Help choosing climbers for the front of the house

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

I posted already on the roses forum but it would be great if I could get some ideas here, too, especially as I like the old rose look.

Here's what I said (updated):

I am planning a couple of climbing roses for the front of the
cottage where I live. It's in a south-facing, sunny (for the UK) spot
with good soil. It rarely goes below freezing but is not very hot either.

Someone has asked me to plant a yellow climber, which isn't what I
would have gone for, only because there are some other plants that may
clash with the yellow. But I will plant it because they want it.

In addition, I was hoping for a pink climber myself, so I need to
choose a pink and a yellow that combine well (I have seen the other
thread on combining pink and yellow!) I had been hoping to introduce
more old roses or an old rose look (which I love) as the garden has many
hybrid teas already, however some of the best options seem to be hybrid
tea.

For yellows, my shortlist includes: Leverkusen, Souvenir de Claudius Pernet, Chris, Stamford's Sanctuary, Teasing Georgia, Billard et Barre, Celine Forestier, orCyrano de Bergerac (Meilland)

For pinks, I am thinking of Caroline Testout, Mme. Ernest Calvat or Florence Ducher as a short climber.I feel Zepherine Drouhin would probably be too bright, especially in combination with a yellow.

The problem is that out of the yellows, the best options would seem
to be HTs which, combined with Caroline would be two hybrid teas. I
could combine Caroline Testout with Celine Forestier but some reviews
say Celine Forestier is difficult to grow?

Does anyone have any suggestions for favourites that might work? I
would like an old rose look if possible for a least one rose. The roses
wuldn't be right next to one another.

I am leaning towards Leverkusen or Cyrano de Bergerac with Florence Ducher (Isaac Pereire x Mme. Ernst Calvat) and Caroline Testout in another corner. The issue with this is that Cyrano de Bergerac is only 2-2.5 m (~7 ft) and Florence Ducher is also short (3m). Leverkusen is taller but apparently does not repeat well (or does it?). The yellow rose would go ideally on the right hand side near the door. As the house faces just off south, that side has slightly less sun and is slightly more shaded, so I thought Leverkusen would be good but not if it doesn't repeat. I thought 'Cyrano de Bergerac' would solve the repeating problem but it is only short.

House: http://i.imgur.com/a5Rf0ci.png?1

Very rough cut and paste of some roses: http://i.imgur.com/hWObRss.png

I don't mind about how thorny a rose is, and a strong fragrance would be good.

Thanks for any ideas at all.

Featured Answer

ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9

7 years ago

A modern climber that doesn't look so modern and is a soft yellow color is Casino, which is a very underrated rose. Celine Forestiere is not really what i would call yellow and mine grew at a glacial pace. I no longer have it. Below is a picture of Casino. I wish I still had it. Cl. Pinkie might look nice for your other climber.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (7)

