Doesn't New Dawn have several descendants, at least some of which are much better behaved, but still have very beautiful flowers in the form of New Dawn (if not quite as breathtakingly perfect)?

Sharon,

One of my favorite climbers that stays well within control is Ramblin Red. It's hardy in my zone (only tip damage), very disease resistant, has a light, sweet fragrance and blooms all summer. The flower form is very pretty but not what I would consider breathtaking.

I have two Ramblin Reds, one on each side of my arbor. They were small own-root bands 3 summers ago when I planted them and they have grown enough to finally cover my arbor this summer.

Here is what mine looks like.

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I grow a New Dawn Climber which is extremely large also. I have to keep trimming it all summer in order to keep it under control. Unfortunately, it starts blooming in late June here and that's just about the time that the Japanese Beetles arrive. They love this rose so I don't get to see too many unspoiled blooms. Exasperating!

I hope you find exactly what your looking for.

Cherrie

I LOVE Eden climber!!!! It behaves.... :0)

Sorry to hijack, but Cherri, I just planted 3 Ramblin' Reds this year. Your pictures make me so excited - they are beautiful. We are in the same zone, what do you do for winter?

Great pictures of Ramblin Red-----nice arbor-----that picture should be in a book.

Florence

What Florence said. Picture perfect!
(hope youre feeling well, Florence)

Mine is under tree shade but wants to grow and bloom, itÂs like a climbing KO.
Speaking of healthy red, climbers that are not as invasive as ND are Wheaton Red and Illusions. I love them.

Wheaton Red
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Illusion
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sharon, where is your New Dawn situated? Do you want a climber that grows better upright, or horizontal? Threre's a big difference in rose choices between a rose that demurely fills an 8' tall arbor and one that nicely behaves along a 3' high X 10' long fence.

That Rambling Red looks beautiful. How much pruning and tying do you have to do?
york rose, my ND is on an 8 foot arbor and it's canes shoot 8 feet above the arbor. Probably I need to do more tying and clipping.
I am interested in how you fasten canes horizontally on an arbor so they will break and bloom.

Hopefully someone else can answer that. I don't have an arbor, so I haven't had to think much about that question, which is a very valid one.

Thank you every one for the compliments on the photo of Ramblin Red. I'm very happy with this rose. It's such a great climbing rose for people living in the colder climates. One of the few that will bloom well all summer.

Sharon, My New Dawn rose has extremely long canes too but I'm growing it on a large trellis which is attached to the wall of our shed. I can't imagine trying to grow it on my arbor. The canes are much more stiff than those of Ramblin Red which makes them harder to bend and train. The laterals are much, much longer too. I have a hard time trying to control mine and I'm not happy with how it is situated on the trellis. Most of the laterals have woven their way through the back of the trellis before I noticed them and are blooming on the back side of it. They were too stiff to try and weave back through to the front side. I really need to do some major pruning on it but I don't have the heart to do it now because I love the blooms and our growing season is so short that I want to enjoy all the blooms that I can. Next spring it will get a major pruning.

Ramblin Red's cane are much more flexible. Mine are not going straight up and over the trellis. They are angled to one side or the other depending on where they emerge from the ground. I train them to the opposite side of where they emerge. Once the canes have grown to at least half the height of my arbor, I start to angle them back towards the opposite direction, by the time they've reached the top, they are pretty much in the center of it. They are guided a soft "S" shape up the trellis. I'm careful not to have crossed canes so removal will be easy. Some canes are just inches apart from each other. I haven't had to do a lot of tying. The laterals are short compared to other climbers and I attach them in a couple of places so they have support while they are in flower. I remove any new canes that emerge after the 1st of August because these canes are going to be too tender and new to harden off and survive my winters. These canes wouldn't have enough time to mature and bloom before the cool fall weather arrives anyway. The only other trimming I do is deadheading and trimming back enough to keep the entrance of the arbor open and safe. This rose would probably do even better for you since you are one zone warmer than I am.

Erika, I must admit to doing almost nothing to winter protect this rose. I pile on about 6 inches of dirt at the base of it and then a couple of inches of mulch on top of that. I cut back any laterals that are loose so they don't get whipped around by the wind and make sure that all the canes are securely attached but that's about it. I really don't want to have a lot roses in my garden that aren't hardy enough to survive without a lot of fuss. I have some HT's in pots which spend the winter in my garage but that's about the extent of the winter protection I want to do.
You will love this rose. I must tell you though that the canes on Ramblin Red will not stay green over the winter. They will turn brown. They will look like dry twigs in the spring but do not cut them down. I made this mistake the first year that I grew this rose. I was so disappointed in the spring when I saw how brown the canes were. Everything I had read said to cut back canes that weren't green in the spring so that's it what I did even though the pith of the canes were still a white-creamy color. When it happened again the next year, I decided to not to trim them and to wait and see what would happen. I figured I could always cut them off later if they didn't bud out. Within a few weeks, red buds starting forming on the canes and it leafed out starting at the bottom of the canes and slowly working it's way up to the tips. I ended up trimming off less than 6 inches of cane from the tips. I was so happy I had waited but felt so dumb that I had cut off perfectly healthy canes the year before. Oh, the mistakes I've made as a novice! You may have already been aware of this but I wanted to share it just in case you are a beginner as I am.

Thanks cherrij,that really helps. Your expanation is very clear.I am not a rosarian and have felt somewhat a dunce on this issue. It helps to know I have just made wrong choices. Do you have any more "arbor" recommendations?
I hate to dig out my New Dawn as the flowers are wonderful but the nature of the canes makes it look ridiculous where it is so after this season I will harden my heart and dump it along with Constance Spry.

New Dawn is a singularly magnificent rose, but like any other plant it's far, far easier to grow it if you have the right situation for it, and if you don't you're probably better off looking for a replacement.

Nothing wrong with that. It's just one of those things.

york rose may I ask ( and think/hope it's not hijacking) : how does one ascertain which climber is best for an upright arbor situation vs. a 3 ft. long fence?

My favorites:

America
Blaze
Don Juan
Dynamite
The impressionist
polka
Soaring Spirits
high society

When is the correct time to prune New Dawn ?
And thank you,
salbwil

Cherrie - your Ramblin Red looks beautiful. I think I need one.

The only climbing rose that I have is Stairway to Heaven. Although the flowers are pretty, the plant overall is a mess. It sent out a long cane in the Spring and I just pulled it down and wrapped it behind the trellis. Big mistake. Until the weather warmed up I wasn't in that part of the yard and that cane was growing wildly in very unattractive form. I don't have much experience with roses so I really don't know what to do with it. Any suggestions?

bump
salbwil