Newbie NEEDS roses :)

13 years ago

Hi All! I have been poking around this forum for the past few days soaking up as much OGR info as I can and I have definitely decided I need roses. (I mostly hang out on the cottage garden forum)

Little background - DH and I moved into our 1st house a little over 3 years ago and let's just call it a blank slate. the older couple had some yews as foundation shrubs and that's it. We've been working fervently to turn the yard into a cottage garden (very informal, lots of color and something is constantly blooming) and I have rescued tons of perennials and a few shrubs from friends/co-workers/family who otherwise would've chucked the poor things.

And now I need roses! I have one iceberg florabunda that is limping along (BS is a HUGE problem in my area and I want to try avoid spraying as much as possible) so I had to pick off nearly all of the leaves a month or so ago and dispose of them, added a new layer of mulch and things seem to be improving. Typically we have a major Jap beetle problem, but knock on wood, this year they've been okay. I get powdery mildew on my lilacs and some tall garden phlox, but I don't mind it too much.

Okay, so I have fallen head over heels in love with Gallica roses. from what I'm reading (here and online and in my gardening books) I think they're a good choice for me but please correct me if i'm wrong.

It's hard to avoid the knockouts/flowercarpet roses just because they're in every big box store and they're cheap and probably great for beginners - but I just don't like them. I want the big, full peony-shaped, cupped urn shaped flowers. I was avoiding them because I thought I wanted repeat blooms, but I'll sacrafice that to get thet heavenly scent and gorgeous display.

I should also add that I'm leaning towards the smaller (5' or under) roses and I don't have any trellis' or arbors to work with right now, I'd like them to be upright but arched canes are okay as long as they're not too lax.

so am I'm just dreaming or do you think that gallica roses would be a good match for me?

(If you need more info, just ask - I'll be around most of the day today but then I'll be on vacation w/o internet for a few days, but I'll check back over the weekend)

Thanks in Advance!

~Andrea

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Comments (7)

mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
13 years ago
The gallicas would be a very good choice, IF, you can either physically or mentally handle the suckering. They WILL come up in the middle of other plants, WILL travel, and WILL behave like some of the worst garden thugs you have ever seen. If you think of them as a hardy form of the common hybrid tea/floribunda roses, they will not be at all what you expect. If you think of them as an aggressively suckering shrubs that has thorns and amazing flowers, you are on the right track.
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catsrose
13 years ago
Yes, gallicas would be good for you.

The best places to get OGRs are from online vendors: Vintage Gardens, Roses Unlimited, Rogue Valley, Hartford, Chamblees, Antique Rose Imporium, Heritage Roses--I've left out a few, but those are the most well-known and used. VG has the largest selection but it and Rogue Valley are on the west coast, so shipping is more. Hartford is closest to you, small but growing. RU is in NC and the rest are in TX.

For more continuous bloom and nearly blackspot free, look at Rugosas, which will also do well for you. Vintage Garden's website has very good, concise descriptions of each of the rose classes.
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rjlinva
13 years ago
I LOVE gallicas and have about 35 different varieties...most of them do very well for me. I would suggest you check out the Pickering nursery in Canada because they have a great selection of excellent gallicas grafted onto multiflora.
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craftlady07
Original Author
13 years ago
excellent suggestions and warnings :) I think I can handle suckering, I'm constantly in my garden - I take on a very hands-on approach and I love walking around with my pruners in hand.
Here is an early-season picture of my backyard. just to the right of the veggie garden (big retangle) is a shrub row that we just started. there's a lilac, then a coppertina ninebark and then another lilac. Turns out I have a butterfly bush planted by the birds I think to the right of that but you can't see it in this photo. (I have more recent pictures to download and will post them here for a better understanding, but this is all i have available at work). We eventually want to put a pool in the open area in the front of the photo so the shrubs were put in as a screen from the road. I want to have roses in front of the shrubs (the small green mound between the left lilac and the ninebark is a daylily that can easily be moved.
{{gwi:291168}}
sidenote: This is the south side of the house, we have all day sun here from 9 am until dark. We will also be adding a deck into the hill on the right of the sidewalk. I will want roses around the deck I'm sure. I also envision an arbor over a walkway through a garden that will eventually connect the veggie garden to the flower garden.

I love hot colors so I'm leaning towards a bright pink rose. I will investigate rugosa roses as well. Since the roses will be in the middle of the garden I am not too worried about thorns.
I only just added this bed this year :)

~Andrea
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hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
13 years ago
Also consider Albas, Damasks, and Centifolias, which might not be so agressive in the suckering department. The Centifolias may be more of a "cabbage" style of bloom.
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melissa_thefarm
13 years ago
Hear, hear to all the above. I love Gallicas, I love all the once-blooming old roses, and I think they're definitely worth your time (and garden space, money, and work). You'll have to consult with gardeners from your area to know which varieties are best for disease resistance. Remember that the Gallicas also have deep wine reds and mauves, purples, striped and even spotted roses. Some roses color well in the fall, and many have noteworthy hips, so their season of interest isn't confined to when they're in bloom. Plants that flower in the late summer and fall will also extend the season of interest in the garden (Japanese anemones, clematis, dahlias are possibilities).
Have fun!
Melissa
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lori_elf z6b MD
13 years ago
I love gallicas, and you can avoid the suckering problem if you buy grafted roses (Pickering in Canada is a great source) and plant them with the bud union above soil line instead of below it as is usually recommended. I of course planted mine 1-2" deep and the gallicas are running wild.

Some of my favorite varieties are Charles de Mills, Tuscany Superb, Belle de Crecy, and Duchess de Montebello. I also love alba roses, mosses, damasks, centifolia, and portland roses which are repeat-blooming damasks.
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Newbie NEEDS roses :)

Comments (7)

mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)

catsrose

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Newbie NEEDS roses :)

Comments (7)

mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)

catsrose

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rjlinva

craftlady07Original Author

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craftlady07
Original Author