Judith, I wish I had room for a Crepuscule, I like the looks of that rose. Pam, as I have been pruning my roses the last two weeks, when I got to RdV, I just admired how it is doing EXACTLY what I wanted it to on its big tripod ... and I just left it alone and moved on to the next rose. Nice. Hamp, I agree with you about Climbing Pinkie. My Mom grows it on an arch at her home in Arkansas. Her home backs up to a golf course, and in the spring, it is so loaded with blooms that it distracts the golfers from their game! Very heathly, shiny foliage. She loves it. Mad_gallica, after growing Heritage for a couple of years, I wouldn't even try to train it as a short climber. It's a beautiful rose for sure, but Reine des Violettes is so much easier for training against a structure. My Heritage has its heart set on being a large shrub. Ann, your Heritage is "seldom pink"? Mine is most always shades of pink. Sometimes, in the midst of summer, its blooms will fade after opening to look more like its white sport, Rose Marie, but most of the time its a heart-warming soft pink blush. On rare occasions during the summer, I will see both white & blush pink roses on it at the same time ... love that. Leslie, I'm glad you have space to move your big 'uns to an area where they can stretch their arms. Roses look so much better when they have adequate space for what they want to do. Linda, Mom's Climbing Pinkie can get really long/tall too. She keeps it pruned regularly so it "fits" her large arch. She's the master pruner ... I inherited my love of plants from her, but that trait didn't rub off on me (pruning comes difficult for me). "... tall beautiful bushy rose with added wonderful fragrance and softness of bloom ..." Perfect description of my Heritage too, Patricia. Daun, those flexible small canes with charm and color are exactly the reason why I love many chinas & teas too. Glad you could relate to that, Jerome! Michelle, you were wise to give so much space between your roses. The Generous Gardener & Heritage mixing canes together would be a great sight. Phil, I will remember that ... "Short Climber = Big Horse of a Shrub!" Randy

Rdv, SdDJ, Erfurt and Pat Ausin are great options. So one last question if you'll bear with me. My Crepuscule is trained up an arch in front of a fence. To the right of the arch is about 8 feet of trellis attached to the fence but there is only 2.5 ft. of soil in the bed until concrete begins. So I could plant the climber in the soil 2.5 feet from Crep (it would be trained in the opposite direction) or in a large pot on the concrete under the center of the trellis. Which would be better for the roots and the roses?

This is Kevarose who could not log in without getting a new moniker. Oh well ... I will post a pic when I work out how ..... The bed at the back of my house facing onto a pool has 13 roof beams to the ground and I now have a variety of climbers wending their way onwards and upwards. There are 6 Graham Thomas and they are a constant joy to me and I can pretty well always cut enough flowers for a large bowl of yellow smelly roses. Bushy rather than long and climbing up my poles but it is OK as they are getting higher this summer. The one I absolutely love is Celine Forestier - always always in bloom and such a soft yellow with hints of pink - and it is more "snakelike" in climbing up my pole although there are now lots of - I guess - thick basal canes at the root heading vertically also. (Mme) Alfred Carry-on is not a success in this position - One lot of beams has vertical boards (like lattice) as a privacy screen and I had hoped she might fill in some of this boring wood work but the Madame has her own mind and well although she is lovely - she will be better up on my new veggie garden walls with a sister. I removed the 5 Icebergs - who was it on this forum who advised me to use Clgb Mrs H Stevens instead - they were RIGHT! - and replaced them with 3 Penelopes (Pemberton) and one Sutters Gold (and the Celine F). I think I will like the penelope as a white-ish one as the color scheme is yellow/white/yellow .... etc. In between in this bed are purpley blue things, lavender and herbs (that survive the chooks who hop through the pool fence), a Mikado (I love that yellow buff color) and a few Golden Touch ground cover roses. And a devonisesis. And a Jude the Obscure. Just bought a yellow Delbard on special in Mittagong but it is very bright yellow now in bloom and maybe too bright for this bed - might plant it elsewhere. Thanks to Deryn I bought 2 Clbg Softies to climb around the pool cabana roof and then could not resist another Clbg Devonisesis. The softies are still bare-rooted just stuck in a pot with the roots exposed a lot above a bit of soil (I get busy here) and so I plan to plant them TODAY. So I hope this bed will be an even greater source of joy in the years to come. I posted a pic of this bed 6 months ago with massive weeds through it and it is now finally weeded and mulced but looking at it today I will have to round up again as the fine grassey stuff is showing through the mulch or where it is missing. I never have trouble with the way I apply the round up. Next winter I have plans for even more roses in 2 big new beds on the other side of the pool - I mean the grass is such a pain to mow!

Thanks all for your encouraging words. Trip the creps were planted in the summer after I moved in so 18 months old. I now realise 5 is far too many as this rose is so big and may move one or two out next winter. I go along with hedge clipeprs and lop of all the branches and flowers that stick out more than a few cm so I guess I am espaliering it but I have to do that as it is a walkway. I like that the crep hedge on the balcony flowers as well on the non-sun side - I am looking at it 4 feet away as I type in my living room. Marion - I think the reason for the success of lamarque up that gum - and now leonie viennot starting - is the frequency and quantity of water as every time someone has a bath or shower, the sprinklers turn on and there is also heaps of cow manure around the gum - I do not think it would work without that water as the gum would be a better scavenger. But having said that, the stupid one here is currently planting a new gigantea next to a massive gum on the hill above my house to replace one that died, and every morning I troop up and hand water a wedding day I have next to another gum and I am about to plant a rambling rector and a gift from a friend here that was not kifsgate - I do see these massive roses bedecking the gums on my hill and I am not really dealing with how they will cope with the gums taking all the water - but I am taking the advice of Larry from rose exchange and planting them next to the gum trunk not out further where there is likely to be more feeder roots - it is an exercise that is likely to end in tears unless one has a biocyle to automatically water every day or two like Lamarque and Leonie have but then hope sprinks eternal and you never know, maybe I will get these giants to take up on the hill ....