How large is allowed? Darlow's Enigma comes to mind, but it isn't small. I've seen Westerland and Autumn Sunset grown as narrow, free standing shrubs, but I've rarely been able to overwinter cane on mine.

I do have a Darlow's Enigma and I've considered another for this spot, but I'd like to try something new. The taller the better, as long as I don't have to stake. Wide is ok too.

Nevada....

Night Owl for me grows straight up and has blooms all over the place. It's a climber, but really behaves like a tall thinnish (but still substantial) shrub. It gets to about 4 feet high grown in a pot and overwintered in the garage.

Carol

How about Sugar Moon? It has the added bonus of being exceptionally fragrant.

Depending on size and repeat bloom or not some of the ramblers such as Lady Banks grow free standing. Not sure if it is cold hardy to your area but it it will grow free standing and huge.

I, too suggest Sugar Moon. She gets big quick, makes tons of dupet fragrant white blooms. I don't spray & vrry little blackspot

Eliminating pinks and reds leaves white, yellow, apricot, orange, and purple (which probably doesn't offer enough contrast with Darcy). I think white or yellow would offer the nicest contrast--just my opinion. Holly mentions a good one and I'll suggest Golden Celebration or Morden Sunrise (very upright). Julia Child would probably not be tall enough in your climate. Tall upright purples are Twilight Zone and Wild Blue Yonder. Evelyn is tall but maybe not upright enough. Jude the Obscure is very tall and upright here. Sorry for all the meandering around. If I were deciding on a rose in this situation, I don't think I'd worry too much about contrast with Darcy and just get what I liked best that would do the best in my climate. Morden Sunrise seems like the strongest contender for your climate. It's at least seven feet tall here, but probably would be shorter in your NH garden. It's definitely hardy enough. MS is a lovely yellow single with pinkish tinged outer petals. It has excellent repeat. Diane

I don't favor pinks in general, either, yet Boerner's Aloha is my favorite rose. Vigorous & healthy no spray, full of bloom in rapid repeat from early till late whether deadheaded or not, lovely fat hips for Winter interest & bird nourishment. Aloha's blooms are a blend of warm in the center & cooler at the edges, darker on the reverse of petals & lighter on the front that gives it several tints. Very fragrant of old rose damask & fruit. Austin's used Aloha extensively in his breeding program. (Couple of photos on HMF are of Kordes' Aloha Hawaii.) http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.153&tab=1 

Dixieland Linda aka Lady Ashe is the apricot sport of Aloha, equal in vigor, stature, health, abundance of bloom & fragrance. Not as much info at HMF. http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.19902.1&tab=1

Rogue Valley speaks highly of both. http://www.roguevalleyroses.com/search/node/aloha

I've grown the two for years & believe either would provide charming contrast for Darcy Bussell & be beautiful in its own right. If supported & trained they can become climbers to 10' or more over time, but their natural habit is as free standing shrubs. Sue

Sue, will Aloha grow well without a supporting structure? I have always read it described as a climber, but if it will "shrubify" I have just the place for it! :D! (Sorry if I hijacked the thread!)

Carefree Beauty.

Holly, emphatically Yes. My oldest Aloha has never been given support & forms a full bushy vase shape similar to the one in this photo by Dave Weil at HMF.

http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=21.1003

Eventually one of Aloha's canes arched over a nearby azalea tall as Aloha, found a perch, and gained another few feet in height by reposing there. Wonderful rose! Sue

Wow! Thank you Vasue. I've been admiring Aloha, but for climber. Guess I may have to rethink placement.

Oo! So excited! I have a barren little triangle at the corner of my yard that needs something beautiful to block the view of neighbor's trashcan. I wad thinking Westmoreland, but I like Aloha better! Are the blooms any good cut for vase?

I wonder if you might like 'The Lark Ascending', an Austin. I tend to think they go well together and judging by who's growing it on HMF, it would appear to be hardy for your zone. Similar to 'Morden Sunrise' but much taller, 6 or 7 foot for me easily, and will grow freestanding, although mine has an obelisk to contain the width...

