Whoa! Florentina is on my buy list for next year! Don't want to hear this! My other Kordes climbers Laguna and Quicksilver are fine, although Jasmina is a bit flaky, she has bloomed her best this year and I have to tie her horizontally. I also have Honeymoon on that buy list. Technically Florentina isn't supposed to get that big, but considering where you are I suppose it could. I do have to wonder if maybe it really isn't Florentina? I want to hear more, bad or good.

Have you tried a bloom fertilizer with low nitrogen? I'll find the article I kept on dealing with blind shoots on my phone. I'm frustrated with my blooms, but that's because the deer ate them. Are yours in full sun? I ask because I recall Chris from Newflora mentioning it likes sun. I'm also wondering if this is a rose that need some chill which, of course isn't possible for you. CoriAnn grew it well and she always mentioned that she had enough chill hours for stone fruit. Mine did not bloom its first year and gave a small show its second once planted in the ground. This year it geared up for a great show, but alas.... This must be frustrating in the extreme. I might suggest Lady in Red, but the colour and form of Florentina is so lovely I would probably give it more time. Let me see if I remember to find that article on blind shoots.

I do remember reading about certain classes of roses that need lower evening temperatures to bloom well. This was the explanation for why some roses bloom abundantly in CA but not FL. This could also explain why our fall is often a better show of bloom than our spring. Perhaps somewhere in Florentina‘s lineage is this need?

I also think that there was something to the idea that the ones in the ground can send their roots down to cooler soil, which is why they bloom better after a few years in the ground rather than in a pot. :-)

I’m starting to think this rose may have that issue. oddly enough it sent out one bloom this week (temps in the 90s) and not a single bloom in the winter when temps were in the 50s.

Maybe Florentina does require some chill. Mine was planted in May 2017 and bloomed well in spring 2018 and 2019. Not much rebloom last summer, but LOTS of growth - many laterals. I cut it back in late summer, in early spring and again after the spring blooms. It is trained (loosely) around a rebar tepee. Are you able to grow other Kordes roses successfully? I am thinking mostly of the newer varieties.

Perhaps rather than chill hours it needs a period of dormancy. Do you strip your leaves in the winter to give them a rest? Just a thought. I might try a bloom fertilizer before giving up hope and definitely check for midge if that's a problem there.

I have either great success with Kordes roses or utter failure with them. Most of the time they grow very well for me and I'm a big fan. But there have been a few that have done this to me. It seems the healthier the rose the more reluctant it is to bloom. But thats not always the case.

Bliss Perfuma, Plum Perfect, Wedding Bells are like my best performers. Roxy Vigorosa, Roxanne Veranda and Bordeaux have also done wonderfully for me. Sweet Jane is a monster but she blooms a ton too. Just more plant than bloom.

Summer Romance had the same issue as Florentina. No blooms. Earth Angel sends out a lot of blind shoots and has long octopus legs, but she will bloom and i love the flowers and scent so she stays. I just got Oh Happy Day and it seems promising, but its pure yellow for me.

I have not however had any luck with Kordes climbers. Kiss me kate, Honeymoon, Jasmina have all failed for me. But I could prob grow Wedding Bells as a climber if its canes werent so strong. Mine can get 12 feet tall and its prob the best rose in my garden next to Spirit Of Freedom.

I don’t have Florentina, but I have the same issue with some other newer Kordes, Summer Romance and Mme Anisette. They are some of the biggest and healthiest plants, but very fickle with their blooms. I thought Chris of Newflora said some of the varieties had issues flowering in places with warm nights.. Maybe Florentina is one of them.

If you do decide to switch them out, I can recommend Lady In Red, it is extremely reliable and repeats quick, blooms when young, lasts forever.

Bent, I have both and once you've see the beauty of Florentina it's hard to give up that dream. My surviving flower are so exquisite, but most importantly they can blend well with other roses. LiR is a star demanding all the attention so that I still can't decide where to plant her that she won't eclipse everything else. Of course, if a rose never blooms, there's not much point. : (( Your LiR is magnificent and looks fabulous with the purple!

I think it is your southern climate. It does very well here. Chris did mention some Kordes roses are like this.

so do you think it wont be improving? My Eden has been there for years and it has like 3-5 blooms per year and none this year at all. I'm getting rid of it once and for all.

I'm open to suggestions for good blooming climbers. I havent had much luck with them at all with the exception of Cepuscle and like I mentioned before, Spirit Of Freedom which is probably the best blooming rose in my garden. I'm looking for health, vigor and bloom power. I'm not too picky about color or fragrance.

I wish Sherry would would pitch in here on good varieties for your climate. I miss Sherry on these forums.

Don Juan Cl is a great bloomer and has an old fashioned look. Tess of the d'Ubervilles (sp) is a climber here (about 10ft) not pure red but sometimes more red and sometimes a pinker red.

Thanks Sultry

I've tried Don Juan but it was always somewhat of a weak grower. Then again it was before I really knew anything about roses.

My Florentina, own root band, started blooming before I got it planted and it never stopped all season it's first year. This one must require a cold winter, or at least cooler nights.

