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Awakening Climbing a Tree

15 years ago

I love this rose and it is now trying to climb into a maple tree...to my delight. Awakening came from RU so I assume it is truly Awakening. If not, let me know. It will grow without spraying; however, it usually gets one early spring spray and that is all.

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Comments (12)

naplesgardener
15 years ago
Truly beautiful. Thanks for the photo and inspiration. Now if I only had a tree :-)
The only trees I have are some small palms but I have designs on growing roses on them.
I love that rose's coloring.
sunnishine
15 years ago
how old is it? I got my awakening from RU this year. Truly gorgeous...
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That clematis is a beauty. Does it need full sun? That would be nice on my stepladder while I'm waiting for Awakening to "wake up". I've marked an area where I wanted Awakening and will check how much sun throughout the day. That was encouraging to read that Awakening had reached the top of a house in my zone. He couldn't have winter-protected the canes, BUT being close to the house probably offered some protection (I need mine out a bit), especially if it was planted on the south side. I read that sad saga about Betty Corning. She had a hard row to hoe and did well to sublimate in her gardening rather than succumbing to depression or some addiction. Kudos to her! She will be remembered, I hope, by posterity through her beautiful clematis, and her husband will be completely forgotten despite all the glory he received in this life. Maybe they erected a statue or memorial to him in one of those towns.
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For zones 4-5 you don't have as many options for repeat blooming climbers as you do further south. In my experience, the hardier climbers are almost entirely all thorny, so Awakening is no worse than most and better than some (like Quadra or New Dawn). Climbers like Reine des Violette or Madame Alfred Carriere are less thorny, but in my zone 5 they really are only once bloomers so they're a little iffy for your colder zone. My Awakening is an absolutely trouble free rose in partial shade and repeats at least some - in more sun like you describe it should have reasonable repeat. You'll want to keep the main canes growing horizontal as much as possible along the arbor you describe, and keep the laterals pinned to the bars of the arbor as they grow to keep them from snagging folks. With some exceptions, I think rigorous attention to training and maintaining the climber does more to keep it from being a vicious beast than the amount of thorns per se. There are some roses like New Dawn I wouldn't trust with an entrance like that at all, but Awakening should be as good a repeat climber as any that will survive in your zone. Of course we want before and after pictures! Be sure to wait several years before it really climbs the arbor, though as I recall Awakening was a relatively fast grower for a climber. Cynthia
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Both photos below from today. First are the bands of Alberic and the bigger one is Bleu Magenta. I could plant two together in front where I took Graham out (no pic handy). The arbor is the second photo. Jeanne La Joie is on either side of it now and not doing well. The side with the drainpipe gets waterlogged when it rains, and I haven't been able to cope with the problem tried to fill it in with lots of topsoil and built a little higher by the arbor. The odd thing is that on the right in the photo, it is drier and has to compete with roots from an apple tree close by, but that side does the best. I can pot Jeanne up in 5 gal pots and set in front against the brick wall in the recess there, west side facing east and south, where the new ones are sitting and see if she will do more that way. My daughter loves Jeanne and might like to take her if I get her going in pots, not quite ready to offer her on Freecycle, got her in bands 3 years ago, came late that year worse than what I got today with Alberic. The arbor needs to be straightened and secured somehow, one more thing to cope with, but I don't like the way it is starting to lean. But I'm worried about the water problem. I no longer have the strength to dig a runoff and the gutters are expensive and too much to get into. What does anybody think? Otherwise I have a spot left out of the photo on the left up by the foundation of the house where the dryer vents, haven't known what to put there. I don't use the dryer that much just for me so don't see where that would necessarily be a huge problem, have the vent turned a little to the south and not going strait out but still . . . I really appreciate this advice because it spins around in my head, and roses are difficult here as it is, would like to avoid an obvious mistake again.
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I have Paul's Himalayan Musk Climber on his way up a mulberry tree at the end of the driveway by the garage. He shows the ability to have this tree completely swallowed in a few years ... it's the look I'm after, fortunately. American Pillar is planted on the fence by the Rose Field, and I intend to encourage it to take over a cedar tree. I haven't been too successful, yet, because the canes keep getting blown out of the tree. This rose is WAY to vigorous for a crabapple tree, IMO. How about Gardenia? It blooms once, but it lives to climb trees. It will scale your tree and spill out the other side, with pale yellow-fading-to-white flowers in clusters. Beautiful. Some opinions of the others that have already been mentioned, since I'm in your area: Madame Alfred Carriere tends to grow straight up around here, then form an 'afro' on top. May be a possibility, but it doesn't 'hang' very well. Susan Louise probably won't survive here. I want this rose very, very badly ... but it's probably too tender. Mermaid? Way, way too vigorous once it gets going. Alberic Barbier, though once blooming, is a wonderful rose. The canes are very flexible, so it would hang nicely off a tree. It will go 15' in a season, easy. A possible deterrant ... the wichuriana ramblers make lots of basal canes, which would need to be trained up the tree every year. My AB made at least 12 new canes this year ... no lie. The multiflora ramblers may be a better choice, if you are considering once-blooming roses. Veilchenblau is my favorite of these. I don't grow it, yet, but it will stop traffic at Robert's house when it's in bloom in his holly tree. or Tausenschoen? For re-bloomers, maybe one of the hardier tea-noisettes ... Reve d'Or or Lamarque, perhaps? Photos? You asked. Alberic Barbier Leontine Gervais (another beautiful, stringy Wichuriana rambler) Paul Transon (wichuriana) Gardenia Veilchenblau That should be enough for this morning. As you can see, depending on the effect you're after, the choices are practically endless. Just avoid the really tender ones. HTH, Connie
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zeffyrose
15 years ago
That is a gorgeous rose-------

