I've found "Reine des Violettes" which is smooth-stemmed and has springy supple canes very easy to train. For best bloom, I'd peg it so the canes arch and are pegged to the ground or tied to the lower parts of each cane so that each cane becomes covered with roses. If your area is shaded, I'd choose a white rose to be more visible, and Alba Semi-Plena because it is quite shade tolerant. "Alba Semi-Plena" is my favorite Alba, and I love every part of it, from its' fit-for-a- fairy -tale white roses with gold bosses, and "luxerious" blue-green foliage, that is usually bullet proof against disease. It also bears ornamental red rosehips that are flagon shaped. Altogether a beautiful plant. No re-bloom, however. I use its very attractive foliage all season long in bouquets with other roses and flowers. This would be my first choice for your space. I'd espalier it to fit its' plot so it grows as tall as possibe, c. 5 feet wide and narrow from front to back. "Stanwell Perpetual" is a prickly demon, with angelic flowers, that I love dearly, but I'm planning to move it to a hillside where it can enjoy solitude and cease to rip the hems of my dresses off, when I walk by it. Good luck, Lux.

I have a prominent wall near my back door (the door everyone uses) that needs a new rose. I've had Altissimo there for years but have developed a deep dislike for it. While I love my other singles, I think I'd really a double/cupped type rose for this area. Good repeat bloom is important here. Since the wall is tan/beige, I was thinking that red or deep pink would be best. Something tall and narrow or a self-supporting climber, 6 feet or so. I was thinking about: Maggie Mme. Isaac Pereire (not sure about rebloom) Quadra (I already have this one, still very small, not sure if it is self-supporting) Cadenza (not so OGR looking?) M. Tiller ( perhaps not hardy enough for me?) Thanks for any suggestions! Maureen

You're welcome, Sophia. The placement looks about right, unless you can sink the umbrella a few inches lower so the crown of the plant is about even or slightly above the top so it rests on it instead of having to grow up in to it. You probably also want to invest in a couple of heavy metal pipes, driven well into the ground around the trunk of the umbrella then tied securely to it. Once the roses begin growing into weepers, they create an amazingly effective "sail" and will catch any breeze that passes them. Strengthening the upright stability as much as possible now will prevent you from having to stand them up and fight with them in the wind. Our SoCal winds are legendary and weepers are severe issues here. I learned this the hard way, and with an umbrella just like the ones you have. I thought one strong metal pipe, not a "stake", but a rigid metal water pipe, would suffice, but it finally required three, driven two feet into the ground, as close to the central trunk of the umbrella then all wired tightly together, to keep the structure upright in the winds. Yours may not be as severe, but you know you are going to eventually experience something similar. Securing them well now will prevent hours of totally wicked fighting and potential plant (and YOU) damage later. Plus, you have three of them to worry about. You need rigid, unbendable, rust resistant material such as galvanized water pipes, probably 8' long, driven in as far as you can to anchor the umbrellas. This is definitely a job you want to do ONCE. Good luck!

It's not Dr. Huey. Imagine budding with those thorns! Whether it is a climber or just something that wants to be tall doesn't matter. Either way, it will resent hard pruning and sulk. Not pruning it this year is a perfectly valid experiment. It looks big enough that you could also try pruning part of it, and letting the rest do its thing. Something to keep in mind, is that a lot of large roses put out a main June flush, then don't do a great deal for the rest of the year. It is in their genetics, and there isn't much you can do about it.