You may want to look at 'Mel's Heritage'. Its lax habit will lend itself to being trained horizontally.

:-)

~Christopher

Gorgeous! Looking to find it. Open to others too.

Is Mel's Heritage hardy on Long Island?

Susan

Most of Long Island is 7a, some is 7b, and some is 6b.

:-)

~Christopher

I mentioned 'Awakening', the double sport of 'New Dawn', in another thread recently. It's just like 'New Dawn' except for the blooms, which are full and beautiful. There's also a white sport, but I've never seen it.

I will second Melissa's suggestion of Awakening (HMF says it is good for zones 5b through 9b). It's natural tendency does seem to be to sprawl out horizontally, and then begin to climb. Here is a picture of one which was about 8 years old at the time, and was not trained at all, and only pruned to keep it inside of the bed:

It looks like the canes are flexible and is a very nice bloom!

Susan, I would do more research before committing to Mel's Heritage (meaning find someone who's actually grown it that far north). There are no Northern gardens where it's grown listed on HMF except for one in Nevada (!), and I question whether that one is still there, lol. The reason I say this, is that one of MH's parents is Crepuscule, which is barely hardy here in z7a. I sort of grow Crepuscule. It does NOT like our unpredictable Springs, less even than the winter chill.

I know Christopher zone pushes. Don't we all? But I don't know if he grows MH. If he does, then YOU can.

MH is a beautiful rose, but you might want something proven hardy if you want something "bullet-proof". There was actually another thread on MH, and toward the (current) end of the thread the question of hardiness was raised. It does grow in TN (see Poorbutroserich above), and well, but on a brick wall. That may be the only MH in TN, lol. BUT...let me say this: I don't take my own advice, because I intend to try MH myself, lol.

Another rose to consider is Annie Laurie McDowell. It's another rose bred out West (by our own Kim Rupert), but I have a friend who grows this well in IN, in a solid zone 6. It suffers a bit of dieback, but outgrows it quickly. I got a band this Spring, and it's already throwing 3' canes, and has tried to bloom from the time it got here.

John

Annie Laurie McDowell

John is right -- it may be a bit of a gamble with 'Mel's Heritage'. One caveat is that if you're worried about hardiness, you could lay the canes on the ground for Winter and put them back up in Spring. Being very lax, 'Mel's Heritage' actually needs to be supported to keep it off the ground, anyway.

Along the lines of 'Annie Laurie McDowell', also consider its parent, 'Renae'. From what others have said, ALM wants to bloom so much that it grows more slowly than its parent. Both are thornless, so that's another plus.

You could also look at some of the newer David Austin repeat-blooming ramblers, such as 'Malvern Hills' and 'The Albrighton Rambler'. I have no experience with any of them, but others may. There are also some "regular" Austins that lend themselves to being trained as climbers. I had 'Crown Princess Margareta' in a previous garden, and it was very easy to train that way.

A final suggestion -- I know you wanted a repeat-blooming rose, but perhaps another possibility would be looking at some of the once-blooming Wichurana ramblers. To extend interest, you could plant some Type-3 Large-Flowered Clematis there as well, and they'll climb into the rose and fence, blooming when the rose is finished. The Type-3 Clematis are easy to manage -- simply cut them back hard in Spring, and guide them to grow where you want before they bloom in Summer. And plant some annuals near the base to keep their roots shaded.

:-)

~Christopher

I am in zone 7b and my Mel's Heritage is incredible. I planted it rather late last summer with two lanky canes on its own roots. I didn't protect it from what was a pretty rotten winter here. But as the warm weather returned, it grew and flowered like it was in love with life. It is an amazing rose, touchingly beautiful with those little perfect buds, and I would give it a serious try in a slightly colder climate. Even if you have to cut back harder in the spring for dieback, it grows so quickly and happily... well, I'd try it. It's a really special rose.

Thanks so much for the suggestions. They are going on the list. This is a spot where I don't want to give it much maintenance and reap the most rewards! I'll do more research into Mel's Heritage re its hardiness because I would like the canes I put into place to remain hardy so a foundation is established. For that reason, I appreciate the suggestion of Clematis but not for this spot with minimal maintenance. I don't want the rose to be a chore. Some of DA's new ramblers do look interesting.

