Over the past 4 years, especially my first and second, my budget was SO tight. I only bought roses for less than $8, and bought many a grade #2. Honestly looking through my garden now, I can't tell the 1,s from the 1 1/2's from the 2's, and really don't remember or care which was which. I specifically remember two grade 2's I got from Orchard Supply - a Brides Dream, and a mismarked Pink Promise which ended up Pink Peace. They took a long time to mature, but they are both GORGEOUS now.

Climbing Peace is worth every bit of the trouble you may have in finding it. Yes, coltensdad is correct - it may take 2-3 years to really become established. However, when it does, just imagine a complete bush/trellis covered with 6-inch double-double blooms so heavy that it takes a pipe rack to hold it. Once established, it even repeats during the season - but it is slow to take hold (years). It's every bit the bush that the regular Peace is, except it sends up 10-12 foot shoots or longer.

Climbing Peace gets a lot of bad raps, much of which it does not deserve. It is a bit of a misunderstood rose. Before you buy, grow and maintain climbing Peace, you need to ask the question, what do I want out of it. If you are asking for all summer long repeat, you will be thoroughly disappointed. If you want something you can tame and train, forget about climbing Peace. You you want a complete clean rose, don't bother. (I will come out and say straight off that I love our Climbing Peace.) If you grow climbing Peace, here is what you should be prepared for: 1. No blooms for the first 2 years, blooms in the spring only from year 3 to 5. 2. "Massive" spring flush from year 4-5 onwards, minimal mid season repeat (in fact, I will suggest not to expect any mid season flowers), then a few flowers at all times from August till frost. 3. It flowers from previous year's canes. You can't prune those - you absolutely must leave them alone - if you want a nice spring flush. I try and secure them in an arch to encourage laterals - it's these laterals that will give you flowers. Don't bother trying to train them any other ways - they are too thick and too stiff, and there are just too many of them. 4. I remove all the older canes (more than 2 years old usually) except the few really large ones that comes from the bud union. These, after 10 years have become almost like "tree trunks" - new canes arise from the top of these. 5. It's a heavy feeder - much more than any other rose. I give it a generous feed when the spring flush is over, to encourage new thick, long canes - these are next years show bearer. 6. It needs lot's of room - it's huge. In a way, it behaves almost like a rambler, except for it's late season blooms and thick canes. But our climber Peace's spring display is breath taking, and it remains one of my favourites in the garden. If you set your expectations to what this rose has to offer and it's limitations, you will love the rose. If not, you will learn to hate it. There is just no sitting on the fence on this one. But I would like you to sit back and imagine one to two hundred of these 7 inch flowers, one a single rose, all at once:

Mine was a bareroot from a big box store, I forget which one. Its companion, supposed to be Cl. Queen Elizabeth, ended up as the rootstock, Dr. Huey, oh, phooey, but I kept it and it's lovely in the spring, all that red. Climbing Peace has thrived. I put a steel post opposite the arbor post and trained nearly half the canes over to the new post, late in the winter. I googled for the Rose Emporium -- they sold out of Cl. Peace. Nell