I have a row of pink and red knockout roses. Here is the Pink and Red Knockouts along my old fence!!The Pink Knockouts are nice. They are not the Blushing ones just Pink Knockouts..

Here is a link that might be useful:

Jess

My jaw just dropped to the floor! They are beautiful, I was just planning something very simular only I don't have a fence but a stone wall that drops off just behind where I was considering the knockouts.

Thanks for sharing...
Karyn

Well there is zone 4 and there is zone 4. I like Winnipeg Parks as a companion to Morden Blush. Both do well in an exposed location here in MN. They both have a lot of vigor to recover from the winter damage and look very nice by mid June.

Hope for Humanity can be grown as a pillar. It gets 4.5 to 5.5 feet here. It has smaller very dark red semi-double blooms. Quadra is also a reliable pillar in MN. Quadra grows 6 to 7 feet here and often keeps a good bit of cane over winter.

Knockout here dies to the ground and does not recover well until late summer. It can be amazing in the fall, but it takes a while to get there.

Regards,

Charles

Sharifa Asma and Eglantyne are beautiful Austins that are hardy in my garden setting. Incredible fragrance as well.

Brother Cadfael is pretty winter hardy and looks beautiful. I think it would go very well with Morden Blush.

Carol

Thanks for the suggestions!

Hi Kristin,

Do you have any specific colour preferences in mind? What about bloom form? Do you have any preference for single, semi-double or double form? How important is scent for you?

For zone 4, most of the recommendations, other than the Explorers and to a lesser the Parkland roses like Morden Blush, will dieback significantly and require a fair amount of annual pruning. This can be quite a significant undertaking, not to mention a painful one, when you need to prune a hedge mass planting of the size you are suggesting.

Your safest choice for this type of application are typically Explorer roses, parkland roses and the ultimate hedge rose, Rusgosas. have you considered Rugosa roses?

There are several Explorer shrub roses that are fantastic in mass plantings, bloom exceptionally well and will require pruning only to keep them to the size you want them.

Anyway, let me know more detail on what you are looking for and how much maintenance you want to put into this, and I can suggest a few choices to look at, as can others here.

Hi Morden Man!

The beds/borders I'll be filling in are supposed to be all pink (I'm looking for another spot for some red roses). I love all bloom forms, but especially double. Cold hardiness and disease resistance are more important to me than fragrance. Also, I'm not too fond of most rose foliage, so continuous bloom would be a plus.

I was thinking of going with Carefree Beauty near the back of the border because I had seen a hedge of Carefree Beauty growing at a gas station in my area. Several things have occurred to me since the summer which makes me worry a little about this choice. I noticed that this hedge is now completely covered with snow plowed from the gas station which is probably providing a lot of protection that I may not be able to duplicate. Also, I noticed this hedge blooming in profusion during late summer, which makes me think maybe it took that long to recover from the previous winter. On the other hand, I've heard that it's one of the hardiest Buck roses, so maybe it's worth taking a chance.

I was thinking Morden Blush for mass planting in front simply because I was very impressed with it's beauty and continuous bloom. I was a little disappointed in the black spot at the end of the season though. I have not been through a winter with this rose and understand that it will die back quite a bit. I'm prepared for extensive pruning in the spring, however, I'll admit this may get old after a few years.

I can't resist adding at least one pink Austin to this border even though I know it will take more work. I had been planning on ordering Sharifa Asma, The Mayflower and/or Pretty Jessica due to the enabling on this forum.

Some other pink roses I had been considering were KVD, Prairie Joy, The Fairy, Quietness, Earth Song, Lillian Gibson, Ballerina. I already have Baffin, John Davis and Ramblin Red in addition to my 3 Morden Blush.

Rugosas might be my best bet since I see them all over the place around here with no protection at all. The city plants them in hedges along the side of the road. I have no idea what kind they are. They are really thorny and have pink or pinkish mauve blooms. They smell very nice, and tend to have one major flush and weak repeat.

Other suggestions:

Bonica is very prolific flowering rose. This rose is always in bloom when ever I visit the nursey at "Gardenworld".