Eden, 2 of them, have been in the ground 5 years and I've only gotten a small handful of blooms so far. Lots of buds this year, so I'm hoping they have settled in and will behave like they're supposed to.

Ben, LiR with what looks like Venosa Violacea is just too pretty for words. I'm trying to accomplish that with some other roses and clems. but either the rose or the clem doesn't cooperate. Frustrating!

My baby Fields of the Wood/Rhode Island Red is blooming like crazy, in its 1-gallon pot in half day sun. I’ll try to get a photo of the next bloom. It’s really pretty, super healthy, fragrant, and a very old fashioned look. I also have a young Florentina, only bloomed once, but I was kind of assuming it was because it was so young. So we’ll see! Brightside Cream is another that is nonstop blooming. All my other climbers are very young, but Mel’s Heritage has been very prolific already as well as Sombrueil. :-)

Barfield White Climber is another great bloomer even in heat. :-)

I purchased Florentina in 2016 and it bloomed for me once finally last year. This spring there were only 4 blooms total between the 2 roses and so I have already purchased a replacement. Sadly the rose it replaced bloomed regularly but just wasn’t the healthiest rose. This is such a healthy rose but it just won’t bloom.

I got Florentina late summer 2017 from Northland. It has bloomed well here since I got it - we have plenty of winter chill! Kiss Me Kate has buds, came grafted from Palatine. Florentina might be better own root? Fields of the Wood might be a great option for a red climber for you.

My baby FotW. Just finished a flush, and this one is a little overblown, but gives you an idea of its flower. The leaves are a very healthy green shade that really compliment the red of the rose:

On my screen, the color is bit brighter red than the flower. It’s actually a deeper, bluer red than the photo. :-)

Vaporvac

I agree, the red of Florentina plays well with others, and it has a more complex bloom...I can understand why some will prefer it. The LiR red stands out on its own. But LiR is so reliable, every stem, every lateral always ends in a nice cluster of bloom, and it’s putting out new basals and laterals all the time. Of all my 90+ roses, I think its the one that spends the most days in bloom.

Flowers

Yes, the clematis is Venosa Violacea, I like the white star centers, and it also seems to tolerate heat well. My roses and clematis don’t always like to coordinate either, so I’m surprised these two did!

Here is mine today in 100 F. We get winter chill.

Sheila, how wide and tall is your Florentina with support?

SoFL rose

I planted Florentina on Fortuniana last year and it grew into a thorny monster within a few months and did not bloom so I shovel pruned it . Have Lady in Red instead . slow grower and the few blooms I got are deep red . other Kordes roses that got huge with no bloom that I shovel pruned are :FB summer Sun and HT Sunny sky .

I do have some other roses that never bloom but I am waiting :

Austin's Princess Anne (healthy 1 year that never bloomed ) , Austin's The Endeavor(getting big but rarely blooms ) , Princess Charlene de Monaco (getting big but rarely blooms but when she does I love her fragrance ) .

Totoro, my Florentina is 10 ft wide by 6 feet tall, unsupported in the photo above.Some of the width in the photo is hidden behind the manzanita.

My Florentima blooms in our hot humid summer, we do get freezing winter temperatures in Maryland

@CecieM- hello neighbour! Good to hear about someone close by having luck with this rose. Yours look good!

I purchased Florentina this year, they were potted ones at the garden centre, but looks like they had just been potted up from bare roots, when I purchased. I also bought Quicksilver & Kiss Me Kate. Happy to report all 3 are showing buds now. Hoping to get a pic of it tomorrow. Hope your's improves for you though.

Sheila thanks for the size info.

Modest, how tall is yours? How do you keep yours so short and not just blooming at the top?

Mine is wrapped around an obelisk maybe about 7 feet tall

Hey @BenT (NorCal 9B Sunset 14) first of all, I would pay a premium fee just for the pleasure of looking at your garden photos for hours and hours each day. Thank you for sharing them here.

Question on this older thread... I didn't get Lady in Red because the descriptions read that she gets very fat (wide) and I wanted a rose for a pillar (telephone pole). In your experience, is that an accurate description? I got Florentina because it seemed she could pillar more easily. Now I am not so sure. I think LiR is stunning--the only reason I was concerned because of how wide she supposedly gets.

Hi @PDXRobertZ8,

I think Lady in Red could be trained around a pole, but it’d end up being a rather fat pole (like a tall fire hydrant). Mine was grown on a 96”x18” obelisk. Lady in Red has very dense foliage and branching. My friend grew Florentina the same time I had Lady in Red, and I do think Lady is the smaller of the two, and provided more constant color.

Thanks for the kind words, it made my day…I was just looking at your garden pics on the other thread, and I was gobsmacked by all the meticulous unbelivable beauty you and your partner created!

@BenT (NorCal 9B Sunset 14) that's a terrific explanation--exactly what I was looking for. I think I'll just put Mel's Heritage in that spot, haha. And thanks for the compliments on our garden. It's still a work in progress, but I am happy with where we are at for now.