In my blackspot ridden garden this is disease free, and always in bloom... very thorny but something quite charming about it.. and very much for the back of the border. It's also suitable for a sunken area where you can look down on it, as much as up...

I hope you find something suitable for your purposes...

I also have Aloha as a free-standing rose, but it really prefers to have a shepherd's hook for support or the canes start blooming just on the ends. If I bend the ends down and tuck them under the shepherd's hook, they put out laterals that are much bushier and more frequent to bloom.
Another apricot to consider that would look nice with Darcy Bussell is Sweet Fragrance. Mine is rock solid hardy in my zone 4 pocket, and wants to be 5' tall. Folksinger and Heaven on Earth are light blush apricot and they also thrive in my zone 4 pocket and get about 5' tall. I'd give Folksinger the edge for frequency of bloom, but HoE the edge for sheer beauty. Other yellows from Easy Elegance like High Voltage or Yellow Submarine would be a nice tall narrow statement. Teasing Georgia can be a sprawling option that does fine in my zone 4 area, as is Carding Mill on the apricot side of things. I agree that Morden Sunrise would look lovely, as in Diane's picture, and it's entirely hardy in that range. Great picture of Lark Ascending too, Marlorena!

Cynthia

I tried Darcy Bussell this year, the leaves all spot and drop.

Holly, Aloha is a hybrid tea at heart & the blooms are very good & long lasting for vase work, keeping their perfume till petal fall. Vaporvac, Aloha makes a great climber, it just needs to be trained & supported to do so. Canes are sturdy but flexible even in age & produce for many years. References recommend it for wall, trellis, pillar, pergola, arch, obelisk - a very accommodating rose. An arched cane will break laterals all along its length & those laterals will create laterals in turn, to be directed (or not) as you wish. Originally intended for an archway, just never got around to it (though had the arch when it was planted & have it still). Mine's 12' high where it rests on its adjacent azalea, so it can build into a nice size climber. Here Aloha & Dixieland Linda are own root. Since Aloha's my if-only-one favorite with DL close behind, asked myself last year why there's only one of each in this garden? Recent pairs of both now on hand, this time hoping to carry through with arches.

HMF shows Aloha on a tall pillar, trellis, obelisk, spilling over a fence, beginning to climb the side of an arch, ascending a tree trunk, free standing. http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=2.153&tab=36

Ratdogheads, please forgive my gush about these two roses. One HMF poster mentions tip hardy through -15F. Sue

Wow, so many suggestions, thank you! Much research to do now, many new to me.

vasue, no worries about the gushing, I'm more than happy to be part of any conversation that introduces great new options to others. Aloha's color reminds me of one of my very best, despite being pink - Boscobel.

Nevada...awesome! How would you describe the rate of growth?

The Lark Ascending is already on my radar, so it's good to learn it grows freestanding.

Night Owl is another I have my eye on and I've seen it nearby grown against a wall and I wondered if it might "shrubify" as Holly calls it.

Sugar Moon reminds me a lot of Moondance, one of my old loves that just won't thrive for me here. How wide does it get?

I do grow and love Morden Sunrise. Funny thing, here it has not grown over 3'. Mine die to the snow line though they rebound well. This year I got Bill Reed, which looks promising, much more vigorous, taller than MS in it's first year.

Nipstress, I have to agree with you on the sheer beauty of Heaven on Earth. Apricot is probably my favorite rose shade. Is yours own root or grafted?

Forgot to attach a photo of Carefree Beauty, it's about 5-6' tall and it's very hardy, repeats fast........

Nevada can form a tall shrub and is rated to zone 3b. I have read that it is one that does not die back to the ground during fairly cold winters. It is reported to be pretty vigorous. Nevada and Night Owl both are single petal roses. I find that sometimes, varied bloom styles can create a more interesting aesthetic. Nevada's white blooms, that sometimes have a hint of soft pink, could be a good complement for D.B.