Florence
odyssey3
15 years ago
I just got this one from RU this spring too and I am trying to train it to go up an oak tree in my yard. Nearlywild, how far out from the tree is this planted, and do you use any other type of support for it? I want mine to look like yours!
aliska12000
15 years ago
That looks like the bloom, but holy cow, look at that monster rose. What a beauty!

You live in the right zone for those roses. Awakening was a band last year, got 2 from that place that closed.

That's the only one I winter protected, and I only had a part-sun spot for the two of them. They are spindly but getting taller and look really healthy, glossy leaves. We'll see how they do this summer. I have to bury the canes in soil for the winter. They are only hardy to 20F.

So I'm not expecting much from them, a little more sun might make them happier if they last. I did get to see a couple blooms last year, really pretty color and form.
both
15 years ago
Alisda, I thought it was hardy to zone 5. Mine made it thru the winter with no protection or die back. Are we talking about the same rose. Awakening the sport of New Dawn. Amy
nearlywild
Original Author
15 years ago
sunnishine, I don't have the year on this one, but I planted my first roses in 2002 so I am guessing I planted Awakening in 2003 or 2004 making it four or five years old.

Odyssey, the tree was smaller when I planted, and I just went beneath a branch about four or five feet out. It is growing on a cedar post (with a few branches left on it) set in the ground. From the post it just found the tree.

aliska, it will winter below twenty degrees. My temps often get in the teens during the winter months.

Does anyone know of another rose that is as carefree with beautiful foliage like Awakening?
pandy
15 years ago
oh WOW! That is one luscious rose!

Mari
patricianat
15 years ago
Jean, that looks like something out of a fairy tale. No, there is nothing prettier!
aprille
15 years ago
oh my god that is gorgeous! I just discovered that I had it in my garden, a band from RU that I don't remember ordering ... now I need to find a permanent spot for it, all my fence space is now taken with climbers we put in this year after finally getting DH to build me trellises ... the only spot I can think of for that size would be next to my Cape Honeysuckle which is at least about 15 feet tall ...

Thanks for posting that - it truly is amazing! wow.

Aprille
nearlywild
Original Author
15 years ago
Aprille, be patient with Awakening. It doesn't shoot up as fast as some roses, but rather like the turtle...slow and sure. As I mentioned above, mine is about four or five years old.
aliska12000
15 years ago
I thought it was hardy to z5, too, looked it up, I got them at Uncommon Rose, have a pile of labels but can't find those.

I'm positive I have Awakening and Hettie from them. I found a shot in my photo archives. UR didn't close, just the retail end of it, went to wholesale only when shipping went up, got the last two of each IIRC. Then I looked on HMF, and it said "5b through 9b. Shade tolerant. Requires winter protection if the wind chill factor is forecast to drop below 20 F / -7 C.. Can be grown in the ground or in a container (container requires winter protection). Prune right after flowering is finished."

Glad to know yours did ok, I had great hopes for mine, but that kind of dampened my enthusiasm. My two Hettie did so well last year, I did nothing to protect them, and they died clear to the ground, are coming back. Since I love that rose so much, I decided I had to protect at least those two.

Your experience is encouraging, but I'm afraid not to protect them, and if it grows to any size, not sure how to go about protecting them. My Graham you can't lay the canes on the ground any more, I sure don't want to do the MN tipping, trenching and burying. I can rig up an iron fence for them to tumble over if they keep growing.

I don't know if I took a photo of it blooming, but here are the plants shortly after they arrived in May or so last year.

I made a tighter crop of the tags in the second photo, clearly I have Awakening, and the bloom looked about as close to the OP's as I can remember.

That crack in my masonry is now caulked, and the house & foundation painted later last year.

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Here is a link that might be useful: Data on Awakening at HMF

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