My Queen of Denmark is in the sun only 2-3 hours a day before
bloom time and it flowers well in my low chill hours climate. Of course 'my sun' and 'your sun' are very different as I am on the 38th prallel.
Nik

I'm on the 59th parallel and I'd say all my albas are shade tolerant, R. alba suaveolens, Maiden's Blush, Chloris, Queen of Denmark, Minette (or whatever it is) and Mme Legras de St. Germain. Most are on the north side of the house and get only slanted morning sun. Chloris gets more sun than the others, shaded only by a plum tree, flowers best and is also the tallest, 10 feet.

Talking of parallels, I should add that because we are so far north our mornings are long as the sun shines from 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning, from 3.45 today.

There was a really good thread (several, actually) this spring on Albas...the search doesn't always work wonderfully, but if you try it you're sure to find more.

http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/rosesant/msg0310153210143.html

I grow Great Maiden's Blush very successfully in deeper shade. Blush Hip is another that does well without a lot of sun.

Felicite Parmentier just won't grow for me own-root in part-shade, I think I'm going to have to move her next year. Chloris I have in a truly terrible high shade spot and she also isn't very happy. And when I say truly terrible I mean it...she's still alive and blooming...but her growth habit is weird (I also grew her a previous residence).

Cheers!
~Anika

I have no albas, sadly; I don't think they'd like it here. But that's a delicious picture, Mariannese; I am drinking it in (as with all photos posted on this forum). I never realised Chloris grew so tall - I think I just suggested it to someone who was looking for shady characters up to 4ft. - whoops!.. Could you say what the others are, from left to right? And do these and other people's albas set hips? I admire how cleverly you've arranged that little corner of your world, with the bench and little table in their rosey frame; the trees and hedges lightly screening out the buildings opposite. Thankyou so much for sharing :-)

Thanks Nik. Great Maiden's Blush is on my list.

Mariannese thanks. That photo captures what I love about albas. I've experienced first hand the northern daylights or lack of them on several trips to Finland long time ago :-)

Annika I started the thread you posted, I just didn't want people to scroll to the end of the old thread to answer ;-)

Comtesse don't we yearn for roses we can't have! You could have suggested Félicité Parmentier. I believe it grows up to 5 feet.

I'm going to be more precise in my next post.

I read a lot of alba threads. Sometimes getting conflicting messages.

What I'm looking for in general is [extreme]shade tolerance, beautiful foliage, graceful arching form and a long bloom period!

Albas I'm interested in are: Great Maiden's Blush, Mme Legras, Queen of Denmark and the smaller Félicité Parmentier.

The area in question is shade by trees. Though sunny till mid- May.

I was planning to plant the Queen of Denmark in the shadiest part. It's mostly dappled shade there.

Is her majesty as shade tolerant as the other albas?

For the beginning of a dead-end path (rarely used) I was thinking of planting MLG, (being thornless) at one side and FP on the other. FP's side is on a slope and slightly lower. I'm hoping in several years MLg will reach out to FP forming a natural arch. This area is the sunniest area.

Does Madame Legras have a nice foliage or is it coarse?

At the end of the path there is 5'x5' space, where I aim planting Great Maiden's Blush. From photos I've seen, it seems she's like to grow both in width and height.

However, I can always change the Queen and GMB's place.

VoilÃÂ !

Sorry duplicate post.

This post was edited by true-blue on Wed, Jul 9, 14 at 12:20

I planted a few albas a decade or more ago in some patchy shade and over the years the shady patches have grown and the shade deepended. I lost R. alba maxima last year and Madame Legras de St. Germain the year before. Celestial didn't bloom this year and I will have to move it this fall if I don't want to lose it too.

I am trying some R. spinosissima roses in the dappled shade because, as true blue said, they are in sun until the trees leaf out. With the winter moths eating the newly emerging leaves, the spinosissimas will be almost blooming by the time the shade deepens.

I used to grow KvD at my old home, right next to 2 GMBs (1 of whom I still have with me)...I think it was pretty shade tolerant (got very dappled mid-day sun but that's it) and got a bit more powdery mildew...trying to think back.

I didn't even notice you started the old thread!

I'm in search of 2 for next year too...I really love the blue leaves.

Cheers!
~Anika

Thanks Anika. Great now i know KvD has blue green leaves and shade tolerant :-)

Caperoses, sorry to hear that about your roses. That must have been a very dense shade. I believe mad gallica said in one the threads that the species R. setigera is very shade tolerant.

Do you remember Mme Legras's leaves? We're they bluish?

I have grown Mme Legras de St Germain for many years and I would say the foliage is less of the blueish cast, more dark green; OTOH, the foliage is not "coarse" at all and looks good even when out of bloom. I can't tell you if it would be tolerant of shade as I grow mine in full sun, but I can tell you that it is my very favorite of its type. Everyone raves about Mme Hardy, but I think MLdSG outclasses that rose by a bunch, with its foliage, form and flowers.

Finally found a couple of my old photos when I had KvD...

{{gwi:293984}}

{{gwi:293985}}

She's got vicious thorns, that I do remember.

~Anika

Annececilia thanks so much. That's all I wanted to hear :-)

Anika I understand why you want to get a couple of more KvD. That's a breathtaking photo. Everything seems perfect about this rose. It's flowers, buds, leaves and even the thorns!