Mel's Heritage
I am really enjoying Mel's Heritage this year (its 5th). It has liked the warmer-than-usual weather we have had and the flowers are shades of pink and peach. The fragrance is amazing.
Catching the early morning sun:
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I have it espaliered against a side fence and here it is extending over on one side:
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A close-up:
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Thank you, Paul Barden !
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Jo
Comments (28)
ffff
9 years agoAgreed! When I was by SJHRG recently, I saw it and had to go look more closely, I was just drawn to it. It's a very unique rose, you could pick it out of a crowd by its foliage alone. Floriferous, and a real survivor. People who live in the Bay Area and are tired of the local Iceberg/Cecile Brunner culture should take heed.
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9 years agoThank you for posting those photos. I am still trying to decide if I can fit this rose in the garden. How big have yours gotten?
I had a spot but decided that Kim's Atmore Lamarque, more historically appropriate..... And since a heavy item hauled down from Placerville is sitting temporarily near by rather fitting rose for the space.
portlandmysteryrose
9 years agoJo, thank you for posting this. I plan to order Mel's Heritage and grow him next to Madame Alfred Carriere on a fence rather like your Mel is trained. He looks wonderful--gorgeous and healthy! I am looking forward to his fragrance. How's his rebloom been in your area? Great photos! You've obviously raised Mel with great skill and care and you're a very talented garden photographer. The colors are so crisp and clear. Carol
rosefolly
9 years agoMine just sat there and did nothing at all for three years after I planted it. I seriously considered removing it, but knowing that it is supposed to be such a wonderful rose, I decided to give it more time. This year is is cautiously putting out growth and has a few blooms on it, so I am encouraged. I think it had become potbound and suffered in the transplanting process. That is my best guess.
Folly
This post was edited by rosefolly on Thu, Apr 24, 14 at 11:08
Poorbutroserich Susan Nashville
9 years agoYee ha! I'm putting mine near a wall next to Msr Paul Lede cl and Juane Desprez.
Gorgeous!
Susanfogrose
9 years agoMine is in it's third year and doing well with NO disease which is a miracle here. It only blooms once for me which is a disappointment. Perhaps because it's in part shade with cool summers? Growing and spreading up a wire trellis very nicely.
Diane
Kippy
9 years agoportlandmysteryrose
9 years agoThanks, Kippy!
Diane, Mel is in your garden, too? We'll all have to start a fan club. That's curious about the nonremontancy. Mel has a rep for good rebloom. If I plant my Mel in partial shade, I'll let you know what he does. Maybe he just takes his time settling in?
Carol
bart_2010
9 years agoO, gosh, that is another rose that I'd LOVE to grow, but it doesn't seem to be available over here.I do really wish that Kim Rupert and Paul Barden roses were more easily accessible to those of us in Europe;well, to be specific, in the Meditteranean climates like Italy. I think that it would be fantastic to try these in my climate; they'd probably be so much more appropriate than, say, many Austins. But, alas,where to get them? Ordering them from the USA would be so expensive, and chancy, too, I gather. One American rose nursery will ship to Europe, but it's extremely costly and they can't even guarantee that the plants will be recieved in good condition,since they have no control once the plants have left the nursery. It makes me wish I was a buisnesswoman; I'd work on importing roses from the USA to Italy...bart
portlandmysteryrose
9 years agoBart, yes, the global economy hasn't quite reached the horticultural world, has it? I keep bumping into European things that would be fun to grow. I hope Kim's and Paul's roses reach a wider audience someday, too. Wish I had the resources to conspire with you from across the Atlantic. Carol
fogrose
9 years agoCarol, I believe my chilly shady garden is a world unto itself. I'm trying to be patient with Mel but after three years am not sure I will ever get rebloom.
Diane
jo_pyeweed (z9 SF Bay Area)
Original Author9 years agoThanks everyone for your comments.
Mel's Heritage is 5 feet tall, and 10 feet wide and less than 3 feet in depth. It also has a single 20 foot cane that I have bent back towards the plant and this extends the rose by another 8 feet. It's a delightful rose to train despite its sharp thorns - the canes are flexible and will go in any direction you want them to.
My Mel's Heritage was a really tiny band. It was a slow starter (all bands are in cool summer climate) but I was worried when at the start of year 3 it still hadn't shown much signs of growth. Then mid-year it shot out a few 4 feet canes. I put it into the ground at the end of year 3 and it responded by putting out an 8 foot cane. The next spring it added 12 feet to the length of the cane. It also had several basal breaks with canes 8 to 10 feet in length. The laterals are 3-5 feet in length and fountain over beautifully with their trusses of flowers.
Rebloom? I get an extended first flush and not much after that. I am hoping that this rose will get remontant with age.
I wish my summers were warmer as I really think this rose will do better with some summer heat.
Kippy - Atmore Lamarque. You lucky you ! Where did you get it from? I fell in love with Lamarque many years ago when I saw it at the San Jose Heritage Rose Garden, and I would love to get a rose with so much history behind it.
