Climbing Roses
Remember the adage when planting Climbers: First year sleeps, Second
year creeps, Third year leaps! Patience is in order for at
least
2 to 4 full growing seasons.Ramblers,
as the name implies, do a great job of camouflaging
anything unsightly,
or accentuating a garden trellis, porchway, pergola or entryway.
Usually thinner and
weaker caned than Large-flowered Climbers, they are easy to
train, even
into trees. Typically once-blooming in huge clusters. Hardiness depends
on
parentage: Multiflora zone 5, Noisette zone 7, Wichurana zone 4.
Hybrid
Setigera roses are
hybrids of the species R. Setigera ('The Prairie Rose' from North
America
1810) and are rambers which are quite hardy, healthy, and shade
tolerant. They tend to flower later in the season and then last
longer than other summer once-bloomers. Used in the right way,
they fill a gap in the bloom cycle of other Climbers or Shrubs.
Generally hardy to zone 5 with some to zone 4 because of their crosses
with other hardy varieties.
All
Ablaze™WEKsamsou Carruth 2000
PP13107
A Large-flowered Climber. Hardy vigorous and clean. Slight
spice fragrance. Don Juan is the seed
parent. Not consistent in tropical climates, but does well in all
others. 8-12 ft, Z5
Aloha
Boerner 1949 Climbing Hybrid Tea, medium
pink, fragrant. This picture says a 1000 words. 10 x 6 ft. Z6
Altissimo Delbard-Chabert
1967 Large,
bright red, single flowers on
dark green healthy disease resistant foliage. Excellent vigor and
continuous bloom. Good as a pillar
rose or along a trellis. 10+ x 6 ft. Hardy to zone 5.
America
Warriner 1976
Orange pink,
very fragrant (Fragrant
Cloud x Tradition) and vigorous, 15+ ft climbing or makes a
shorter stand-alone shrub with no training required! Z6
Belle Portugaise (Belle of Portugal)
(Cayeux 1903) Large-flowered
Climber. One of the largest rose
flowers available, light pink, once-a-year blooming, medium fragrance.
Can
handle some shade, but prefers
a warm protected spot to do its best. The photo of the bud was taken
just a day
before the deer got the flower (and just two days before we installed
better deer fencing...). The new fencing is just barely visible
in the upper left of the flower photo taken the following year.
15 x 10 ft.
Candy
Land
WEKrosopela PPAF
Large-flowered Climber with a very unusual pink and cream striping. Fragrant too! Carruth 2006 12+ ft Z5
Charles
Austin Austin 1973 Large,
full, very fragrant, apricot
fading-to-yellow blooms on arching and plentiful mid-green foliage.
This flower is a "must-have" for
apricot rose lovers. Actually a free-standing Shrub rose that can also
be trained as a climber or pillar
rose. 6 x 5 ft. Hardy to zone 4 or 5 and one we've found to be quite
disease resistant here.
Clair Matin
(ML Meilland 1960)
Nearly single clear pink with cream flowers start out as apricot
buds. Large trusses of flowers with the fragrance of
carnations. Dark green foliage. Tolerant of shade and a
northern exposure. Continuous blooming (always more productive in
the sun). 9 ft as a Climber, but also makes a good tall hedge or a
free-standing Shrub.
Compassion
(Belle de Londres) (Harkness 1972) Huge
apricot-orange
pink double flowers on dark green glossy foliage. Wonderfully
fragrant,
perfectly named - what else can
I say?... Upright climber or shrub to 10 ft. If you still
aren't convinced, then you'll want to know that this
rose is rated as England's #1 climbing rose and has won an Edland
Medal for fragrance (Royal
National Rose Society, UK). Hardy to zone 5.
"Darlow's
Enigma" (date unknown)
Single, very fragrant white flowers. Shade tolerant climber up to 12'. Z4/5
Desert
Glow (Della Balfour, Royal Pageant) Harkness
1994
Shrub/Large-flowered
Climber, apricot blend. The flowers are a beautiful blend of
yellow, gold and apricot/orange. A gorgeous large stand-alone
shrub near our front gate which looks like a torch when in full bloom.
10 x 5 ft, Z5
Don Juan (Maladrone 1958)
Dark velvety-red
large fragrant flowers on
large glossy dark green foliage. Every romantic's dream rose. Good
enough to eat. In fact, we bought
the stock plant after tasting jam made with the
petals! Good repeat flowering all season long (New
Dawn is in its parentage). Disease resistant and tolerant of hot
and
humid weather, hardy to zone 5. One of the best large-flowered red
climbers. Up to 10 ft.
Eden™
Pierre
de Ronsard® - ML
Meilland 1987
Large globular buds open to heavy cupped flowers of cream pink edged in
deeper pink. I saw a split rail fence about 25 feet long with
these trained down low this past year. Just lovely. 10+
ft. Z5
Flutterbye™WEKplasol
Carruth 1996 PP9715
Masses of single multicolored yellow,
coral, tangerine and pink
clusters on this tall Shrub or pillar rose/Climber (the latter in warm
mild
climates). Spicey fragrance with very glossy leaves. Highly
disease
resistant. The shape benefits from light pruning. In our cooler
climate we grow these as 4' mounds of color. 6-10 ft.
Climbing Gold
Badge (Cl Gold Bunny) Meilland 1991
A climbing sport of the well-loved continuous blooming, clear yellow
floriforous Floribunda. The flowers are quite large with
fragrance.