How about the climbing version of The Fairy?

Well, now I've been asked to do a red climbing rose, so same thing - red, lax habit, disease resistant (important) and hopefully remontant. The fence is on our neighbor's yard and that was his request. Thanks!

Its habit isn't naturally lax, but 'Orfeo' has canes flexible enough to be trained along a fence. I have mine growing into a tree. You have to be patient with it, however -- mine didn't bloom until a year after being planted, and then only five or six blooms. The following year it gave more of a flush, but it's still growing. The most recent pic of it on HelpMeFind is of my plant last year.

:-)

~Christopher

Been researching, looks good. I'd love Etoile d' Holland but I think it's prone to blackspot.

Generally, climbing sports of HTs won't be as flexible as climbers "born that way". 'Orfeo' gets its habit and bloom color from 'Guinee', and its bloom form and fragrance from 'Curly Pink'. As for health, mine is still clean now, despite growing in a central NJ no-spray garden -- and trained into a scalped Callery pear tree.

If you go for it, I'd advise pampering it in a pot to push growth before planting out in the ground. My "magic mix" for pushing growth is three parts peat moss, one part Bovung dehydrated manure, one part vermiculite, and one part perlite. For each gallon of mix, add 1/2 cup organic dry fertilizer, such as Espoma Garden Tone. I also add a mulch of used coffee grounds for my potted bands.

:-)

~Christopher

Thank you! Good advice. I'm wide open and at the moment I'm looking at Ramblin Red and definitely considering Orfeo. Not EdH.

I'm back to looking at Orfeo but not finding any information on blackspot resistance.

That's likely because it's not commonly grown. All I can say is that mine has stayed healthy -- even the foliage that's getting shaded by tree leaves as it makes its way up. Oh, and there was another poster on here who grew it in Washington DC and loved it enough to bring a rooted cutting of it when he moved to North Carolina. If you enter "Orfeo" in a search, you'll find the handful of threads where it was mentioned.

:-)

~Christopher

You might be interested in a red disease resistant climbing miniature called Red Cascade by Ralph Moore.. It blooms prolifically and was very disease resistant for me in zone 8, Dallas, Texas. It's listed to 5b according to hmf. The blooms are small but a perfect hybrid tea shape. Little fragrance from what I remember but it is a good bloomer. Ive seen it as a ground cover but I trained mine up a trellis. I imagine it would be easily trainable on a fence. It has small wicked thorns, though. Beautiful rose. Gean

Red Cascade

I will second the suggestion of Red Cascade. Mine seems never to be out of bloom, and it gets minimal care.

I've also read great things about 'Red Cascade', and have it on my list -- only problem is that I don't know where I'd use it, and so it remains on my list and not in my garden. If you're willing to forego fragrance, it might be a winner for you.

I do also want to return to something I mentioned previously -- consider looking at some of the once-blooming ramblers for this fence, with some Type 3 Clematis to provide color after the rose has finished. If you want fragrance, there are some Autumn-blooming Clematis among the Type-3s that can provide that. You may want to steer clear of "Sweet Autumn Clematis", however, since it is known for seeding about like a weed. But in any case, having several climbers with different bloom times would provide longer interest.

Brushwood Nursery has a very nice selection of climbers, and not just Clematis -- also Honeysuckle, Roses, Passiflora, Jasmine, etc. If you search their website, be sure to click on the "show out of stock items" to see all of what they carry. You may like the fragrant late-blooming small-flowered Clematis, such as 'Triternata Rubromarginata'. I got quite a few Clematis from them last year, and they're all doing well.

:-)

~Christopher

I happened to think of another red climber that might be of interest, Rhode Island Red/ Fields of the Wood. The foliage was very clean here but the summers were so wet and cool those years I grew it the blooms balled in my garden in the Puget Sound area. But it is very fragrant and beautiful. Fields of the Wood

Hello again! Thank you so much for your comments. In the end, a few things changed and I was able to get 3 roses of my choice. I decided on Climbing Clotilde Soupert which was described by Antique Rose Emporium as a mannerly climber and in research found that it should be disease resistant to blackspot, so fingers are crossed and the roses are in the ground!

You will love her. She is a beauty!!!!

I can't wait!! Hope she's mannerly!