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!

Do you live in Austin, TX? I know there is a local rose society there that, I'm sure, would be able to give you good advice about when to prune them back. Check on the American Rose Society's web site for info on how to contact them. Pruning them may not help though. What direction does the sun come from? Is it from behind that wall or fence? They may be growing that tall in an attempt to reach more sun. If they were mine I would, at the appropriate time, prune them back and move them to a spot that gets full, all day, sun. They should then bush out more lower down as you want them to. That is not a guarantee though. Depending on what roses they are there are roses that just have that tall growth habit naturally.

Carol, unfortunately your link didn't lead me to the right place. Jeri, that's good to know. I need another failure like a hole in the head. desertgarden, that is a gorgeous rose but I see it's more of a sprawler, and I need something upright since it's right next to a path that's constantly used. Cori Ann, we took one out when we moved in since it was planted in the wrong place and made a cave of the living room. They can grow as big as a garage and are armed with vicious thorns, plus their colors are too loud to assort well with my pale roses. I've also considered Spice, a rose I love, but am not sure that it would grow tall enough here. I really appreciate your continued efforts to help. I will probably stick with Cole's Settlement since it's apparently a tall and upright bush, the flowers are fragrant and have the informal, semiwild appearance that I'm looking for here. I'm hoping that its petals don't hang on but drop cleanly.