portlandmysteryrose
7 years ago
Does Buff Beauty grow well in your area? I find this Hybrid Musk blends well with soft pinks. Carol
bryony88_zone10a_england thanked portlandmysteryrose
Related Discussions
Help choosing a climber?
Q
Comments (5)
I'll have to get a current photo of the tree, need to anyway. The tree is as tall if not taller than our 2 story home, but I'm not kidding about upper branches being all that remains. I've been watching the area on sunny days, and it looks like there will be several hours of sun there, the tree is not shading it like it used to. The tree may actually have to be cut all the way down someday when we have the money or the chain saw to do it. It's a pine tree (not certain of the variety), and without the branches it used to have it's really an eyesore as it is. The tree is still alive, and I have read about roses near trees competing, and I'm starting to lean toward trying to grow a clematis there instead. even though my track record with clematis is pretty shabby. I did move a knock out rose to the area, it was crowded and needed moved anyway. I have to relandscape the whole corner now! I will try to get a photo soon, maybe that will help.
...See More
Which tree to choose in front of house
Q
Comments (7)
If shade is required you will need a big tree, tornado or no tornado. Resistant elm is a very good choice, male gingko is another, as are the lindens. Personally I love the catalpa trees but they are messy and may get infested with the catalpa worms that some fishermen love. Still the hubby or you will have to clean up leaves from any of those listed, and many also seed out both of which will get into gutters and downspouts. For something different perhaps the bald cypress. My choice is not listed here however, Shademaster Honey Locust, grows quickly, gets big, seedless, thornless, with leaves that fragment into tiny segments that run through the lawnmower into nothingness. The Honey locusts in general have deep rather than shallow roots, and provide dappled shade that allows grass to grow right up to the trunk. Wild types have massive and dangerous thorns and large messy seed pods that drop in autumn, but those have been bred out of a number of ornamental cultivars such as Shademaster. Sunburst Honey Locust, also seedless and thornless is one of the prettiest trees around as it comes into leaf, but is smaller topping out at around 40 feet. Imperial is another thornless variety in a bigger size but may produce seed pods, which drop in the autumn and can be a mess. Furthermore you have to pick them up because not only may they germinate, the seedlings are very apt to have quite a crop of thorns, reverting as it were. Better Shademaster than Imperial for size, for appearance best is the smaller Sunburst.
...See More
Would love any advice on choosing a yellow or light colored climber.
Q
Comments (7)
Thank you everyone for your replies! Marlorena, both of those varieties are gorgeous and I haven't really heard of either, I will have to look them up, I Iove the looks of both of those photos! After just googling "climbing Lady Hillingdon" and looking at the photos and reading through peoples' overall experience with her, I found myself swooning over this rose, and remembering why I decided to order it in the first place. Olga's photos were certainly a part of that, her specimen is just the epitome of what a romantic garden rose should look like, just absolutely stunning! So now I just HAVE to give her a go. If she doesn't work out for me, then I will probably use either Reve d'Or or Teasing Georgia in that spot. Reve is classically gorgeous & sounds healthy and easy to train, but I do love the huge, lush blooms of TG , even though she is more of a struggle to work with, she seems very vigorous. I was thinking of using Reve in a spot along a (future) fence that is on a sidewalk (soon to be built by the city) that will have pretty heavy pedestrian traffic, so the thornlessness sounds like it might be helpful there. I am still worried about how Cl Lady Hillingdon will fare with Tennessee's notorious late season cold snaps, but hopefully I will be skilled enough in protecting her roots/canes for her to be able to get established. She is coming from Roses Unlimited, and all I ever hear is that their plants are some of the largest 1 gal. roses purchasable from the main few internet nurseries. We are coincidentally supposed to have a record setting low temperature tonight of -7, which seems like a game changer, as I thought I was zone 7a, but maybe I'm more like a 6b? It is a little confusing for me to figure out my little "micro climate" in particular because I live so close to the city, I feel like it is always a few degrees warmer here than it is, say at my dad's house just a couple of miles north of here & more in the country. I really should get an outdoor thermometer for my front porch, since that is where all my young potted roses are residing this winter, then I could compare the forecasted temperatures with my own and see what I come up with. Thanks again all! I'll post some photos later in the spring/summer! Jessica
...See More
Need help choosing a good climber partial shade tollerant for zone 5
Q
Comments (10)
May I take the time to explain that the roots do not need sun. It is the leaves that need the sun light for photosynthesis. Our zone is very challenging to even find a cane hardy climbers. That said they would need 6 hours of sun to bloom well and be a robust grower. They would also need support for you to tie them to as roses do not naturally climb. If the arborvitae is east then this is a northern exposure correct. A clematis will mature much quicker than a climbing rose. Roses tend to take a good three years of building root mass before they show what they can do. Here is a photo of Dortman at Cleveland Botanical Garden posted by Karenforroses. At the top of the page you can search previous posts on here. Just type in climbing roses for zone 5. or Hardy climbing roses zone 5. Each time you change the words around you might get some different post. Lots of good ideas in those older posts.
...See More
fduk_gw UK zone 3 (US zone 8)
7 years ago
H'mmm. Unfortunately we're basically out of bare root season now so your choices are going to be considerably narrowed. Can planting wait till autumn? Because that would help a lot.
bryony88_zone10a_england
Original Author
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Thanks everyone! Casino seems to fit the bill in many ways and I'm not sure why it hasn't come up in my hours and hours of searching so far. Edit: I think I know why now, on Peter Beales's website the yellow is a rich and deep shade, totally different to your photo above. I thought it would clash with my pink rose.

