Zone: 8b

Sun: Full Sun

Bloom: Repeat, vigorous blooming, spring to fall

Color: True yellow which holds it's color for more than a day

Maintenance Requirements: NO spraying, little upkeep

She currently has a few shrub roses which are yellow -- Julia Childs and Carefree. Both are fairly vigorous, repeat bloomers BUT their YELLOW color fades within a day typically.

While we hope Mother lives for another 20+ years, we prefer a rose which will reach it's potential within a couple of years.

You may have seen my post earlier about Rosa Lee & Durham. These roses are cuttings from a rose my Grandfather planted around 1950. Luckily Mother's friend was able to successfully take 2 cuttings from it during it's last year of life 2 years ago.

Here are some pictures of them. Believe it or not, only 2 years after rooting.

From Rose Durham & Rosa Lee

And here.

From Rose Durham & Rosa Lee

These have grown really well in the 2 years since rooting.

We would like to see similar performance in a yellow climber for her.

Potentials that I have looked at are Teasing Georgia Climber and Graham Thomas Climber.

Just remember, it is HOT during our summers. I can get drip irrigation to the roses but they will be in FULL SUN with July and August temperatures regularly reaching 95 degrees during the afternoon.

Thank you very much in advance for your assistance.

Jackie

I believe I've seen Graham Thomas make a very small 5-6 feet climber even up here north of Boston (& then die back to almost nothing during a particularly harsh winter).

milieu serene, are you familiar with the Climbing Tea (vs. "Hybrid Tea") & Noisette roses? They are older roses that often, but not always, have a more relaxed flower form, yet they also often have the advantage of being bred from wild roses that naturally grow in a climate not unlike yours. In fact, the first Noisette rose came from a South Carolina plantation, back in the early 19th Century (or late 18th). They are all dependable rebloomers, even in hot summers, and it's not unusual for them to suffer little from diseases when grown in warm/hot, humid climates (the advantage of being bred from wild roses of the semi-tropics).

If you aren't familiar with them, I encourage you to also take this question of yours over to the Antique Rose Forum. There you're bound to get good answers from other rosarians in the Southeast who can give you good recommendations about yellow Tea & Noisette roses that will handle your climate well. (Oh, and yes, a good number of the Noisette & Tea roses are varying shades of yellow, or yellow with pink &/or orange.)

In the Southeast where you live you have access to a whole raft of beautiful reblooming climbing roses I can't grow because they won't tolerate my cold climate, but they'll love yours!)

I will follow your advice and post my request in the Antique Rose Forum.

Good luck. Any of these should meet your needs and your mother's. These roses need little water once established, are healthy- no need to spray, and can take summer heat, tho' they may not bloom during the hot part of summer, especially the first few years.

Jill