Dark glossy foliage sets off the yellow well. Excellent variety
for
warmer climates where the yellow is praised to remain true, and it does
well for us on the foggy north coast, too. Petals are
substantial. This is no wimpy flower that lasts for just a day
before it blows.
You notice ours blooming from 1/4 mile away! Shorter
climber to 7 ft, Z6
Heritage Austin
1984 To quote David Austin
Roses, "one of the
most popular of our English Roses" and that says a lot among his very
poplar creations. Perfect cupped
blooms of soft pink with nearly white outer petals. A strong and bushy
plant with excellent repeating. Nearly thornless stems to form a bush 5
x 4 ft. or a 6+ ft. climber. Quite fragrant, but I'll spare you the
Austin description that reads like a good wine. This is a special photo
to me because it was taken on
the morning of 9/11/01 just before we heard of the terrorist attacks.
We pray that all that is good in our
heritage will last and outshine the evils of this world.
Joseph's Coat Armstrong & Swim 1964
Large-flowered Climber. One of the first to
bloom each spring. Flowers are a blend of orange, golden yellow and
red. Moderately fragrant. Can
also be grown as a large free-standing shrub. 8 ft. Hardy to zone 5. 
Long John Silver
Large-flowered
Climber/Hybrid Setigera, Horvath
1934 White, large,
cup-shaped, very
fragrant double flowers in clusters on strong long-stems.
Ocassionally repeat
blooming. Peter Beales' favorite Hybrid Setigera, describing the
flower as a "small, silky-white
water-lily". The foliage is also large and leathery on vigorous
canes which are adapted to wet soils near waterways. Also shade
tolerant with typically one long flowering per season, shifted a bit
later than
most other once-bloomers. It's also good in a northern aspect and is
a vigorous and shade
tolerant candidate to grow up into trees. Bred for cold
hardiness. OK down in Z5 with protection to save cane
length.
12-15+ ft.
New
Dawn Dreer
1930
Large-flowered
Climber/Hybrid
Wichurana. A classic with double blooms of clear pink backed by glossy
foliage. Slight fragrance
perfectly suited to its delicate look. Very active bloomer. 12 ft.
Hardy to zone 4. Winner of many
awards including "World's Favorite Rose 1997".
Night Owl™
WEKpurosot -
PPAF Carruth 2005 A new stand-ot from Weeks Roses with clusters of dark
mauve/wine purple nearly single flowers that are fragrant.
Lighter center eye with bright yellow stamens. Weather will
affect shade of mauve/purple. Very
disease resistant and vigorous, 10-14 ft Z6 ***
Papi Delbard®
New to our collection Janet's wanted this one for quite a few years
now. Very double apricot pink flowers of good fragrance.
Grows 10 - 15 ft with training. Supposed to bloom all along the stems. Delbard 1995 (named after his
father). Z5
Pearly
Gates™
(WEKmeyer PP10640 Meyer 1999) Large-flowered Climber. Medium to light pink.
Gorgeous form with spicy fragrance.
Sport of America. 14 ft, Z6
Renae Moore
1954
Climbing Floribunda, medium pink, fragrant, thornless,
vigorous, 12+ ft, with small glossy foliage that is quite
healthy. Perfect for pergola or arch and it's noted for being
"self-cleaning" which means it drops its petals after the blooms fade
(rather than hanging on to droopy browning flowers). Z5/6
Royal
Sunset (Morey 1960 ) Large
Flowered
Climber, apricot blend,
fragrant, Portland GM 1960, 6+ ft., Z8? (Tender). A whole row of them
is doing very well in the nearby coastal, historic
town of Ferndale, CA.
Sally Holmes (Holmes 1976) Shrub/Hybrid
Musk.
This five-petal
rose starts as a light peach bud then opens to ivory-white (pinker in
cooler climates). Flowers are borne
in trusses that practically cover the plant when in full bloom. With
some training it can be used as a
short climber looking great against a fence. Shade tolerant and hardy
to zone 5 or 6. 6+ x 4 ft.
Sky's
the
Limit™
WEKprimsou - Carruth 2005 PPAF Shrub/Large-flowered
Climber, butter yellow, fragrant, disease resistant, and better repeat
than our (now shovel pruned) Golden Showers. 10+ ft ***
Sombreuil
(date unknown) Large-flowered Climber. A white/ivory colored rose with
slightly
deeper
coloring in the center. Flowers are full of petals and a delicious
fragrance. Foliage is clean and disease
resistant. Every time it blooms Tracy exclaims, "I have trouble finding
anything wrong with this rose!"
The controversy seems settled that this is not "the" Mlle. de Sombreuil
of
1850, but the question of its origin and the similarities with
something introduced in 1959 as 'Colonial White' still keep this
cultivar's true history in the dark. No matter what, as Tracy
says, it's a must-have climber with old-fashioned
form and fragrance. 10 ft. Hardy to zone 5 or 6.
Spice So Nice™ WEKwesflut - Carruth
2002 PPAF
Apricot orange with yellow centers adorn glossy green foliage.
Very fragrant spice to the flowers and the buds smell of juniper.
Climbs best in mild climates. Westerland
x Flutterbye 10 - 12 ft.
Westerland
Kordes
1969 Apricot/orange blend,
excellent repeat, and fragrant flowers on a disease resistant
dark-leaved plant. Large fantastic canes of clustered flowers.
The
stand-alone specimen in our yard sells a lot of this variety...
Up to 8 x 6
ft. Z5