Maréchal Niel excellent disease resistance
7 years ago
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7 years ago
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Maréchal Niel...Can this rose survive in zone 7
Comments (29)Don't forget folks that she is in zone 7a. Although the difference between zones 7a & 7b is slight, it could make a difference in regards to this most tender of the Tea-Noisettes. Ronda, You can't have your cake and eat it too. If you want MN, then you've got to take a risk. Trust me, I understand how you feel. It IS a gorgeous rose with intoxicating fragrance and has more mystique than an X-Man movie. I lusted after it for years until I finally faced the fact that I could not have it. I even gave up on putting it in my Mom's zone 7b garden because it is too high maintenance of a rose. Patrick...See MoreHow is your Maréchal Niel doing?
Comments (17)I have had an Epiphany. Here is what Malcolm Manners had to say about this Noisette rose at the "Please wax poetically over Maréchal Niel" thread. "We grow the "clone" (I hate that word, since the entire variety is a clone; maybe we should say "selection") of MN that was found by Greg Grant, in Texas, years ago -- a very vigorous one that tests free of virus disease. We graft it to 'Fortuniana' roots. That combination makes the most vigorous rose we've ever grown -- easily 15 feet per year, and it will cover whatever structure you put it on. Definitely house-eater category. At it's best, it is an amazingly beautiful rose. But in our humid climate, it balls for quite a lot of the year, and has severe thrips injury at other times. So it's not always beautiful. It's pretty good right now. It's other fault is that it is the most unforgiving of pruning of any rose I've ever seen. We grow it on an 8x8x8 foot arbor with two benches underneath. To keep it tidy on that structure, we have tried to give it a "haircut" a foot or so above the 8' roof. Doing so sometimes kills the plant to the ground. So on those occasions when we simply must prune it, we make sure there are replacement plants coming along in the greenhouse, just in case. What I try to do instead is to remove wayward branches one at a time, so the plant won't "notice" on any one day that it's been pruned. That seems to work." Until just this moment I used to have major MN envy because of the fascinating history behind the rose not to mention the brilliant canary yellow color, loosely quartered flower form, large nodding blooms, powerful fragrance, and unusual drooping foliage. Not anymore. So the skinny is that MN only grows well unprotected in hot climates, has problems with the flowers balling, has no vigor unless grafted on Fortuniana, and dies back significantly (to the point of death) if more than one cane is pruned. I've even read a few reports that the black spot resistance isn't as bulletproof as previoiusly thought. Lets be honest. Does this sound like a GOOD rose to you? Frankly I'll take GRAHAM THOMAS or THE PILGRIM anyday over this Fuss-Diva-from-Hades Noisette. At least they grow well on their own roots, are hardy over a greater climatic range, and don't faint if cut back to contain their vigorous growth. BTW, I officially apologize for all the enabling that I've done in the name of Maréchal Niel. Image of MN by riku posted at the wax poetically thread....See MoreSpeaking of Disease Resistance
Comments (6)For my conditions, "disease resistant" is merely an indicator of how long the rose will take to show disease. It's inevitable & it will happen if not sprayed. It's just a question of when--right away, a month down the road, or into the thick of summer. I have a couple of roses that are "spray resistant"; no matter how they are treated, they drop half their leaves before the first week of June. They may be ex-roses here pretty soon, but I haven't decided yet. There is no quick trick, no cure-all, and nothing that can be offered as advice for a person who wants to grow fussy roses with a tendency to spot without taking the proper time & precautions to get the most optimum results. I say optimum because in certain areas, perfection is a myth. If you're looking for disease resistant roses that don't care what you plant around or under them and that tolerate a quick gardener's hand with little patience, I might suggest knock outs or ground cover roses. But with hybrid teas in a marginal zone, you'll need more patience and attention to detail than what I've witnessed as evident so far. Hence the suggestions to grow evergreens, grass, etc. Back to the original post...if I ever had to garden with that gear on I'd die from heat stroke and my neighbors would insist I rip out the roses! Oh my! I can't imagine spraying so much or so often that it would ever be necessary. I use a little 99-cent, hand-held plastic bottle from the dollar store. My roses aren't perfect and many of them have some spots, some holes, and they are totally lopsided from my erratic dead-heading and pruning. But OOOOH do I enjoy working on them, smelling them, and walking about in them. It's the same as any hobby or investment. It's all about the relationship between risk & reward....See MoreMost fragrant yellow Austin
Comments (9)And the answer is....THE PILGRIM. Soft lemony yellow, great fragrance, and disease-resistant. Although it is often thought of as a climber (and that is how I am growing it), David Austin also says it can grow as a 4-5 ft x 3 ft shrub. But I don't think you should overlook Molineux. Normally it is quite fragrant, and while sometimes it shades towards golden apricot, it's color is variable--can be anything from a pale yellow with creamy edges to a creamy bloom with a peachy center. I haven't grown it, but Charles Darwin is often described as a yellow with nice fragrance. I think it is supposed to be disease-resistant also, but you better double check on that. Heirloom Roses used to carry an older Austin called Symphony or something like that. It was definitely a lighter yellow and if I remember correctly, was supposed to have excellent disease-resistance. If you are interested in blooms that are somewhere between singles and doubles, Austin's Blythe Spirit is a soft yellow and disease-resistant. That's all I can think of right now.--maybe Charlotte would work, but I don't know how disease-resistant it is. Kate...See More
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sultry_jasmine_nights (Florida-9a-ish)