Suggestions for climbers...

9 Jun '08 9:59 pm

I need help - I am not a rose guru at all but am wanting to plant some roses along a fence that runs behind a row of cherry trees (not the naughty cherries from another post!). The fence is about 40m long and is sunny most of the day.

I am looking for:
1. lemon yellow (not gold or apricot)
2. smelly
3. repeat flowering or constant flowering

I like the old fashioned look. The roses need to be tough (and able to cope with the odd bit of trimming by the horses!).

I have always wanted a Mermaid but every one I've seen has been scary and out of control. I look at rose sites but end up getting overloaded!

All help is appreciated. Smile

10 Jun '08 1:12 pm

Alberic Barbier is a rose that will grow along a fence.it has a clear yellow bud which opens to white so is very pretty-a small flower but will flower the whole year long,with a huge flush in spring.
This is my AB -only a few years old.the electric fence is to stop the cattle from chewing it all-they have done that before and it will grow again easily.it does not have many thorns and is easily trimmed lightly throughout the year to keep it tidy.
I am also traing some long stems up into the blue cedar.
Dixie.

10 Jun '08 2:15 pm

Dixie, this is exactly the sort of thing I'm after. A nice looking rose that is hardy and will not sulk after a bit of accidental out of season pruning by the horses! Your cows get to enjoy the beauty of this rose... you may look but not touch! It is lovely but does it smell?

Thanks for all your good input.

10 Jun '08 7:15 pm

Going through SA's top supplier's catalogue, the options are surprisingly limited:

MACweirar, known in SA as Apéritif;
HARhappen, known in SA as Crème Caramel;
Golden Showers - fades very quickly to a soft yellow - a dishevelled, willing rose I am very fond of;
Mermaid - it takes years and some neglect to become a thug; in fact it takes several years to establish itself.

I grow both of the latter two and am fond of them. Neither is a wow for scent. Alberic Barbier is not available locally, but I've enjoyed it overseas.

11 Jun '08 10:43 am

Apéritif is a NZ-bred rose listed as a hybrid tea with long stems. I can't find much about Crème Caramel. Golden Showers is already on my list - I've never actually seen one but it seems to flower over a long period and be generally pretty hardy. It is a stronger yellow than Alberic Barbier - maybe I could plant them both?

11 Jun '08 6:59 pm

From Ludwig's description -the SA "Rose King" - Aperitif responded in our climate like many of the David Austin roses, growing tall in a way which encouraged use as a smallish climber rather than a shrub. Golden Showers fades quickly to a paler yellow. Why not plant both: it will definitely have a 'fuller' flowering season than AB, even if it will be much less dramatic at its best.

19 Jun '08 10:24 am

Thanks to Dixie and Jack for their help. I have decided to go with 'Golden Showers'. It fits the bill well and there are several well-grown plants at the rose centre down the road. Hopefully I will have lovely spring photos of a line of masses of lemony yellow flowers with which to wow you all!

19 Jun '08 4:30 pm

Oddly, as I'm a very messy gardener and person, the rose Mermaid has been just as bit too messy for me, and I've dug it out. I've always loved bits of it, but not the whole thing, if that makes any sense.

I love Golden Showers, and I'm sure you'll love it too, Kerole! Happy rose hunting. I've just rescued a bare-root rose from the supermarket, so I'm feeling virtuous...

20 Jun '08 6:47 am

It always amazes me...

Here we are chatting like neighbours across a fence about a plant we can all see - yet we are halfway across the world from each other Smile

20 Jun '08 8:11 am

I had to laugh at that Jack Laughing

(that emoticon looks a bit manic to me - don't come round here waggling your top lip at me). It is just like neighbours/friends having a chat.

Being in NZ is a bit of a pain sometimes though - seed and plant swapping by post is a fab idea but NZs border patrols would have us locked up in the blink of an eye for that kind of carry on. So we just have to rely on whatever the market presents us with, as well as a few accidental crosses of our own. NZs green beauty is far more important than my want for unusual plant strains, and I wouldn't change the rules for anything, but every now and then I long for a bit of so-and-sos ground cover, or some seeds from that creeper, etc. Smile

Suggestions for climbers...

Suggestions for climbers...

rose suggestion

Gorgeous!

My penny's worth.

Thanks Jack.

Yellows

Thanks.

odd bunch we are..

Over the garden fence...