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Same goes to "Golden Bunny" - love that lemony smell- very strong and refreshing.
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Another great rose is Leonardo Da Vinci.
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My best repeating rose is the Kordes rose Elmshorn. I have 6 planted in 2003 in a circle. Hardy for me in 5a. They are truly continuous blooming, BS free and not that prone to JB attack.They grow to about 5' tall and are vase shaped. The flower is a light pink sort of pompom shape. Not a speck of fragrance. Nice foliage too, shiny small sort of wrinkled and thickish leaves. I got mine from Pickering but I see now they no longer carry it but are still available from Hortico. If it means anything it was introduced in 1951, got an ADR in 1950. But roses that have been around for awhile sort of attests to their enduring popularity (about 30 suppliers in Europe)

I should have mentioned Robusta, a true z4 rose. The most brilliant red singles with wonderful deep yellow stamens that also are truly continuous bloomers. Naturally disbuds (the entire bloom just disappears as does Elmshorn). A very thorny rose that can get lanky so needs pruning. May BS in areas where that is a problem but doesn't affect bloom. I've had mine since '99. Available from both Pickering and Hortico as well as many US suppliers. Introduced in 1979.

Hi Kristin,

Sorry for the delay getting back to you and thanks for the additional information on what you are looking for.

I really think what you have planned will be stunning once you are finished, but as I said, I was concerned about the amount of pruning and general maintenance you might end up having to do each spring with some of the choices you noted. I assumed you were going for large mass hedge plantings of one or two varieties.

Carefree Beauty is a very good rose and it blooms well and repeats fast and certainly has very good disease resistance too. However, it is not totally or reliably cane hardy in a true zone 4. I find it loses well over half of its cane in zone 5 and even more in a bad winter. It bounces back very well however due to good vigour. You'd need to place it near the back of the border, as it grows tall and upright, but expect to prune a lot of deadwood.

Morden Blush is also a great rose and one of my favorites. Provided it doesn't get hit by bad BS late in the season, it is almost tip hardy and shouldn't have much dieback for you. Getting hit by BS seems to really affect the inherent winter hardiness of most of the Morden roses. This was my concern with a mass planting of Morden Blush. The lack of air circulation would make it more prone to BS, which in turn makes it more prone to dieback, not to mention more work for you if you decide to spray and not such a nice sight if you have a whole bed with BS'd leaves. With all of its wonderful attributes Morden Blush does trend towards late season BS. I never find it bad here, but your climate may well be different.

The choice on how much work you put into this is yours. I will recommend some roses that are cane hardy to the tips and very disease resistant while also blooming profusely. Most of these are Explorer series roses and Rugosas, with a few exceptions. I'll keep mostly with the pink theme.

Pinks:
Frontenac (Explorer)- To me, the most underrated rose of all of the Explorers and one of the best. Great for the front to middle of the border, blooms literally continuously, is exceptionally cane hardy and disease resistant.

Simon Fraser (Explorer)- shorter than Frontenac. Blooms vary from single to semi-double. Blooms continuously and the blooms have a unique way of opening that makes them very charming in a simple way.

John Davis (Explorer)- Can be grown up a support as a climber/rambling shrub to add vertical height to a garden bed. It is hardy enough to train up an igloo... :) LOL
Also fantastic grown as a large, wide arching shrub. The canes are long and flexible and have few thorns and will arch over and produce more laterals and more blooms when grown as a large shrub. This rose blooms very heavily in the spring and is rarely without blooms up to frost once established and well watered. Will put out more growth than blooms in 1st season, but look out after that. Hardy to the tips in even zone 4 and very good disease resistance. However, can mildew if not given enough water and air circulation. I just realized after typing all this that you have this rose and William Baffin too. Well, at least that saved me mentioning WB...

Winnipeg Parks (Parkland Series rose) - Dark pink to bright red. Colour is variable, but stands out well. A relatively short and round bush, maybe 3' tall at most. Winter hardiness is very good and better than some of the other Morden series roses. Can BS, but not prone to it and recovers quickly. Blooms in large flushes throughout the season and very, very quickly. Although not truly continuous, it always seems to be in bloom. If you like Morden Blush, you will also love this Morden rose.

Carefree Wonder: Blooms look almost identical to Carefree Beauty, but not quite as big and blowsy looking. Plant is shorter growing with a nicer, more rounded shrub shape, blooms more profusely, repeats faster and is also hardier than Carefree Beauty. However, not as disease resistant. Slightly more prone to BS that Carefree Beauty, but not disease riddled by any means. You will likely need to prune 50%+ of the cane each spring in zone 4.

