Ramblers are very, very vigorous roses, bearing mostly single flowers in abundance during spring. Mostly, they bloom once only which we can uderstand, because they use so much energy in growth. Their growth is described as rambling: they ramble over the fences, trees, roofs and walls. Nothing can stop them. So they grow taller than climbers, are more vigorous, bear more canes and shots with abundance of flowers once they bloom. Also, they're mostly sweetly scented and quite disease resistant. Some well know excellent varieties are Rambling Rector (grows > 10m), Seagull, Wedding Day, Kiftsgate, Bobbie James, etc. They're mostly varieties made by breeding wild rose species (Rosa Multiflora, for example) with some vigorous modern cultivars.
Some modern ramblers are remontant, but usually they're not as vigorous as spring flowering varieties and usually they lack fragrance.
You can't have it all.
Dorothy Perkins is a very fine rose. In Oz, it will grow 5m tall and few meters wide. Highly recommended.
- Tom

Thanks Tom.

That is one large rose, 5 metres.
Do you let is just grow and grow or do you need to cut it back often.
The writeup says it is very thorny so that makes it a bit of a worry.
Or do you just give it a shed and let it do it's own thing.
Marion

If you want some vigorous but not too thorny climber, try Mme Alfred Carriere. It will grow 5m in Oz, no problems. Great fragrance, flower shape, quite shade tolerant.
Or you can try completely thornless Zephirine Drouhin, which is an excellent Bourbon rose. Performs well in shade too.
Lamarque is an excellent Noisette rose and also with just few thorns. Highly recommended, but it likes warm and sunny walls.
If you still want something like Dorothy Perkins, which is spring bloomer only, I can recommend Constance Spry, which is one of the best climbing roses ever. It has beautiful old rose style foliage, which is highly decorative and luxurious. I have it in my garden and it performs better than any other climber. Truly amazing rose -- a landmark in rose breeding. Constance will grow 5m in Oz very quickly.
If you want something smaller, and spring blooming too, give a try to Rosa Gallica Complicata (much better disease resistance than Dorothy Perkins). It will grow 2-3 m high.
Or even better, give a try to some remotant David Austin varieties:
* Shropshire Lad is an amazing climber, huge blooms, excellent fragrance (3 m).
* Falstaff is a sight to behold -- excellent crimson colour plus unbeatable old rose (Damask) fragrance (2-2.5 m).
* Crown Princess Margareta -- beautiful arching canes with abundance of fragrant flowers (2.5-3 m).
* Graham Thomas - 3 m tall as a climber, amazing shows of yellow, fragrant blooms.
* Golden Celebration - similar to Graham Thomas, but with more refined fragrance and growth (2-3 m).
* St Swithun -- strong myrrh scent and excellent blooms on an outstanding, tall rose (2-3 m).
* Pegasus - excellent tall rose, with peachy blooms and strong Tea fragrance (2-2.5 m).
* And so on ...
I personaly adore all David Austin's and strongly recommend them, especially newer varieties which are of excellent disease resistance.

Hope this helps!

- Tom

Tom, I already have Lamarque on my wish list for next year, I saw and smelt it last year, lovely citrus scent.

The reason I asked about Dorothy Perkins is a local felllow with a nursery here did a write up about it.

I live near Rockhampton on the Tropic of Capricorn, we are going thru a very hot, humid period at the moment and we have quite a few periods like that and then we get it just plain hot and dry.
Winters are wonderful.
I have Frangipanni near the rose garden, large branches cut off and stuck in the ground to grow, they will give some light shade in summer and full sun in winter.
The less thorny ones sound like a much better idea.
I have not seen many climbers in the area, lots of roses in gardens though.
Marion, thanking you for the list.

Hi Marion-you NEED Paul Transon! *grin*
best regards
sandie

Help, please.
My grandmother had a Dorothy Perkins, and I have moved some of that rose every time I moved.
This move, something strange has happened. The rose bloomed in white bunches, multiflora, the first year.
This year, I have one cane that bloomed like Dorothy is supposed to, in pink and smelling pretty.
How do I work with this? Cut back everything but the cane that bloomed as a Dorothy?? Leave well enough alone???
If you can help, I'd be most grateful.
Thanks, Sue Summer

Sue, it sounds like you have a sport or mutation. If the white-bearing canes are coming from below ground, you probably can't stop it. If a white-bearing cane sprouts from a pink-bearing cane, you can just cut it off at the base. In this case, it sounds like you transplanted the white mutant and one cane has sported back to the original DP.

DP roots very easily, so you could bend the pink cane to the ground, put a little soil over a section, and put a rock on it. It should root around a month. Once it is well rooted, sever the connection and let your new plant develop for a couple of months before transplanting it.