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Pillar-style Roses for a Long Pergola
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Posted by hartwood 7a VA (My Page) on Thu, May 8, 08 at 12:53
| (disclaimer: I went back and forth with myself, trying to decide which forum this thread best fits. I decided to put here in Antiques, since this is where I hang out most . . . and most of the roses in question have some age on them.)
I have spent my rainy day sitting here trying to sort out the many roses I still have left to plant. I will soon be building a structure that’s sort of a cross between an arcade and a pergola. It will have 4 x 4 posts in a line, set 8’ apart, 8’ high, topped with either wooden arches or a pergola-style ladder thing – I still haven’t decided which will look better in this spot. (I think I’m leaning toward the ladder-like top as of now.) As I was going through my list of roses, 9 of them seemed to be appropriate in this situation.
Compassion
Heidelberg
Isabella Skinner
Morning Dawn
Parade
Pink Perpetue
Pink Pillar
Rhode Island Red
Swan Lake
Because of the way the structure will be built, the roses have room to go straight up, then spread out across the top, if they need to. I’d love to hear from any of you as to whether you think these will be good growing this way. I’m trying to get an arrangement here of roses that have a similar look and habit to them – this structure is going to border the path to my main garden area and the almost-restored barn. It’s a prime spot. I generally don’t pay much attention to color combinations when I plant, other than to try not to put two roses the same color immediately next to each other. I’m hoping that the 8’ centers on the posts will allow for shrubbier roses to grow in between the climbers – I won’t be too disappointed if there’s not enough room to do this. It’s the climbers that I’m most concerned with right now.
In case we need some substitutions, I also have Blairii #1, Allgold Climbing, Climbing Goldilocks, Renae, Dancing Doll, Yellow Sweetheart, Laguna, Columbia Climber, Champagne Arches . . . but I didn’t know how these would match the look of the ones I have listed above. I have room for 9 or 10 in the space available, and I’m looking for a cohesive growth-habit in the roses I put here.
Thanks, Everyone.
Connie
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Pillar-style Roses for a Long Pergola
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| Compassion is a great rose. It has healthy foliage, very fragrant blooms. Colors, depending on the weather, can be cream, pink or apricot or some blend of any of these colors. Is Rhode Island Red is the same rose as Field of Woods? If the answer is yes, I have it. Mine is suffering because I planted in a raised bed trained on an arch but that bed does not get enough water ever, and we haven't had a good soaking rain for 6 weeks now. But it has clean foliage and the few blooms I get are very beautiful dark red. I don't grow the rest on your list. |
RE: Pillar-style Roses for a Long Pergola
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| Some of these roses I think would reach the 8 feet and not go over the top but that would be a good thing in a way. The roses on my pergola are all very vigorius and require alot of trimming to keep them from shading each other. Some of them like Parade and Compassion are rather stiff and shrubby though I guess you could get them trained on pillars. Renae will work beautifully. My Yellow Sweetheart has been so slow, like 4 feet tall in a couple of years. I have Pink Perpetue and Swan Lake. They're pretty and will work I think. Rhode Island Red has been rather shrubby for me but other people say it grows tall. |
RE: Pillar-style Roses for a Long Pergola
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| I'm glad that one of our reigning queens of climbers has weighed in here. It's good that I appear to be approaching the right track with my selections here. I think Field of Woods is Rhode Island Red . . . I had to get Compassion -- the photos and descriptions that I've seen make it one that I couldn't resist. Originally, my list also contained Apricot Glow and Coral Creeper, however, I noticed that each of these were related to Emily Gray and Dr. Van Fleet. They'll have the look I'm after, but appear to want to be much too large for this space. Now it has to stop raining long enough for me to get the post holes dug -- wait, what am I thinking . . . rain, baby rain! Mama's roses are thirsty. Connie |
RE: Pillar-style Roses for a Long Pergola
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I have Rhode Island Red from Vintage and Field of Woods from Rogue Valley and they are different roses. I don't know, Could it be that I just got a mislabled rose from one of the places? Both are red and fragrant, but the color (shade of red) is different, fragrance is different and the leaves are different. Both get BS in my garden, but not too bad.
Olga |
RE: Pillar-style Roses for a Long Pergola
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| So Olga, which one do you like best? And which one has the strongest fragrance? |
RE: Pillar-style Roses for a Long Pergola
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| Make sure Parade has room to grow up and over. My friend tried to contain his on a rebar teepee, but it exceeded that in year one. Robert |
RE: Pillar-style Roses for a Long Pergola
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| I saw Olga's Parade last year, so I understand this rose's potential. I never did get this structure built last spring like I had planned. The 9 roses I listed are in pots, buried in my dirt pile, waiting for spring. Once the weather breaks, I've hired someone to do the building for me. :) Too much to do, and not enough 'me' to do it, sometimes. I plan to alternate the roses when I plant them ... big one, smaller one, big one, smaller one .... and so on. Connie |
RE: Pillar-style Roses for a Long Pergola
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Connie, before you dig:
There is actually a formula for the proportions for a pergola. Naturally, it was devised by the Greeks: The height of the pillars should be 0.618 of the distance between them and the width should be the same as the distance between the pillars. (From Landscape with Roses, pg 187, by Jeff Cox).
Since you are going to model the perfect pillar roses, you might as well model the perfect pergola. Can't wait to see it.
Catsrose |
RE: Pillar-style Roses for a Long Pergola
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| catsrose, that's such a cool idea! This structure isn't really a pergola, in the sense that there's two rows of posts, parallel to one another, with connecting beams above. It's more of an arcade ... but when I tell people that I'm building an arcade, they picture video games. :) As I sit here with my calculator, though, I find that it's not possible to use this formula for this structure. I changed the design so the posts are now going to be 6' apart (to add more roses, of course). If I calculated things correctly, the posts would only be 3.7' high. (?) I'm going with a different sort of historic model ... vertical emphasis, with big corner braces that make the openings between the posts resemble Gothic arches. Connie |
RE: Pillar-style Roses for a Long Pergola
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| Hi Connie, I see this was an older thread, so I'm not sure if you've already planted it, but just wanted to offer I can't see Compassion growing on a pergola like you're describing. I always see it listed as a climber, but the canes are so sturdy it just seems easiest to grow it as a freestanding shrub. (I transplanted mine away from the trellis I'd planned because I was tired of fighting with it.) LOVE the fragrance, one of my favorites, (sort of sweet similar to HT's Tiffany or Elle, for reference) I don't get a lot of blooms from it (6? years old) but I really love it. Hope that helps
Dawn |
RE: Pillar-style Roses for a Long Pergola
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| I hope you'll post some photos when you finish this project. A long pergola like this is an exciting addition to a garden. |
RE: Pillar-style Roses for a Long Pergola
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| Oh this sounds delightful------I love Compassion and even though it can be stiff and difficult to train --I have been able to bend it over an arch----It smells good---no disease problems .Just wanted to share a few pictures 
Good Luck---
Florence |
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