Climbing rose suggestions?

11 years ago

I'm putting in an order with heirloomroses.com and looking for some suggestions. We just put in a new fence which I'd like to turn into a support for climbing roses. It's a black aluminum 5-foot fence which goes round our pool, so I figure I can train canes to it very nicely.

The one thing I don't want, however, is a giant frumpy shrub with a fence in the middle of it. :-)

In other words, I'm looking for climbers that can be trained up and along the fence, but don't grow very wide. Fragrance would be nice too. We are in zone 5 (central MA).

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

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Comments (14)

Hrose
11 years ago
crimson cascade climber

good luck to ya
mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
11 years ago
How you train climbers on a fence is you spread them out roughly in a fan shape. If you really want a rose that is just going up the fence, then you want a self supporting shrub.

John Davis is a very nice, hardy rose, but own-root takes forever to climb. It took mine about ten years to stop being a shrub, then I moved it, and so far have waited five for a second climbing cane.

Clair Matin is another that might work, but gets more blackspot than I'm currently willing to live with. As does Henry Kelsey.

New Dawn will work if you are 5b and not 5a. It can be a beast, and will require training. If you don't have your lion tamer suit handy, you may want to pass. The same is true of that notorious beast, William Baffin.

If you want to try another nursery, start by screening for zone 4 climbers. I've yet to see a list that only list as zone 5 climbers roses that will climb in zone 5, as opposed to those that will merely survive. Then ask for advice on that list. Probably about half of those will not be able to handle a northeastern zone 5.

BTW, if you blow bubbles when it is below -10F, they freeze. It is incredibly cool when the frozen bubbles break.
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Jean, this forum is for off-topic posts, which means for things other than roses. It doesn't get much traffic anymore, so if you repost your question on the other side, the Roses Forum, you will get lots more replies. BTW, beware of answers from posters in warm parts of the country. Since you want climbers, you'll want to choose a rose that is reliable CANE hardy (not just hardy enough to come back and re-grow after winter knocks it back.) Look at the Canadian Explorer roses like John Davis, Capt. Samuel Holland: or, Marie Victorin for example. You'll have no problem with them covering your fence year after year. You'll find them hardy and although you may not have constant flowering, you will get good reblooming through the season. Plus there should be no need to spray them for disease. Be ready to give them about 3 years to mature in size - and then enjoy! Good luck, Anne
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Another thing to consider is that in my yard, my east side facing wall is a relatively cold zone 4 pocket that needs extra winter hardy plants. On that side of the house, I have John Cabot (hot pink Canadian Explorer"), Ginger Syllabub (relatively infrequent blooming apricot), Autumn Sunset and Westerland (fairly hardy apricot to orange climbers not too tall for me), Eden, and the two Michael mentioned - Ramblin' Red and Quadra. He's absolutely right about their hardiness and disease resistance - the only drawback for your plan is wanting them to stay at 8-10 feet. I've been lazy about getting something official for Quadra to climb on, so he's an ill-tempered standing shrub with aggressively thick canes in every direction. I suspect Quadra (or its counterpart climber Illusion) is strong enough to at least remove the tires from your car, but reinstalling them undamaged would be questionable. Other more mannerly climbers (so far) in my zone 5 Nebraska yard include: Nahema - wowza double carnation pink fragrant blooms and a vigorous climber in the first year, covering two panels of a fence in each direction by the second year - hardy and healthy Compassion - pinkish double climber that has been tip hardy so far, only in its second year for me but has climbed 8-10 feet easily in a friend's yard Mme. Carolyn Testout - another very hardy pink cilmber that likes thick canes that aren't very flexible but disease resistant Aloha - I have this Kordes climber as a free standing shrub with things to lean against when it wants to, and it stays within 6-8' under those conditions, though it would like to be taller Harlekin - another Kordes climber, white with dark pink edges, not as frequent a bloomer as I'd like but very hardy, as Kordes plants are known to be Awakening - tough as nails pink climber with relatively small blooms - mine takes care of itself in part shade with little or no attention from me all year I grow quite a few more climbers in zone 5, but some of them I haven't horizontally trained yet as Michael describes, so they have infrequent bloom habits, or they haven't been in more than a year or two to attest to hardiness. I'm sure I've forgotten some real winners, but with some care to hardiness of the rose you should be able to find a rose that meets your requirements. Cynthia
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Being from zone 5 as well, I can give you some feedback about the roses you list, since I grow or have grown all of them: Fourth of July - tried it last year but it didn't overwinter. Reports are that it has grown in zone 5 but might be marginal hardiness Dublin Bay - in its second year in my yard and overwintered OK with protection. Reports are that it doesn't grow very tall, and if you want to cover an arbor you want a climber that doesn't die back in the winter, since it needs the old canes to support new blooming growth (as Seil mentions) Eden - hardy enough to bloom in my yard, but hasn't maintained enough old cane to cover an arch. It loses about half its canes for me each winter, and blooms at about 6-7' tall. I grow mine next to a monster climber that's extremely hardy (Quadra) so it can shine in contrast partway up the arch. My Eden took at least 4 years to have ANY blooms at all, though a friend nearby had hers bloom earlier Jacob's Robe - Also tried this one last year and it didn't overwinter. Others have reported it surviving zone 5 so I'll probably try again, but the same concerns with maintaining enough cane to cover an arch apply Westerland/Autumn Sunset - these are both closely related climbers, Westerland is more orange toned and Autumn Sunset is more yellow. Both are reasonably hardy in my zone, and they've both survived the winters with most of their cane, even in my zone 4 pocket of my yard. Not a huge climber for me, but nice flexible canes and I've seen reports of others in zone 5 that have it covering an arch. Ramblin Red - this is by far your most hardy and trouble free of the roses they listed for you. It's a crimson sort of red, but it has very strong canes and is a fast grower. You should have no trouble having this one grow over an arch, but be sure to tie the canes early as they grow and stretch them horizontally on the arches so that they send up laterals (the blooming part of the canes). This one gets pretty thick canes as it matures. Where are you in KS? Since you're south of us I would have thought you'd be at least zone 6, which makes any of the climbers you mention a much more feasible option. Regardless, a little extra hardiness in a climber can't hurt with the variable winters we've been having. Cynthia
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Tammy, if your heart is set on Eden, I would try it. I didn't expect much, but they have exceeded all expectations. Minimal winter tip damage. They bloom all season, definitely more than I expected. I have 3 that ranged from 5-7' tall in their 4th year, full sun, and another that was about 8' tall in it's 3rd year, with a little shade. All own root. I get a good snow cover all winter and hot, dry summers. I have alkaline soil. It's been my experience that French roses don't mind alkaline soil as much as US bred roses do. I didn't buy Eden for a long time because I didn't think she would live through winter, but she's tougher than she looks. I don't winter protect. The blooms are big and petal packed. No fragrance, but with blooms like that, who cares! Moses, z5/6, says good things about Lady Ashe, aka, Dixieland Linda. Another climber (and spreader) that took off like lightening for me is Peggy Martin, but she does want to go lateral as much as vertical. Lunar Mist is a very reliable climber in cold zones. Voles got mine, but I'm planting another one this spring. Isabella Skinner, aka, Victorian Memory, another Canadian, fills the bill, too. John Cabot may be a little taller than John Davis. I have both and find JCabot climbs a bit better, at least for me.
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Hrose
11 years ago
i gotta try the bubble freezing thing this winter hahaa

