I am in the process of building the wife a wrought iron trellis over the front walk so she can plant some climbing roses at it. The number of roses is unreal in regards to Name and such. The trellis is 32" on each side, and approx 7'3" to thr eave portion of the roof structure, and spans 42" wide across the walk. Plan on planting one rose bush on each side. So anyo0ne have any suggestions on what would be a good rose to plant that is not a one time deal and continually blooms throughout the season with the dark glossy leaves, in Red, Pink or Yellow colors.......Would like a good fast growing type at least to cover up some of the trellis as early as possible, but its not a sheer necessity either. Area is a minimum of 8 hours sun, with the balance partial shade/sun, in central Alabama. Freezing is usually not a factor around this area. There is just so many to try and choose from (in books anyhow) it boggles the mind, and then you can not usually find those names when you visit a garden center..........
Just how far in front of the side panels of this trellis would you plant a climbing rose anyhow........Would 6 to 8 inches be sufficient? Soil is basically a sandy loam predominately sand, but will dig hole of sufficient size so good potting or top soil can be added.
Any suggestions appreciated.
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Best to visit a good local nursery or garden center (not a box store) and see what they have in stock - generally, the roses offered at local nurseries are those considered to be very gardenworthy and hardy for that specific area. There are literally thousands of rose cultivars, many no longer in commercial trade, so going by a book is less than helpful. Some very popular and long blooming climbers you could consider are 'New Dawn' (pink), 'Eden' or 'Don Juan' (red), 'Golden Showers' (yellow) or 'Joseph's Coat' (multicolored - buds age from yellow to peachy-orange, pink and finally red).
I have about twenty different climbing roses. At times different ones are the most attractive. Certainly one of my favorites is climbing Peace. It puts out the long canes that would be suitable for a trellis. It is yellow-tending to pink-with very large, showy blooms and blooms repeatedly throughout the year.
Aother of my favorites is Sally Holmes. It also would be good on a trellis. It has one long and extremely showy blooming season. Right now mine has about 100 stem ends in bloom with a dozen blooms on each stem end. The blooms are nearly white. It is highly disease resistant.
Blaze is a traditional red that does well in all conditions. Dortmond is another red that is showy and reliable.
Is there a botanical garden or rose garden near you? If so, visit it and see if they have an arbor with climbing roses.
You probably won't get good coverage until the third or even fourth year. Also, remember that climbers bloom from vertical shoots; to maximize flowers, you need the main canes to be horizontal in order to get many vertical side shoots.
sell, whether or not it's suited to the climate. THe general public doesn't have enough rose knowledge to be able to ask for specific disease resistant or floriferous cultivars, so you're left with the overmarketed and hyped new roses from the major growers and the oldies but not so goodies that have name recognition from novices. The majority of nursery owners are also clueless about roses, except the fact that most modern ones need to be sprayed.
Eden in the South does not repeat and usually does not have leaves unless sprayed. Don Juan is OK if sprayed, but sprayed he must be. Golden Showers lasts less than a day, and is one of the most BS prone of all the climbers I've ever had.. Joseph's Coat is more of a tall floribunda than a real climber, and those incredibly thorny canes are hard to train. Plus, in the heat of summer, he's entirely red, with none of that gradual color change that is so charming in April or October. And, he has to be sprayed as well.
There are a lot of easy care roses suitable for particular climates, but often those recommendations rarely overlap. New Dawn is one that is universally given high marks all across the country in all but the coldest climate. It is HUGE though. 20-30 feet.
My recommendation would be to use the roses that are suited to Southern climates and do not need spraying. Noisettes, the only class of rose to originate on American shores (in Charleston) would be the type of rose that would be most charming on a arbor. Madam Alfred Carriere, Duchesse d' Aerstadt, Jaune Desprez, Crepescule, Reve d'Or, Lamarque, and Aimee Vibert would all work very well. The climbing teas (NOT hybrid teas) would also be suitable. Cl. Lady Hillingdon, Sombreuil, Adam, Cl. Maman Cochet, E. Veyrat Hermanos, Devoniensis, and Triomph des Noisette would also work. I grow all of these roses here in Mississippi, and while they can be subject to some disease, it does not completely defoliate them or affect their vigor. They all also have the bonus of strong fragrance. If you've never grown ownroot roses before, you may be surprised at the difference in size between them and the grafted ones you usually see at the nursery. They take a little longer to get going too. But, in the end, they are the MUCH better choice, both for appearance and longevity. You can research these and additional choices at
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You can also view pictures of the suggestions. HMF also can give you sources for purchase. Ashdown Roses, Roses Unlimited, Vintage Gardens, and Antique Rose Emporium are time tested and I highly recommend them.
You won't be able to find any of these at a local nursery. It's a little late to get your order in this year, and fall planting of small ownroots isn't recommended in the transitional zones of 6-9. You don't have enough time to get them established before the heat stress of summer begins even if you were able to find some now. Planning which ones to choose and then ordering them for spring delivery next year would give you the best chance at success. Plant some annual vines like cardinal creeper or hyacinth vine this year and plan the more permanant installations for later. Of course, you'll need clematis as the roses companions, and Chalk Hill Clematis will be your best source for those.
I did the same thing about eight years ago. I checked with several local rose growers who suggested several climbers that they have grown for many years. Some of their suggestions were: Red - either Don Juan or Blaze, Pink - Climbing Peace or Queen Elizabeth, Yellow - Golden Showers. I decided to go with a red climber and I choose Blaze.
I planted one bush on each side of the trellis (about 6 inches from the trellis) and in the second year I got a good amount of blooms and many more blooms every years since then. On my website, I have a picture of how the trellis looked last year (the bushes were seven years old)
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you can see, they did quite well last year and this year they look like they will be just as beautiful.
I would talk to some rose growers in your area and see what climbers have done well for them. I have some neighbors who have said that some of their climbers are over forty years old and except for losing a few bushes during some very cold winters (-20 degrees) most of them do quite well.
Good luck and here is a link to some pictures of my other roses from my website:
Well I have thr trellis all finished except for the painting which I hope to do this Friday or weekend if the weather holds up, and today we picked up some roses and some vines.
We went to a local large nursery and garden center here in town, Southern Homes and Gardens, and looked at what thewy had. They had 4 beautifull deep red with dark glossy foilage roses climbing on a wooden trellis, and the roses were named Stairway to Heaven. They sort of look like Bills in his photos. They told us they were very tolerant and easy keepers, and they had these roses there for a number of years and it was a very good choice for our needs and the area, so we got them, along with 2 Confederate Jasmine vines, which they also had growing in amoang the roses. The vine is a evergreen in this area and in early spring is covered in tiny white flowers, very fragrant. Seems not to interfere with the roses, so we will just have to see if we have as good of luck as the garden place did with theirs, besides it will have a bronze colored leaf on this jasmine over the fall and winter months so the trellis will always have soomething growoing on it year round hopefully.
Thanks to all for the help and suggestions. There wa soly one of the other roses mentioned in the topic that they had or sold, and it was the Golden Shower type, and they only had one of those, well just have to see what turns out. Thanks again
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