Is it me? or is WILDEVE an ugly bush??

11 years ago

Year two on this one, and, although the flowers are not bad...nothing to write home about...this is an ugly bush. Seems to grow out of the middle and point outward, like a yucca plant. And not very gracefully at that.

I am not going to sp this just yet. Getting too hot in Texas for drastic moves, but, in that this is a prime location...in the fall I might move her. Just wondering if there is something I could do pruning-wise to help. I have tied a string around the width of the bush to pull it in a bit and give it some form. Tempted to cut last years canes back a bit and let the few new canes 'try again'...

...or, maybe this is just her style and I need to put her where she can be better appreciated.

Input? Thanks!

Featured Answer

hoovb zone 9 sunset 23

9 years ago

Wow this is an old thread.

I've had Wildeve--5?6? years now. It ended up forming a nicely rounded shrub after all this time. Still has great Rust resistance and zero mildew. All's well that ends well.

Comments (7)

hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
11 years ago
Here it is a low, wide grower, perhaps 2' tall but 8' wide. It started out rather awkward, but looks nicely shrubby now. Quickie snapshot from today shows the long canes that grow nearly horizontal from the base. Rebloom is good, though not outstanding, and very little fragrance. Disease resistance quite a bit above average.

{{gwi:278803}}

Flowers from about a month ago:
{{gwi:278804}}

Here it is last year, after leaf stripping. I've not pruned it much. Since then it has added several long canes, and the long canes in this photo have added blooming laterals and laid down more horizontally.
{{gwi:278805}}

Hope that helps.
Mountie
9 years ago
I'd love to see Wildeve rambling along a low fence.
Related Professionals
Baltimore Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Eden Prairie Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Amesbury Landscape Contractors · Cliffside Park Landscape Contractors · Columbine Landscape Contractors · Essex Landscape Contractors · Estelle Landscape Contractors · Federal Way Landscape Contractors · Northbridge Landscape Contractors · Smyrna Landscape Contractors · Placentia Swimming Pool Builders · Berkeley Siding & Exteriors · Five Forks Siding & Exteriors · Mitchellville Siding & Exteriors · Worcester Siding & Exteriors
tuderte
9 years ago
I share your quandry ilovemyroses! I have Wildeve too, and mine is also in its second year. I love the colour and shape of the blooms (see attached photo), however, its growth habit had me quite perplexed - then I checked the David Austin website where it says that it 'has many of the features of a good ground cover rose'! I think that mine definitely wants to be a ground cover rose.

At this stage my Wildeve is probably twice as wide as she is tall - not really what I wanted and, to make matters worse, when I was busy planting my roses two years ago a friend gave me a white peach tree that was about 18 inches high - I simply dug a hole not far from my roses and stuck the peach tree in there thinking that I would move it in the Winter. Alas, I didn't. The peach tree is now a monster threatening to take over my rose garden and Wildeve is directly underneath it so I thought that might also be contributing to its strange growth habit.

Hoovb, if my Wildeve had the same growth habit as yours, I would persevere with her. How old is your WIldeve?

Cheers
Tricia
tuderte
9 years ago
Many thanks for your response hoovb, you say it ended up 'nicely rounded' - does that mean it eventually became taller than 2 feet?

I've decided that I will move mine this Winter - to another area of the garden altogether where it's not affected by being planted so close to a peach tree.

Hopefully, it will respond well to a new home!
mustbnuts zone 9 sunset 9
9 years ago
What beautiful flowers! I can so see this growing along a low fence.
ColleeninMHD 6a
2 years ago
Somehow Wild Eve ended up in my David Austin purchases. I totally forgot about it. Is it really 2’ tall ? I need to figure out placement. Thanks! Zone 6a.