I'm abandoning Celine Forestier because it's only yellow in some photos even thought the bloom looks lovely, I think it might disappoint the person who requested a yellow rose.

I have some more choices for roses as I leave near to a nursery who grow them in pots as well as bare root, but obviously the more obscure roses might be difficult to obtain.
User
7 years ago
Hi Bryony,...

I should like to know what colour is the wall now? is this not your property but you are planting it for someone else?

How far up that wall do you want these roses to grow, to the top windows? to the eaves, or just around the lower windows and porch? if lower levels then there are many more you could consider, that are not strictly listed as climbing roses, but will climb if put against a support...

Let me be brutally honest here, I think you're making this far too complicated, unnecessarily so.... why go to the trouble of importing from Europe 'Cyrano de Bergerac', 'Florence Ducher', or 'Billiard et Barre'.. because as far as I can see none are readily available in this country, for what is a fairly modest sized terraced cottage. There are plenty - loads - of yellow and pink roses you can choose from, so I can't see the need to complicate things with roses from abroad... if you're a collector then yes, import a few as I have done, but for this purpose it's really not worth the trouble and expense, and I would also forget about 'Marechal Niel'... leave that to warmer climates... it grows beautifully in Crete for instance...

I grow 2 pink and yellow climbers together, one is 'Zepherine Drouhin' and the other is climbing Lady Hillingdon, I quite like the combination. However I don't recommend 'ZD' there are better to choose from...

I would choose roses with better disease resistance and keep it simple...

Let us know what you think, and what kind of height you're looking for...
bryony88_zone10a_england thanked User
bryony88_zone10a_england
Original Author
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Hi Marlorena, thanks for your reply. Yes, I know I have got into the trap of looking at too many roses online and reading too many reviews. I am scrapping all those roses, then. The only reason I had considered 'Marechal Niel' was that the south-/south-west facing spot is very sheltered indeed as I am not not far from (but not right by) the south coast. We only rarely go below zero here. But in any case, I will trust your judgement on that.

In terms of height, it is OK for one of them to be shorter (the height of the first set of windows) but if one would be as high as the upper windows, then that would be great. One of the two should be very scented in an ideal world, too. The wall is a very pale yellow which I have tried to show.

Perhaps I will go for 'Caroline Testout' and 'Casino', both readily available.
User
7 years ago
I think that would be more sensible Bryony, but just to point out I don't think 'climbing Mme Caroline Testout' is greatly scented, only light, but I've not grown it myself. It grows well on the walls at Wollerton Old Hall in Shropshire, if you want to see what it can do, google that house name and you will see on the images posted... it grows next to an Austin climber of the same name... which is pale buff coloured...

It will certainly reach to upper parts of your house, but of course will need training and attaching to supports all the way up... presumably the people living there would be able to manage this?...

It's all very much personal choice isn't it?... we could all recommend this rose and that from the many available, but I'm sure you'll choose the right ones for your location, eventually.

I used to live on the south coast, near Eastbourne...

Help choosing climbers for the front of the house

ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9

Comments (7)

portlandmysteryrose

Related Discussions

fduk_gw UK zone 3 (US zone 8)

bryony88_zone10a_england
Original Author

User

bryony88_zone10a_england
Original Author

User

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Help choosing climbers for the front of the house

ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9

Comments (7)

portlandmysteryrose

Related Discussions

fduk_gw UK zone 3 (US zone 8)

bryony88_zone10a_englandOriginal Author

User

bryony88_zone10a_englandOriginal Author

User

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

bryony88_zone10a_england
Original Author

bryony88_zone10a_england
Original Author