I also think life is too short, and so I vote you keep her! I think she would look very nice if you trained/attached her horizontally to that fence! Each spring just select a handful of the best canes to attach to the fence, -and cut the others out.

Thank you, clarion2. I would love to do just that! This is certainly the answer I want to hear. The thing that has me most concerned is her description page on HelpMeFind. It clearly states, "Do not prune". The height is listed as between 8' and 25'. In my area I'm expecting the larger. Lisa

Lisa, mine gets whacked! She's been growing and blooming for nigh 15 years. Of the Noisette group members, I find that MAC is one of the most tolerant of heavier pruning. She will shoot back up again and require more pruning. She just keeps blooming. If you're going to train her horizontally, start now. She gets stiff with age (like most of us). You could also put some kind of a trellis over your fence top and train her across that, too. I am working on making a copper pipe trellis for just that purpose. Anchoring it in the ground and attaching it to fence posts set in concrete. My MAC is smashed against the fence in my skinny west side yard. Good luck! MAC is a treasure!! Carol

The course of true love never did run smooth.

Lisa, I have faith that you will figure out a way to keep your 'MAC'. I wouldn't worry too much about the 'do not prune' instruction from HMF. That may be good advice for some climates, or perhaps a default recommendation for the class. I don't grow her or know her, but by reputation, she's pretty sturdy, and I doubt she'll be much daunted by a bit of pruning and training. Others who grow her in conditions similar to yours will hopefully have some useful advice about the details, but where there's a will there's a way, to coin a phrase...

Good luck,

Virginia

Love will find a way...

I read somewhere that MAC's growth is like that of an indeterminate tomato. It will grow and grow and grow unless someone stops it. I've had three now:

One was allowed to run rampant most of the year along a fence line and into a huge arborvitae hedge, and it bloomed its fool head off from early spring to late fall. Once a year or so, I would chop back any canes that reached out into the garden, because they would shade other plants (MAC likes to cascade).

Anotherplant was received as a mislabeled rose and was planted in a narrow strip between the house and driveway. I kept it pruned as a tall shrub...sort of like a buddleia in shape. And like a buddleia it would bloom mostly as the top and not as freely as the one allowed to climb. It actually was not hard to keep it pruned this way, but I knew I was sacrificing a lot of blooms.

Currently, I have it growing in the shady corner between a fence and shed. It's trained neatly along both each spring, but by summer's end it's trying to take over the fence, shed and my neighbor's garage. Luckily my neighbor tolerates it, knowing I chop it back hard each year. This plant flowers almost as freely as the one I allowed to climb, but it starts blooming later in the spring.

So I think it is a rose that adapts well to all sorts of treatment. I can see why it's so happy growing up a massive castle wall at Sissinghurst, but it seems almost as content to be part of my small garden. It's extremely healthy rose with one of my favorite scents in the garden, and as you've discovered, it is wonderful for cutting big bouquets and bringing them into the house.

I have her and I prune her. Love that rose and the fragrance , did you notice even the foliage smells good if you crush it?

She is AMAZING!!! That scent! Not inappropriate at ALL!

Lisa, for years I had SDLM and GdD in my window well in pots, and covered them over the winter. I hacked away at those poor roses and still got blooms, especially on SDLM. I finally gave up and took them out because they started getting mildew and black spot (something none of my other roses have), but I enjoyed every minute I had them. Now, I am going to put Evelyn there to see if I can get surviving cane. You do what you do in spite of the "rules" of the rose and enjoy what you get. I say keep your rose and love it for as long as you can!!! Life IS short.

Rebecca

I love her too. I would consider you adding beauty to the park entrance and planet in general, Lisa, by letting her have her way with you.

It looks as though you have plenty of fence to attach it to, even some on the right side if you want it to go both ways. Trained horizontally it may bloom even more since you won't have the problem of apical dominance (roses growing mostly at the top of a tall bush). I think it's exciting to have a really huge and beautiful rose like this. Talk about dramatic impact!

Haha, I thought from the title of this post, it was gonna be about Don Juan lol. He kinda seduced me into buying him one spring afternoon. He is hard to say no to when he is in full bloom :D

I love MAC. The first one I bought, froze in transit so the next time I got one from A Reverence for Roses and they sent a good sized one. I have her temporarily on a large arch that she is hogging over from Quicksilver Cl which growing much more slowly. MAC blooms all the time. She is really great.

altorama, I had no clue her foliage was fragrant. What a nice bonus! Thanks for the tip.

I thought of this post when I took MAC’s picture yesterday. I’m SO glad I have continued this relationship! She just gets prettier every year, with no care, except water and some trimming. I love her, and so do the people who walk in the park!

She’s so fine, and I’m so glad she’s still mine! Lisa

Mine started life as a tiny cutting and is now about 20' across in all directions. I cut out some of the old growth every once in a while and otherwise let her have her head (the alternative is too much work). A great, great rose.

I'm glad you followed your heart and gave her a try, Lisa. She looks very happy to be part of your garden!

This one is new to me and your pictures make me excited beyond words. So gorgeous!!!!

Wow, Lisa, what a beauty!

It was fun to read your post again, Lisa, and your "inappropriate" relationship has resulted in a jaw-dropping masterpiece. I'm wondering how much further she's capable of stretching.

Lisa, she is beautiful . I am in love with it for a while but i am still not ready yet . Oh, i wish i can smell her .

Lis!
Thanks for the update! She is really spectacular.

Just incredible, Lisa. I bet the fragrance wafts down the street. I wish I could smell it. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks all! I could actually detect her scent while taking the photo, and that’s saying a lot in this dry climate. I usually need to put my nose right in a rose to detect its scent. I think the sheer number of blooms was enough to cause actual wafting this time. She does have such a clean and wonderfully pleasing scent. I really enjoy her, and I’ve seen people using her as a backdrop for their photos. She’s been well worth keeping. Lisa

Lisa, I've been leery of replacing the MAC I lost in the polar vortex/arctic freeze a few years ago (-15F! In Z7!). But there's been nothing like it since, and your pix remind me of how much I loved it. I may have to try wooing her once again..."it's better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all..."

So true, John! Think if you’d replaced her immediately. You’d be looking forward to MAC’s spring flush right now! -15F is crazy in zone 7. She grows so quickly that if you were ever to lose her again, you could still replace here a third time. It’s not ideal, of course, but better than not haven’t the pleasure of a love affair with MAC at all. You really should go for it, John. Life IS short. I’m certainly glad I took a chance, and kept mine.

There’s something about her that’s so elegant. There’s no one who sees her that doesn’t like her. Because I don’t want much of her growing to the right, those canes I shortened bloom down lower. She has blooms high and low, which always makes for a nice look. I was a bit daunted when Melissa said her tiny thing is now 20F in BOTH directions! I think a good portion of my MAC is growing straight up, and then arching some. The one thing I don’t want, is for her to touch the roof. The tree rats have increased in number over the past year or two. I can’t handle the thought of giving them easy access to the house. Lisa