Night Owl, suggested above, is supposed to form a nice upright shrub too. I purchased Aloha and grow it for the same reason.

Edited to add: a friend's mother, was growing Nevada in Madison, Wisconsin and it was gorgeous!!!!

I couldn't get squat out of Nevada. It didn't grow, and then it died. I was later told it is not a plant that does well own-root, but I've rarely run into one that did that badly.

Mordens blackspot here quite badly. If you are planning to spray this, that doesn't matter.

Rstdogheads, I'm in a waayyy different climate, but my Sugar Moon grew own root from band to 5x4 in 2 years. It outgrew its space and I had to move it. I pruned it too hard & thought I had killed it. She's now I think recovered; 4-5 good basal canes and is about 2' tall and maybe 1' across. About a month ago she grew a normal sized, very fragrant, HT formed bloom for the first time in 2 years. She had been making small, floribunda looking flattish blooms during the 2 year shock sulk.

I'm very fond of single and semi doubles and enjoy mixing them among full fluffy English Roses.

Madgallica, bummer about your Nevada, to what do you attribute that failure? My soil is acidic, if that's of any consequence. I do spray selectively, but this summer I've cut back and am considering culling the worst BS offenders. Morden Sunrise would be on that list, but I'm so attached :( Happy to report that Bill Reed is pretty clean without spray, too bad it lacks the apricot blush, however it's a nice sunny yellow if you enjoy that.

Re Sugar Moon, I wouldn't have thought to look at HTs! I used to grow them in a warmer place but have gravitated towards shrubs since moving to NH.

Carefree Beauty is a fine rose and I'm well familiar with it. Country Dancer is another fine, tall pink Buck rose if anyone else is looking for such. Trouble is, it seems that most of the roses I'd consider 5 star are pink, and I'm looking for a different color here.

I want a rose that's quite tall, it's a corner garden bordered by some towering miscanthus grass. The Darcey Bussells are almost 4' tall, so I envision something more in the 6' range than 4-5'. Also this is a wide space to fill, so broad growth is fine or if the habit is narrow, I'll plant a grouping. My experience with DAs that grow tall is that the infamous octopus arms break without support, particularly due to full heavy blooms, and many tend bloom only at the end of those long canes.

p.s. summersrythym, what's the rose in the backgraound?

I'm sure that my experience is nothing like yours, but Westerland grows as a free-standing shrub for me.

I had a spot similar to yours needing a rose that was tall rather than wide and between a red and a burgundy rose. I ended up with Coquette des Blanches. Granted, it blushes pink but it's mostly white. This is the first summer for it but it seems to have nailed it for height. It hasn't bloomed much so far but the blooms are memorable. I wouldn't expect it to do much yet and my experience may not be like yours, anyway.

Have you looked at Quietness? I didn't go back to top of thread, & I don't remember. Mine is 1st year from OR band & is growing a lovely shrub shape & lots of flowers. I think it's rated zone 5? Not sure, we don't have much winter here, so I never check the cold tolerance. Q is a super healthy, not bothered by anything bush in my no spray garden. I have seen zero bs, even though Q is quite near Eiffel Tower which I think has congenital bs!

It was a long time ago, but my recollection is that Nevada was a rose that rooted fairly easily, but none of the cuttings wanted to grow. I was told it does not want to grow roots as an own-root plant. There is also a fair amount of speculation about the parentage, and it may well include roses that do much better in a less humid environment. Sources say it is hardy, and I believe it may do well outside Denver, but here it has 'issues'.

The darker pink behind Carefree are 2 William Baffin, they're huge, I have 3 of them in the backyard, they are pretty in the spring, but don't have many repeat blooms, just here and there, no big shows.

The Nevada I saw ... (learned what it was years after seeing it and drooling), was growing in Madison, Wisconsin. I know there are other factors to consider... like humidity and so much more... Mad Gallica is usually "spot on" regarding roses in her approximation....

