Melissa, any chance of a picture?

KC

Melissa, 15' x 10' x 8'?!?!?!? What in Sam Hill was I thinking?(Obviously, I wasn't, thinking, that is). ARE sale.... Needed a second rose to make the shipping worthwhile, first choice was out of stock..... That's how these things happen to me. It does not appear to be shade tolerant, so the spot I had in mind is out. Ingrid, wouldn't you like to grow Crepuscule in exchange for the Wild Edric you so kindly offered me? Lisa

How much shade? In our extremely sunny summers, 'Crepuscule' seems pretty happy with its north-of-east exposure. N.b. our plant is about 13 years old. Oh...do you have a good sturdy tree it could climb, by chance? I bet it would like that. Or a shed to drape itself over?

I'd love to see a picture of that structure, too, Melissa,since I didn't fully understand the intructions for how to make it and would like to try to make one for myself, but I realize that, like me, you are not a fan of posting photos. But one important question: HOW do you bend the rebar? What do you use to bend it?

You don't bend it yourself. They do that at the place you buy it. DH gets our from a local...factory? They cut and bend it according to our specifications.

I would love to take Crep off your hands!! I have Carefree Beauty, Belinda's Dream that are 2 year old plants..also have Perle dor, louis phillipe SDML rooting and doing great! Please take mercy on this girl that is dreaming of Crep!!

I'm in CA, so mailing plants in is a no no. Ingrid is a 15 minute drive from me. Sorry, gagalzone8.

I do have a morning sun spot. About 5 hours, then bright shade. This is against a wooden fence. Is Crepuscule trainable against the fence? It would probably merge with Mel's Heritage, if so. Lisa

Let me see if I can explain more clearly. Let's say you want a pergola 15' long and 5' wide. You will need 8 pieces of 10' rebar, 5/8"-3/4" diameter, and 4 pieces of 5' rebar, same diameter, and about 20-24 6' lengths of bamboo, plus 8 bolts to fasten rebar (ask at the hardware store). Have the place where you buy the rebar cut it in the correct lengths, and have them take the 10' lengths and bend each at a right angle one foot from the end. So you will have eight pieces of rebar shaped like a long L: the vertical part of the L is 9', the horizontal part, the foot of the L, is 1'. An arch is made from two of the 10' lengths--these are the sides--and one of the 5' lengths--this is the top of the arch, plus two bolts. Each of these arches will be placed across the long axis of the pergola, one at each end, two in between, five feet from arch to arch.

Set two of the 10' rebars in the ground at five feet apart (2' in the ground is recommended), the line between them at right angles to the long axis of the pergola, with the 1' (foot of the L) at the top, so that the tops, the 1' parts, are at the same height above the ground, are horizontal, point toward each other, and are in line. Take your 5' rebar, lay it along the 1' horizontals, and bolt it at each end to them. Now you have your arch, shaped like an upside-down U. Make another module at five feet from the first, five feet away. Another five feet, another module, then another. Now you have four upside-down-U-shaped arches spanning the length of of your pergola. Connect the tops of the first and second arches with five or six lengths of bamboo laid on top of the arches, tying each piece of bamboo at each end to the arches, the bamboos parallel to each other and at right angles to the arches. The bamboos form the roof of the pergola and stabilize the arches.

Hmmmph. Somehow I suspect this didn't help much. I've mentioned a photo session to DD, but it's very hot outside and we're all tired. DD had her last state exam for high school graduation yesterday, the end of an experience more grueling than an American with no experience of the Italian school system can readily imagine. We have, by the way, a vast array of kinds of pergolas and supports for plants around the garden, but the one I describe here is what works best. And it's wonderfully flexible: you can make your pergola wider here and narrower there, make it as long as you want, form curves.

It may depend on the height of the fence, but 'Crepuscule' is fairly lax and limber in its growth, and thankfully low on thorns. I still wouldn't want to try to get it to conform to a low picket fence, but a taller one might work quite well.

I think it's an 8 foot fence.

Here is Mel's Heritage in the center. Sorry, the sun is SO bright.

Then, the shadier side. Excuse the projects underway.

The height is fine. Espaliering a rose is a considerable job, and requires a more ruthless hand than mine. That was my original plan for 'Crepuscule', but the light was low in that area, and we finally built a cantilevered trellis--rebar and bamboo, of course--so that 'Crepuscule' could get away from the wall, get more sun, and become moderately three-dimensional rather than trained flat. She liked that.

Thank you for the detailed description Melissa! now let's hope I can figure it out,LOL; I'm not good at this stuff...

My neighbors have solved my problem of too much shade for my Crepuscule. They have been busy with the chainsaw. Good news for Crepuscule, bad news for my afternoon shade lovers! Lisa