22,152 Garden Web Discussions | Roses
If you are saying you are in USDA 4 you should start by looking at which ones will actually survive the winters there and then proceed with your selection process from that point. As the choice will be very much smaller than in warmer climates you may have to sacrifice one of more of the desired attributes in order to have climbing roses at all.
I second the recommendation of Granada. It's still in its first year here, but it's very healthy, blooms frequently, and is magnificent at any stage. Granada can be any combination of colors from yellow to magenta, but it is never boring. Here's an example from June 1.
I'd also vote for Chihuly, a floribunda. Striped, anything from coral to deep pink and white. Very fast growing, and large for a floribunda.
I grow the "loud" roses in the front, where their colors stand out against my pale yellow house, and Austins/teas/OGRs in the back, where subtlety is the key.
They're all beautiful as far as I'm concerned.
Thanks Ingrid, although the layout looks formal, I'm just using it as a guide. And the spot isn't that big, about 25 feet, so I'm sure after a few years, it will be filled with plants and the lines won't be that visible. I also tried to think of the colors in the original design, that's why I have a yellow rose in the middle.
Right now it's just a bunch of overgrown junipers (in the back of this picture) so this will be an improvement.
I'd use iris or daylilly clumps (or dianthus and lillies) where you have the forsythia, and I'd do the small false cypress for the evergreens. They'll get bigger than they list where you are, I bet. I use one called snow (or snow-something) that is perfect with my roses :) It's white variegated, to go with my silvers.
The upright sedums make nice low borders for most of the year (I use the white variegated). Not winter, though. If thyme grows well for you, an upright version might do great. I can't ever grow it or lavender for more than a season or two, though. Too humid, maybe? Meh, I use dianthus (Williams, I think) a lot for short little borders, and they don't spread too quickly and bloom all the time, so I don't mind that they aren't so great in winter. There are some low grasses that look good in winter. Caryopteris is evergreen enough here, but it gets so big that that didn't work there (ditto rosemary).
Oh! The 'snow-something' little 'cedars' I have and love turn too brown in winter for my tastes. So make sure to get an evergreen that changes to a nice winter color or keeps its usual color. People always ask if mine got frosted out :( It isn't till spring that they turn so pretty again.
Such fun! Good luck, y'all!
It looks like some weed tree I have in my yard in the land of poison ivy here, but I always have my local PI to compare it to, lol. My PI isn't as serrated. It's definitely not hairy here when young.
The PI has brighter colors this time of year, too, so it's easier to tell apart now.
I wasn't allergic my whole life, but one day of pulling it up by its roots changed all that! Be careful that all y'all don't give yourselves the allergy like I did :) I got a hideous case from that day, too, so it was miserable.
Sure looks like poison ivy as I know it. I see it often, and if it's near a plant I want to keep, I just put a few drops of round-up on the leaves. I had to get medical help once after pulling up roots I did not recognize. I also had a colleague who spent 3 days in intensive care before they got it under control. I does not always vine, and it looks different depending on the time of year, I mostly find it on the ground hiding under other plants.
Here is a link that might be useful: CDC Poison Ivy
Late last Autumn, I noticed a few of my roses had stems which snapped or broke completely off. I simply stuck them in the ground right next to the originals, putting about half of the stem length below the soil surface. I did nothing else to them until Spring, when I figured "why not?" and dug them out and potted them up. They didn't root much (or at all) over Winter this way, but rather they mostly "stayed asleep" and didn't dry out. It was more like "cold storage" until I decided to see if they'd grow in pots. The roses were random -- two Bourbons, 'Cardinal de Richelieu', "Darlow's Enigma", and 'Mme Laurette Messimy'.
I get much faster results by twice slicing the bottom inch or two of an almost-pencil-thick stem, dipping it in rooting hormone powder, potting them up, and leaving them where they get morning sun and bright shade thereafter. But that was this year's experiments -- I haven't yet had to overwinter any once they started rooting this way.
:-)
~Christopher
I can imagine a few design ideas where I think onesies would look pretty. But typically, if I'm doing onesies of anything, it's either THE focal point of the garden, or I'm trialing to see what performs best in that setting. Once I've ascertained what does best, I like to use a lot of the same, whether the particular plant is massed, as in a hedge, or scattered throughout. Three different varieties of roses is kind of a magic number for me in terms of a maximum, since I think a triad creates a rich color scheme. But I'll want to use a lot of each of those three varieties, for a restful, harmonious garden.