Therese Bugnet: Tall, almost thornless rose with red canes. Large, beautiful, pink fragrant blooms of old fashioned look. Blooms heavily in spring and fall and always seems to have a few blooms. This rose laughs at the cold and does not dieback. It is also very disease resistant. It can mildew in warmer climates, but not prone to this in colder regions unless stressed. Grows tall in a strong, upright manner with a vase like shape. Great rose for back of the border or specimen plant. If you don't have one, you should. You will soon want more.

Pink Grootendorst (Rugosa): No fragrance, but will be covered all season with small, carnation looking clear pink blooms. Hardy and bullet proof disease resistance.

Frau Dagmar Hartopp (Rugosa): Beautiful large single blooms that appear all season and that are wonderfully fragrant. Produces large reddish/orange hips while still blooming and the foilage changes colours yellow/orange in late fall. Tip hardy, no disease, great rose.

Rosa Zwerg (Rugosa): a good, low growing Rugosa that blooms well has very good fragrance and is also cane hardy to the tips, disease immune and produces good hips.

Of the other roses you mention, I like Earth Song a lot and i find it a better rose than Carefree Beauty, but they are comparable in terms of hardiness and are both beautiful and floriferous.

For your climate, the hardiest pink Austins are The Mayflower, Mary Rose and Eglantyne. All are very good roses, but all will die back quite a bit in zone 4. However, all have good vigour, should bounce back well and perform very well for you. I find all of them very disease resistant to BS in my garden, but Mary Rose and Eglantyne can be prone to late season mildew. The Mayflower stays clean and is arguably, slightly hardier than Eglantyne and Mary Rose.

The Fairy would surive zone 4, as would Ballerina, but both would dieback extensively. The Fairy is truly not fun to have to prune extensively as the thorns hook down and tend to rip at your flesh once they dig in.

If you look at reds, you can't really beat the Explorer rose Champlain for a mass planting and continual bloom. It is one of the less hardy Explorers, but will do fine for you with some pruning required. You will be hard pressed to see any foilage on this rose in the spring flush and beyond. It definately prefers blooming over growth...

Other good reds to look at are:

Elveshorn and Elmshorn: Pinkish red to red. Not truly cane hardy in zone 4, but both are touch plants that flower constantly and make a large impact. Very disease resistant.

Grootendorst Supreme: Like Pink Grootendorst, but grows much larger and wider. A mature plant will have thousands of small carnation like blooms on the plant and they don't stop all season long. Tip hardy and disease immune.

Robusta: Not really cane hardy in zone 4, but it doesn't matter. It's vigour is outstanding and it quickly grows right back to 5 to 6' tall with prolific single red blooms. Can be prone to BS, but repeats fast and heavy. No scent.

Homerun: Hardier than Knockout and nicer bush shape, bloom and foilage. Will still dieback extensively in zone 4, but should do fine for you, will bloom non-stop and stay clean all year.

Alexander MacKenzie (Explorer): Red blooms that look like a Hybrid Tea. Grows tall and blooms in good flushes. Very good disease resistance and good hardiness too. A rose that does everything very well, but nothing truly outstanding. Very good rose for the garden.

Anyway, i should probably go to bed now...Hope this gives you some additional ideas. Enjoy and good luck. Would love to hear what you finally decide and to see some pics once done and blooming.

Take care,
Tim

P.S. - You may also want to look at the Explorer rose, Cpt. Samuel Holland as another pink/red climbing option for the bed. Again, tip hardy and essentially disease immune.

Morden Man -

Thanks for the suggestions! Since I haven't been through a winter with roses yet I hadn't even considered that the spring pruning could get a little overwhelming with a mass planting of borderline hardy roses. It totally makes sense to plant something low maintenance. My plan for the big long border is mass plantings of a couple varieties with a few more (maybe less hardy) thrown in here and there that I'd like to try. Thanks again for all the suggestions.

JumboJimmy:

Enjoyed your photos greatly. I'm so ready to look at something besides snow!

But I digress. I thought 'Golden Bunny' was a little doll. Does that rose have an aka? Could not locate it at HMF with that name.

Thank you.

Kate

I agree, JumboJimmy, your pictures are gorgeous. Floribunda roses are definately what I'd pick for a mass planting if I were in a little bit warmer zone. Bonica might be border-line hardy for me.

This week-end the temps have been down to -15 with -30 to -40 windchill. I could hear the wind howling all night. It's downright dangerous weather. The Explorers are looking better and better. Frontenac has edged out Carefree Beauty at this point.