My wife and I recently moved from a large acreage to a small, urban lot and would like to turn it into our private 'garden oasis'. A key component is screening with hedges and climbing vines - allowing for a variety of light conditions. The rear of our lot overlooks greenspace and is on the lip of a steep bank. We plan to place a five foot chain link fence along it (to keep our dog in) and are considering planting a bunch of climbing roses along it. We had Dublin Bay's before and loved them, an easy rose to both grow and maintain. However, the fence is facing south but the best place to plant the roses would be on the north side where it has much more shade for the first couple of feet. Any suggestions or possible alternative varieties? We tried a few varities of yellow climbing roses at our previous place, but they all were prone to aphids and other insects - much, much more so than the Dublin Bay and other reds we had. Is this typical of the yellow roses?
'Autumn Sunset' is a sport of 'Westerland' that has more golden yellow in it then 'Westerland', which has more orange. They are great roses with good fragrance, too.
We had tried both 'Autumn Sunset' and 'Westerland' on our Quadra Island property - they did not flower nearly as well as the 'Dublin Bay' and the 'Autumn Sunset' seemed particularly prone to earwigs ... which was a very frustrating problem. I think our big problem was how to manage a problem such as earwigs while still maintaining an "organic" gardening philosophy! Anyway - both 'Autumn Sunset' and 'Westerland' were still good varieties. My growing conditions are different here in Campbell River than they were on Quadra Island, so it will be interesting to see which does well and which does not...
Contacts for the local rose societies there can be found at www.fprosesociety.org and www.vancouverrosesociety.org. They can direct you to consulting rosarians who would be happy to answer questions specific to your area. I just looked at the website for the Tacoma Rose Society, and of the nine climbers they have listed as members’ favorites for the Puget Sound region, seven are red or red blends: Altissimo, Don Juan, Dublin Bay, Dynamite, Fourth of July, Fred Loads, and Handel. Personally, red is not my color, but if you like red, then perhaps you could consider growing combinations of these with, say, sun-loving clematis of white hues such as Huldine and Cl. flammula. Last year was the first year in the last ten that I noticed that Madame Plantier and Secret had some thrips, but I live in the woods. Thrips are definitely partial to the lighter color roses, especially white, but you may not have trouble in an urban setting. I have not heard of aphids being particular at all. In a different setting, I experienced earwigs with a fondness for large portions of an Austin rose for dinner, but I haven’t had a problem here, nor have I read that they have favorites. Don Julien, the former editor of the newsletter of the Seattle Rose Society, has archived his articles on his website at http://www.bmi.net/roseguy. His articles are great and include a series entitled Good Bug, Bad Bug, where you will find articles on both thrips and earwigs.
I love Altissimo. The flowers are single. But this, together with it's size and colour, is what's most appealing about this rose. However, it's canes are thick and not very pliable. Therefore, it would depend on what kind of training you have in mind. Don Juan hasn't done all that well for me, but the fact that it receives just 6 hours of morning sun may have a lot to do with it's poor showing. I am a great fan of a pink climber called "Parade". If you have a large expanse of fence, this rose will cover it fairly quickly. The three in my property are on own roots, and one of them occupies an arbour 6-8 foot high for a distance of 15 feet. (Afterall, it has some of New Dawn's genes.) It's spring display is simply breathtaking. Some say it's fragrant, but my nose says not. There are a couple of mature Dublin Bay's at the Centennial Rose Garden by the Dogwood Pavilion in Coquitlam. In fact, it has good examples of quite a number of climbers. One which I particulary like is Salita. But you should see the huge climber, Dortmund, in full bloom at the front gate arbor of the garden. It's huge and really drammatic.
Wow - thanks for the attached picture, what a beautiful rose display. We have had the Altissimo before and agree, it is both robust and the single flowers have an elegant beauty. We have not seen Parade before, but will now be looking our for it - I have incorporated two six foot high and about seven feet long lattice panels in our landscape design which will be joined by a walk through arbor. Something like the Parade variety would be ideal. Thanks both to you and Laurie from the previous posting for your wonderful ideas - very much appreciated ... it's so exciting planning out a new garden design :-)
'Don Juan' is a hybrid tea with typical minimal branching, long stems and pointed bud shape--not able to give a profuse, picturesque floral effect. Except for longer stems of course looks more like a cut flower arrangement stuck in the ground than a shrub, as modern bedding roses usually do. And like many other hybrid teas also not fully hardy, either. One near my neighborhood froze in the 1990 winter.