Jo
trospero
9 years ago@Diane:
"I believe my chilly shady garden is a world unto itself."It seems that 'Crepuscule' has played a role in determining the temperament of this rose, and as a result, it prefers warm & dry with good light to perform well. Even in my climate (where it was born and raised) I get modest performance out of 'Mel's Heritage' out in the open air of the garden, but the plant I keep in one of the hoop houses (plastic covered steel hoops) fares far better; IE it grows much faster and much larger, and blloms are of better size and quality. It seems to like the warmth, much like Teas do.
For me, I get three flushes a year with a smattering of random clusters in between, but I believe its because my plants have near-full sun exposure. I doubt rebloom would be great if the site chosen doesn't offer at least 6 hours of direct sun and bright, open shade the rest of the day.roseseek
9 years agoI would add to Paul's entry, like Crepuscule, being miserly with the water will also limit the bloom. Be "generous" with the water and he will respond in kind. Kim
jerijen
9 years agoTo be honest, it's taken Mel's Heritage a good three years to become a substantial plant. And it's STILL not doing quite what I want it to do. This rose REALLY wants to sprawl, for me.
But the bloom has increased 5-fold, this spring, and of course, the fragrance is beyond wonderful. So is the foliage. I love it.
I honestly think Paul is right about the Crepuscule influence. Our cool coastal climate displeases Crepuscule. Of course, we do seem to be getting hotter here, so who knows?
plan9fromposhmadison
9 years ago"It's a delightful rose to train despite its sharp thorns - the canes are flexible and will go in any direction you want them to."
Jo, that's a powerful recommendation. Except for Dorothy Perkins and Lady Banks, all my climbers have been willful hussies who refuse to let me control them.
Mel's Heritage is sounding better all the time. This is certainly Wichurana country. Most of our Great-Grandmothers' heirloom roses are Wichurana hybrids. Has anyone grown MH here in the Schvitz... I mean 'Steam Bath'... I mean, 'The South'?
portlandmysteryrose
9 years agoPaul, Diane, Kim, and Jeri:
Thank you for all the above info. I think, given what I am learning about the details of Mel's Heritage's site/cultural needs, I will place him in another spot when the time comes. I may be sacrificing my beloved Madame Alfred anyway since the time and resources to create a climbing structure aren't panning out at the moment, so planned companion Mel wouldn't have a structure for support either. My arch with Violette seems to be calling for Mel. Perhaps I see a love match in the future.Paul (and others growing Mel and Marianne):
I have a couple of questions. One, how does Mel handle pruning? I keep my Violette pruned so she only maxes out at about 9-10 feet each year. With Noisette in Mel's Heritage (I just couldn't resist that pun), is he adverse to my level of pruning? Second, since Marianne has gallica in her heritage, will she take some shade?Thanks so much!
CarolThis post was edited by PortlandMysteryRose on Fri, Apr 25, 14 at 18:49
roseseek
9 years agoI can't answer the Gallica question, Carol. I don't grow them as few will flower, or even grow well here. Mel's Heritage gets whacked here to keep him from eating his neighbors and to create access to the rest of the terrace in which he grows. He thumbs his nose at me and shoots out again in response. Kim
fogrose
9 years agoI'm just catching up with this thread. Thanks Paul, Kim and everyone for your comments.
I just came in from the garden where Mel's Heritage is just beginning to bloom. I think I'm going to fall in love again. Way more buds this spring and such a pretty pale apricot color. It does make sense that with Crepuscule in Mel's background that Mel would won't more sun and heat but even with only one flush Mel's worthy of keeping ESPECIALLY since those shiny leaves are disease free. Kim, I'll heed your advice about watering. I'd cut back on irrigating it figuring that it only bloomed once but with things warming up here who knows.
Diane
rosefolly
9 years agoIt has the reputation of being a good rebloomer. Very likely it takes time to mature into that behavior. I've had other roses show the same pattern, Louise Odier and Pierre de Ronsard as two examples. They spent several years as once bloomers, then developed a nice habit of repeating.
Folly
jerijen
9 years agoTHIS spring, it has bloomed up a storm. I now need to whack some sprawling growth and pull some larger growth up.
In our recent heat, the blooms went almost white -- but the real color is returning now, for an interesting bi-colored effect.
Some asked about the Atmore Lamarque.
It was given to HRG by the Atmore family of Santa Paula, CA.
Three Atmore brothers came to Ventura Co. in 1869, bringing this Lamarque with them. It was planted at the Victorian home built by Richard Atmore, and still grows there.
It is one of the roses that will be Silent-Auctioned at the Celebration Of Old Roses, next weekend in El Cerrito, CA
Jeri
ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
5 years agoBeautiful! I know this is the same rose Lisa has but in some indefinable way it also seems different. I suppose it's a matter of different location, soil, sun exposure and who knows what else.
Lisa Adams