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I grow a few Romanticas, do I need Peter Mayle

12 years ago

I currently grow Frederic Mistral, Liv Tyler, and a rose that looks to be Yves Piaget. (I had ordered Peter Mayle, but got Yves instead...)

I really like these roses, and am considering adding Peter Mayle.

I'm wondering if Peter Mayle has fine enough qualities in terms of the quality of the blooming and the fragrance to make it worth while to add it to the garden.

With space limitations I'm having trouble deciding if I should add it to the garden.

How tall and wide does Peter Mayle grow in a cold zone?

Featured Answer

dublinbay z6 (KS)

12 years ago

Oh yes, everybody should want a Peter Mayle. He is gorgeous!!!!!

Deep pink, more often described as HOT PINK! You can easily spot him across a crowded garden! Big fat blooms. Good old rose fragrance. Excellent disease resistance (well, for a hybrid tea, that is). He's not real quick on the rebloom, but about "average" so not too bad.

His only real weakness so far is that excessive heat (like triple digit) for long periods of time (like a month or more) take all the vinegar out of him. He has been putting out very few blooms the past couple weeks and they are all heat-damaged (smaller, half-formed). It wasn't this hot last summer and I don't remember heat damage occurring on Peter Mayle then.

For a hybrid tea, he is not that tall and wide--maybe 3-4 ft tall and about 3 ft wide. Mine, in fact, are a bit on the skinny side--but very attractive.

Now the only thing I would worry about if I were you is hardiness. According to helpmefind, he is hardy only to Zone 7, but he has no serious problems here in my Zone 6. I just don't know about your Zone 4. Helpmefind often lists Zone 7 as a kind of all-purpose default zone--so it is hard to say how serious to take that. Definitely check around for what other sources say about Peter's hardiness.

Anyway, I had two Peter Mayles and last year decided I liked him so much that I bought a third one. Not many of my roses come in triplets, so that should tell you how much I like him. He's a real show off and a really cool rose.

Kate

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Comments (10)

predfern
12 years ago
All of my Romanticas died except for Bolero. They are not cold hardy.
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Thanks for the input everyone. phylrae, I don't usually winter protect but if a few shovelfulls of topsoil means the difference between life and death I will try it. Frederic Mistral was mentioned in an article by Bill "Knockout" Radler about easy care roses for the north. It was the only Romantica mentioned. Radler says that the roses mentioned in the article should not be given winter protection (I think he was talking about zones 4 and 5, not zone 3). I wanted to experiment with other Romanticas since forum members in zones 4 and 5 have mentioned growing them. I sure hope Rouge Royale makes it because the fragrance on the bloom that came with it from RU is out of this world. Another rose that died this winter was Tamora which was growing right next to Peter Mayle. I did not expect this as Tamora survived the previous winter. It is definitely mysterious to lose a few roses per year for unknown reasons. We had a lot of freeze-thaw cycles this winter. I am also considering some of the Clements rose, particularly Fragrant Masterpiece (I am a sucker for fragrance). Are any of these hardy in zone 5? If all else fails I will try some more Bucks, although some of them aren't particularly hardy either. Rose de Rescht also does pretty well and I am looking into some other repeating OGRs.
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Thank you for the feedback. Ok for the fertilizer and the regular waterings & disease control. It's right next to my veggie garden so they will get plenty of water. I have 2 crawler roses on that same fence line, sharing the same soil so hopefully the soil/hole is okay. I also have a couple of those giant knock out roses planted there, one died & has to be replaced. Some other stubby rose bushes too are there. I have yet to cut a rose from them. Will it take years for rose bushes to grow? Do I have to prune them in fall or spring and how do I cut it? For my knock outs, I just cut them into a circular shape and they got huge real fast. For my crawlers, I cut the branches that grow straight up from the base, maybe you call them suckers--i have no idea. But I do that so the main crawlers which appear to be shooting out in the back can continue down the fence. My dream project in the yard is to have a double row of roses, about 20 or 30 feet long. But to remove the sod and make that island (& soil delivery) is keeping me from the project. That is hard work. My favorite colors are the really intense colors that I used to see in the bouquets in France. Apricot, orange, pink, red, yellow, etc. My goal is to be able to cut a bouquet for my living room...I think I need to feed my bushes more.
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Well, I don't DISlike it, for sure, especially since I thought this rose was a goner anyway. Last year it was planted alongside a Comtesse de Provence (definiteively deceased) and interplanted with the native Obedient Plant. This year the Obedient Plant has all but eaten the whole entire bed, which wasn't huge to begin with. I pulled up some of the flowers once I discovered PJP was still alive and kicking, but I think he might still get more shade than he would like, ideally. Think this has anything to do with it?
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Today I learned something! They are called bullheads. I'm getting them on Golden Celebration. I've had the plant since June it never developed a bud until about two weeks ago when I saw two. I got so excited! But the buds won't open. Well, one of them sort of did, but it looks like it rotted inside. I wonder if it's all the rain we've been having. None of my other Austins are having this problem. I wonder if anyone in Florida having luck with Golden Celebration. At this point it's more like Golden Irritation.
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elks
12 years ago
Wow! They all died. That's really sad, pedfern. They do very well for me in London, ON. I only have a couple, The Paul McCartney Rose and Fredric Mistral, but wouldn't be without either. In fact, I love Meilland roses, particularly because they favour scent, and I have never had trouble with their hardiness, but then, I may be in a warmer micro-climate. If you are in Zone 4, Krista, I don't know how they would fare. Perhaps someone else can weigh in.
Steve
Krista_5NY
Original Author
12 years ago
Frederic Mistral does well for me..... I've grown it for a number of years now.

Liv Tyler and Yves Piaget are new to the garden, don't know how they will do...

Frederic is a compact plant here, about 2 1/2 feet wide and tall.

Peter Mayle sounds interesting...I suspect it would stay small here if I do decide to try it...
Krista_5NY
Original Author
12 years ago
I wanted to thank you for the help and info, I appreciate it.
predfern
12 years ago
I don't winter protect my roses. I mounded soil on Liv Tyler one winter and it survived. I did not mound soil on it the next winter and it died.
Krista_5NY
Original Author
12 years ago
Thank you, Predfern, for the info.
elks
12 years ago
Nor do I protect my roses, except with leaves that fall or that I have mulched. My roses all all planted with the grafts 2 to 4" below grade. That seems to save them.
peachiekean
12 years ago
Yves Piaget - Balled for me but does fine in my sister in law's garden - part shade
Peter Mayle - Beautiful big blooms that smell divine. Wonder if I could peg this plant? Very tall and lanky.
Bolero - Nice for cutting.
Krista_5NY
Original Author
12 years ago
Peter Mayle does sound nice... great info, thanks, everyone.

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