Belle Portugaise
jacqueline9CA
10 years ago
Also blooming all over around here right now is Belle Portugaise. In my opinion its blooms are the most elegant of any I have ever seen.
Jackie
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mendocino_rose
10 years ago
ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
10 years agoRelated Discussions
My Belle Portugaise is blooming!
Comments (6)Thanks for all of the input - who knew that "once bloomers" is a flexible term, depending on the weather conditions?! It is certainly true that we have had the coolest summer here since they started keeping records in 1947 - the paper this morning said the avg summer temp in the town I live in was 64 degrees! That is unheard of. Sadly, this is not a condition I am going to be able to reproduce in the future - our normal summer heat causes many of even my repeat bloomers to go dormant, although they usually wake up and start blooming again in Nov/Dec. Meanwhile, I am admiring the Belle Portugaise blooms every day - they are one of my favorite rose blooms - they are so elegant, and they practically glow with a translucent peachy pink color. Jackie...See MoreBelle Portugaise along fence?
Comments (22)LOVE that structure in the photo too, Cori Ann. I can certainly see why you were inspired! I've been wondering if some sort of rose tunnel/rose covered walkway might work - I mean, running along all or part of the path, with the fence forming most of one side of it? Then Les Deux Belles Portugueses could droop and drape through the gaps and you could look up at the lovely nodding blooms and be surrounded with their perfume as you wander through... I hear the foliage is good - both plentiful and healthy; if that turned out to be so in your garden, the ladies could go on providing nice green shade along the path there right through summer, after their blooms were over. But of course I don't know if such a tunnel would work within the overall style and layout and functions of your garden, and whether you'd be able/ want to build it, etc, etc - just musing out loud really... :-)...See MoreSusan Louise and Belle Portugaise
Comments (8)If I had a corner where I could go and cry my envy away, I'd be there after your pictures of Susan Louise. You cannot know how much I want that rose to grow here. I've killed it three different times. It liketh my winters not. I tried protecting it with light soil (it still got too wet and cankered), with lots of pine needles with soil, (same), and with a box of the heaviest cardboard I have evern had and filled it with an outer layer of styrofoam, and lots of things that repel water. It died anyway. I did see a few blooms and I had Safrano (which looks alike in leaf and bloom form), on a late fall day with incident light, they are /were magnificent together....See MoreBelle Portugaise
Comments (9)Ken, anyone on the forum who knows me also knows that BP is my all-time favorite rose, bar none. There is NO rose more beautiful. But no, it won't survive a 7a winter. It might make it through an exceptionally warm winter, and tantalize you with one glorious burst of bloom. But it's only teasing you. It WILL die in our first typical winter. Our winters are warmer than they were historically, but not that much warmer. BP is half R. gigantea, which is only hardy to zone 9 or 8b. The OTHER parent is Souv de Madame Leonie Viennot, which is a tea noisette only hardy to 7b. Add to that the fact that as a climber it will be more exposed than a rose closer to the ground, and, well... For years I've toyed with the idea of growing BP against a wall. But she can get huge (when she's not dying from cold). I've seen one in person in Italy that literally covered an entire house, which is still the most glorious sight I've ever laid eyes on. I have a photograph here somewhere I need to find and scan, just so I can make us all sick with envy. But though I sympathize with you, and appreciate your good taste in roses, I think facing reality in this case is going to save you trouble and heartache. Every time I'm tempted (which is every time BP is mentioned, much less pictured), I go read the blurb written on RVR's website: "Makes a very vigorous climber to 30′ or more. A hybrid of R. gigantea it is reliably hardy in Zone 9. However I have known several successfully growing it in the milder, Zone 8 areas of the Rogue Valley. Think microclimate and be prepared to allow it to regenerate from the roots when we have the occasional cold snaps that take us out of our zone limits. " P.S. I grow over thirty ramblers and climbers, most up into trees; some once-blooming, some remontant. I'll try to make a list for you of non-white climbers that do well here. Let me know if you prefer remontancy. But check out Francois Juranville, a once-blooming rambler. Bone hardy, light coral pink, and will DEFINITELY climb a huge tree. He's a robust feller, without being uncontrollable. EDIT: also, more bad news, most of northern Italy is zone 8-9b, with tiny mountain pockets of zone 7. USDA Hardiness zones for Italy...See More
nikthegreek
10 years agoUser
10 years ago
portlandmysteryrose
10 years agoUser
10 years agokittymoonbeam
10 years agojacqueline9CA
10 years agoYes, I agree about needing space. Also, unlike most other climbers I have grown, it seems to need to grow straight up 10-15 feet or so before it will bloom. The 4 specimens I can think of around here, including mine, have tall large canes without any flowers growing UP. When they get as high as they think necessary, they burst out into a more normal shape with lots of canes, and lots of blooms. Mine grew UP for 5 years before it bloomed. I have tried to train it horizontally, and it does the same thing. Stubborn. Here is a pic of mine I just took 5 minutes ago, showing the entire bush. The rose greenery below it on the house and on the chimney is not Belle - those are Mdme Caroline Testout and Anna Olivier, which have not started to bloom yet.
Jackie
cemeteryrose
10 years agoUser
10 years agoingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
10 years agozeffyrose
10 years ago
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