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Is Abe Darby suited for an arbor?

12 years ago

I bought Abe Darby in a band a month ago from Heirloom and I would like to put it on a seven foot high two foot deep by ten foot arbor. Does he grow that tall and big or will he look like a disaster?

-Jason

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Comments (4)

luxrosa
12 years ago
Abraham Darby is a beautiful rose.
Ours, grown near San Francisco, Ca, was on rootstock, and grew to be slightly more than 6 feet tall and we kept it easily snipped to keep it at c. 3 and a half feet wide on a 7 foot trellis. We had to destroy it because it was ridden with blackspot, p.m. and a rose foliage disease I rarely see in our cooler micro-climate: rust.
I've read that David Austin has begun breeding roses for the trait of disease resistance since he introduced Abraham Darby and I am very glad to hear it.
I hope you have better luck with A.D. for it is a great beauty among roses.
Lux
hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
12 years ago
It's not really a climber. It gets somewhat large but branches pretty good--not something easily tied to an arbor.

But that was here in this climate. YMMV, of course, in monster-rose FL.
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I'm leaning a bit away from Abraham Darby at this point. If I can grow Constance Spry as a climber here (I had read in the north it would be more a shrub than a climber)- I have the perfect spot for her. I've never dealt with rust before but have come toe to toe with blackspot...and lost. I guess my main problem is that I don't really have the perfect spot for it. The areas where that size rose would go are a little less than ideal (one's in a back corner kind of hidden away and the other gets a little less than ideal sun and is where our snow from the driveway gets piled near). I may have just talked myself out of it.
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What town do you live in? If you live in California and have heavy clay soil, as I do, I would amend the soil with a blend of 1/3 to 1/2 native soil, with the rest of the percentage being a blend of 30% compost and 70% of Orchard Supply Hardware bagged "Rose Soil" , which has mircro-organisms and alfalfa and all sorts of goodies that roses love. I used this to plant my Old Garden Tea rose collection, and my neighbors have been asking me what I use on my rosebushes for I just bought this property in July and planted most of the roses in September and some have increased more than 15% in size, already, in Autumn, which is fast growing for a Tea. In our organic rose garden near San Francisco, we only spray with Cornell, and "Crepescule" is obviously more healthy than "Lady Hillingdon" because the latter is covered with powdery mildew most of the year, though it blooms normally. Crepescule is so healthy here, it never needed spraying with Cornell and its foliage is prettier also and it blooms in December when mature, here. We destroyed our "Abraham Darby" for it was covered with rust and blackspot and because of this, it rarely bloomed. Having a diseased rosebush in ones garden is unsightly. Luxrosa.
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Don't cha know it boxo! Love it!! Hey teka, I'm thinking it does seem to start out more pink and some turn apricot and others stay pink but I think its more pink than apricot. Its absolutely gorgeous in every stage but they are turning out to be monsters. I've got to figure out how to train it up my gazebo legs and still look graceful. It does have some nodding blooms but just as many if not more not nodding. I'm not sure how big it will get but right now these that i've had since April are a good five feet wide and some canes i'be let go so I can start training some up the gazebo legs. Once you move to Athens you have got to check out McCorkles Plant Sale. Its in Dearing Ga and they have two huge plant sales open to the public and you can get some awesome deals. Since you will bill be starting from scratch its a great place to help save some moolah. Its always fathers day weekend and a weekend in September.
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We are pretty much the same way at our big Box stores too, lots of knockouts and things that look like they're long gone. Although last year for some reason I was milling around Walmart probably August and there was a Fiji and a couple other Kordes roses so perhaps if I am patient Walmart will get a few things in. Although for those of you who say you get things for a dollar I have never noticed any huge sales here in Southern Oregon. Boo
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gardennatlanta
12 years ago
No. (At least not in my yard). I have Abe and he is around 5-6 X 6. I only snip trim when there is a wayward cane--in other words he doesn't get pruned. He is much more of a shrub. I'm not sure why DA sells him as a "climber". He doesn't seem to want to climb at all for me.

BTW, in my garden, Abe struggles with black spot and leaf drop especially this time of the summer. I keep him because of how he looks in the spring and because my wife loves the blooms and fragrance. If I had to do it all over, I'd plant him in the back garden where his leafless canes wouldn't look so sad to the entire neighborhood.
Jason_D_B
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks for the insight! I'm definatly getting a differant rose to put on the arbor. Blackspot on this rose sounds like a compleate affliction but I have a perfect spot for it on a crepe myrdle or at the back of a border. Thanks again.
-Jason

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