That said, I'm a big believer in the concept that "imagination rules" in design, and that you should create what you love.
jannike
I think it depends upon your garden style too. I'm growing a cottage garden striving for a "Giverny" vibe. My garden is so small I only need one rose to provide that SPLOTCH of color. There are very few roses I grow to make a focal point. Those are climbers, pillars, arches or growing through tress. I need the eye to be drawn upward as there is so little ground space and what is there needs to be varied.
I used to dream of having a huge garden of roses that I could meander around and throughâ¦.now I realize I have got all (and possibly MORE THAN) I can handle.
Jannike, what are you growing in triads of different varieties?
Susan
Knock-outs will grow quite large if not pruned in the spring. Last winter the weather pruned mine for me and they are now about two feet high. Cut back hard in early spring before growth begins and they will remain manageable.
Avoid pruning on any plant at this time of year if you are in an area that has freezing weather. When plants are cut, they respond by sending out new growth. You do not want tender, new growth going into cold weather.
As a landscaper myself, I can say I would never plant something that has thorns, barbs, prickles, etc., near an entrance.
The problem with using a landscaper from a nursery is that they will often use the plants that they have in stock, not necessarily the plants that are best for your situation.
Linda
Do not hesitate to cut the thorny canes away from the entrance at any time of year. In spring you can prune them to 2 x 2 or 3 x 3 , and after each flush of bloom you can cut the stems back a foot or so. I wouldn't move them unless they are centered less than 2' from the walk. It is not hard to keep KOs around 3' wide, especially in zones 7-5. If your plants want to be more than 4' wide, maybe they are some other variety.
Thanks so much for your quick responses! I got home late from work tonight so I haven't been able to dig down and see if it's rootstock or not. I will take a look and add some pictures tomorrow of the odd growth I've been seeing. Im probably paranoid after reading all of the posts about RRD. It's such a relief though! This is one of my favorite roses.
IIRC, St. Cecilia doesn't have flat, hooked thorns, so it is probably a rootstock sucker. Dr. Huey does have this type of thorns.
I lost my St. Cecilia to RRD a couple of years ago, but I've forgotten exactly what the bad growth looked like. However, I'm pretty sure the pictured cane is not RRD.
It's not a good idea to prune roses in the fall in cold climates. It they need some clean up of dead wood early spring is the best time. During the season if they're getting a little too big you can shape them and cut them back some when you dead head the spent blooms. Otherwise just a little fertilizer now and then and water when needed.
She's a beauty, isn't she!
Jubilee Celebration
I love her blooms, but in my garden, she has been a bit of a disappointment. The good news is that there are a couple other posters on this forum who claim she does well for them, so hopefully you will hear from them also.
In the meantime, here is my less than glowing report about JC which I've had for about 7 years in my garden:
From the beginning she was something of a wimp--no vigor, not really unhealthy, but kind of a weakling, no strong growth, too "delicate" appearing. She just never has really taken off and I often think she needs an extra shot of vitamins or something. About her third or fourth year, I tried doctoring her with everything I could think of--she got somewhat better--a bit more vigorous and greener and more fulsome looking, but not a lot. That was the best she ever did, though she began looking more "permanent" after her fifth year.
I don't think she ever got over 2.5 x 2.5. Quite a bit smaller than Austin lists in his catalog.
She has never burst into lots of blooms, but typically produces 3-10 blooms, occasionally more during the spring bloom. She does have a fairly good re-bloom rate, so there are often at least a few blooms on her bush most of the time. And the blooms are beautiful!
Unfortunately, the blooms are not long-lasting. If it rains, they will collapse rather quickly. In the burning hot sun, the edges burn. If you can, definitely place her where she gets some protection from the hot afternoon sun.
Oh yes--she does have a bit of the droopy neck syndrome that a number of Austins feature. Lovely droop--but sometimes I have to get down really low to take a decent picture of her blooms.
She is not a disease-magnet, but she often suffers from a low-grade BS infection. I spray her a couple times in the spring and one or two times in the fall, and she gets by with that, but she never looks completely clean if you get up close and look at her closely.
Is she a keeper? Well, I've been keeping her for quite some time now and have no intention of getting rid of her--but she is a disappointment in some respects.
But her blooms are beautiful--lovely pink/peach/salmon shades with yellow at the base! And her re-bloom rate is good. Her two best features.
Actually I love her--but still want to put an extra sweater on her when she goes out to play--just in case.
Kate
I agree mostly with Kate. Mine would have a great spring flush and then nothing. But I think it was getting too much shade. I am moving it this year and I'll see what happens. The blooms are lovely. Good for front of the border.