Madgallica's advice is always appreciated. I've lived, gardened, and travelled throughout the US enough to understand the importance of regional climates. This cold/wet/hot/humid corner of America is tough on roses, and I'm the type to want what's not good for me.

Coquette des Blanches looks good on HMF. Says zone 5b, so maybe... but I see a reference to Noisette and that gives me pause. I've tired to grow Aimee Vibert three times, RVR says it's hardy to zone 5 and I just keep hoping they're right. I'm still hanging on to a few bourbons and/or hybrid perpetuals but most are hopelessly addicted to blackspot.

Westerland is a rose I often see touted as a freestanding shrub in cold zones, but I've never seen it done. I've always been interested in Autumn Sunset, which you'd think coming from Mike Lowe in NH, would be suitable. I've not seen gardens in NH growing them though. If madgallica can't overwinter them, I'll pass.

MIke had a massive freestanding Westerland near a massive freestanding Autumn Sunset. He was in Nashua, and a bit warmer than we are.

Another suggestion is Seafoam. Big, thorny, and completely underappreciated.

Interesting, that is good information. I'm about 20 miles north of Nashua. I wonder if his garden still exists, do you know? Do you recall If they were blackspot resistant?

I would have never thought of Seafoam as a climber, I would imagine it would need support. I grew one when I lived on the coast, it was a little thing but it did ok with sandy soil and salt air.

I believe Mike's house was sold shortly after his death. No idea what happened to the roses.

Here, Seafoam is a big shrub. Sort of like a Darlow's Enigma little brother - 6 x 6 instead of 12 x 12.

Seafoam produced a terrific spring flush here in SE VA but nothing much the rest of the season. The rugosa Thomas Lipton would do the same without needing extensive support. Both extremely thorny but not as deadly as Darlow's Enigma.

Night Owl produces nice clusters of deep pink to purple blooms with a white eye and is well clad with handsome foliage top to bottom. Repeat is excellent. It's about 4 X 6 here. Hope someone can give us an idea of hardiness, I've only grown it in coastal Z8.

My seafoam was a good bloomer, always a few little blooms. i grew almost exclusively rugosas on the coast. Haven't tried any here, I was so excited to at the opportunity to grow something other than "beach" roses.

Does Seafom mind shade?

Here are Night Owl and Stormy Weather grown at a garden little north of me. Early June, 5b/a. I forget which is which, they're tagged, but I can't read them. These were protected in the winter with salt marsh hay, as you can see it didn't help much. I've watched them over the past couple years, and while they're disappointing as climbers, I've wondered how they'd do as shrubs. I don't think they'd give me the look I want near my Darceys but I may use one of these in another spot.

(Short one the right.)

I visited Mike Lowe in NH some years ago. He was so kind and had a beautiful yard. He did elaborate winter protection I believe with boxes, that were insulated, covering the plants in the winter that needed it. This no doubt could zone stretch his plantings. Ratdogheads, I bet High Country Roses or Northland Rosarium would have some hardier choices for you that would give you the look you want.

Ratdogheads - in answer to your question, I could have sworn my HOE was own root, but it was actually grafted from Jackson & Perkins about 9 years ago. I strongly suspect it has gone own root since I no longer see a graft and I didn't know to bury it in those days. I wouldn't hesitate to plant it own root. I love the changeable color and style of the blooms, all of which I think would complement Darcy Bussell nicely. In this relatively dark bloom, there are hints of the crimson-purple DB shows:

She can tend toward an orange-apricot color in cool temperatures, as she was here this May:

Most of the time she's a blush color with nice cupped but open blooms like this:

To give you an idea of relative size, here is HOE mixed in with other large shrubs in my zone 4 pocket of part shade. The shot is a little bleached out, but HOE is the palest rose mostly in the center of the shot. You can see my 5' black fence behind it and it is already up to the fence in an average year by June as seen here:

Bottom line - it's a lovely survivor for me.

Cynthia