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Proposal for a pergola

Posted by frances_in_nj z6 NJ (My Page) on
Wed, Mar 7, 12 at 20:24

Hi, my big new garden project is a pergola! It'll be fairly big (about 243 square feet, and about 8 ft high) and of course I want to grow roses on it. DH and I were thinking it would look best to choose 2 kinds of roses, and plant them in groups of 3 on either side. We were thinking on one side, something in the dark rose/cerise vein, on the other, something pink. For the rose/cerise, I was thinking maybe either John Cabot or Parade. For the pink, I was thinking maybe Peggy Martin. We want roses that would grow fairly quickly, would get fairly large (Peggy, I think, can get to 15 ft) and would be relatively trouble-free/cold hardy. Any thoughts? Suggestions? Ideas most appreciated! Thanks in advance!

Best,

Frances


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RE: Proposal for a pergola

  • Posted by seil z6b MI (My Page) on
    Wed, Mar 7, 12 at 23:40

It sounds lovely to me!


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RE: Proposal for a pergola

I've been pondering a pergola project too. As passionate as I am about roses, I have lost any enthusiasm for training/tying in/ pruning a rose on a pergola. I had a climbing Etoile de Hollande in my last garden, (maybe 8 years old with canes 10' in any direction.) The fragrance was heavenly but the repeat was not great and in particular, I did not relish training those canes in to our deck railings. I really could have lost an eye several occasions when those big canes sprung back on me--and EdH is not a particularly thorny variety.

So, flexible/pliable canes might be one consideration for your choices.

Or maybe a thornless variety so they wouldn't be so scary to tangle with...Zephirine Drouhin, Kathleen Harrop, Renae, Annie Laurie McDowell...

Or a once blooming smaller rambler (maybe even with hips for birds/winter interest?) that would meander and mound on it's own so you wouldn't have to be up on a ladder every year tying in canes at all...

Also consider how to maintain the structure itself (staining/painting, depending on your preference/style.) Maybe a larger group 3 clematis, (something like Jackmani?) that would be able to easily cover a pergola using a couple plants, but would also be easy to pull off all together for pergola maintenance as needed.

Things like Trumpet vine and wisteria are too massive/woody/tenacious here (which I also fear about the rambler roses!)

Maybe something like Appleblossom or Sweet Autumn clematis which would get pretty big--30 feet?-- but I think not be woody and thus more amenable to being taken off/pruned out once in a while for pergola maintenance.

Sorry I'm not familiar with those roses you mentioned and that I started into all the non rose chat! Hope this doesn't put a damper on your rosey plans, just hoped to offer some food for thought on a topic that's also been on my mind a lot lately. :)

Here is a link that might be useful: thornless Renae


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