here's more info on crimson cascade

"Healthy, dark red full-flowered blooms on a shiny upright plant, double bloom, 10' - 12'. Propagated on hardy Rosa Multiflora rootstock. All roses have been grown and tended for in our family-owned rose nursery.

Rose details
Rose name:Crimson CascadeÃ¯Â¿Â½
Other names:FRYclimbdown
Type:Climber roseFragrance:Fragrant roseRose color:Dark RedBreeder:Fryer, 1991Height:10' - 12'Shrub form:ClimberBloom size:LargePetal count:DoubleHardy:USDA 5b - 9b *Repeat bloomer"

http://palatineroses.com/rose/crimson-cascade
diggity_ma
Original Author
11 years ago
Mad_gallica, yes a fan shape is exactly what I'm looking for. Thanks for the suggestion about the self supporting shrub. I'll have to remember the frozen bubbles thing. :-)

Hrose, thanks for the tip on Crimson Cascade. It looks very nice, and fragrant too! I think I'll give it a try.

BTW, we also bought an arbor to place over the gate on this new fence. I was planning on buying two Blaze climbers, one for each side of the arbor. I know Blaze isn't fragrant (bummer), but apart from that my impression of it is that it's a good performer. Is this right? Would it be good on an arbor in zone 5?

Thanks!
mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
11 years ago
I grew Blaze in another time and place. It never managed to get above 2 ft tall.

The state of the art red climber currently is Quadra. Absolutely indestructible in this climate.

If you want a repeat blooming climber, for the most part you are looking at Canadian Explorer roses. ANYTHING else is suspect.
michaelg
11 years ago
If you want hardy and disease resistant for the Northeast, get Quadra.
ratdogheads z5b NH
11 years ago
Hi, I hope the photo works, I'm new to the forum and haven't attempted this yet. We're thrilled with purple splash. This is a 1 year old plant.
predfern
11 years ago
I have had good luck with Nahema. It is upright, hardy and fragrant. I am in zone 5a.

Here is a link that might be useful: Delbard roses at RU
diggity_ma
Original Author
11 years ago
Glad you warned me about Blaze - I was just about to pull the trigger on it - thanks!

Rat, that purple splash looks perfect - is it fragrant? If you're in Southern NH then we're not far away from you, so it should work for me too.

Nahema and Quadra look great too - thanks for all the suggestions!
diggity_ma
Original Author
11 years ago
BTW, speaking of the Explorer series, anyone grow John Cabot? How is it for repeat blooming and fragrance? Thanks!
michaelg
11 years ago
John Cabot in a no spray garden here has good resistance, some repeat, no fragrance that I've noticed.
bellarosa
11 years ago
John Cabot gets HUGE! It's a very hardy rose given that is part of the Canadian Explorer series. Very heavy bloom in June, but very sporadic bloom thereafter. Good disease resistance.
ratdogheads z5b NH
11 years ago
Sadly purple splash has only the faintest fragrance. It's a vigorous grower with long lasting blossoms. It was in bloom almost constantly until the first snowfall.
Hrose
11 years ago
forgot to mention ilse krohn superior climbing rose this one has fragrance too dark green leaves

it may have some die back in your zone

Climbing rose suggestions?

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