinkish white and I don;y want any pink in it,
DeleteI do not know the rose Bridge of Sighs, found it on the internet, but I think it is not for sale in our country. By the way I love the name. Funny about Penny Lane, on internet images it shows indeed often pinkish, but in my garden definitely not, it has a tinge of peach. I have only one other idea and that is Maigold, but I think you know this one already, I've seen it often in England.
DeleteI'm waiting to see how all my new roses do next year so can't offer any advice I'm afraid, it's hard selecting roses isn't it, so much can go wrong with them. Good luck with your final selection.xxx
ReplyDeleteIt is hard, Dina. At least there are less climbing varieties to choose from which is OK unless you find one that you really like and it isn't a climber,
DeleteI wish I could help, but our rose selection is so limited. I love the ones you have. They are beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThank you Bonnie, I hope that your winter isn't too harsh this year.
DeleteAs you know, I'm trying to make a similar decision. It's so hard to choose, isn't it? I like your photos showing your roses just beginning to bloom and then in full flower, I wish the plant companies would do the same. I find a rose which I think I like on the seller's site, but when I look on Google Images, it looks totally different. I've found one I like now, I've just got to make that final decision, but I'm still looking.
ReplyDeleteNow I have almost decided on some choices, Jo I can;t find a seller that has all of them and I didn't want to have to order from different places.
DeleteThe golden shower and compassion look really eye catching!
ReplyDeleteThey are lovely roses, Endah
DeleteI have Golden showers as well Sue. And I 'm glad it's very disease resistant and has fragrant. I have other rose named 'folklore' and one climbing 'Flamentanze' they are disease hardy too.
ReplyDeleteIt's a popular rise, Nadezda and rightly so. I haven;t come across the the two that you mention
DeleteI have found that looking-up a plant on the internet usually only gives you a rough idea of what it's like. Colour-reproduction on many websites is very poor. You need to see the plant "in the flesh".
ReplyDeleteThe trouble is, mark that by the time nurseries have roses in flowrt the choice is very limited and most don't have the choices that I want to look at,
DeleteThat's beautiful roses! They look so lovely!
ReplyDelete