How to identify/find a rose you want

A neighbour has a climbing rose Blood Red and the blooms are about 4/5" across
very heavily scented

He has no idea what it is called and I want one

Next question, I have been told you can not plant a rose where a previous rose has been ?

Which would cause me a problem as I want this climber where my poor climber is (knowing nothing about roses/gardening I stuck it in about six years ago it is now a dark wood stick for the first five feet, then an abundance of white small scentless blooms)

Regards Jack McHammocklashing

 

try David Austins site ... i have bought many of his roses for gardens that I have landscaped

David Austin Roses - Bare root roses, Container roses, English Roses, Climbers, Ramblers - Buy online

 

Hello Jack

We need Wiseoldowl on this one - come back soon, Woo! Could you take a sneaky picture of your neighbour's rose? That would make identification easier. Here are a couple of red climbing roses which are commonly seen:

Ena Harkness (climbing version). Lovely deep red flowers, gorgeous scent. Easily identified because the flowers tend to hang down and look at you! Not a very good 'repeat flowerer', though. This means that you only get one good flush of flowers, then a few more sparse ones later in the season. This is something to look out for when you're choosing a rose. Some only have one bash at flowering, while others keep going. You'll probably want one which goes on producing flowers for as long as possible, unless you have unlimited space.

Guinea. Crimson, again strongly scented. A favourite with forum members, I seem to remember.

Dublin Bay. A nice, clear red but not particularly scented, so that probably rules it out of our enquiries.

Etoile de Hollande (climbing version). Deep crimson flowers, strong scent.

The reason you are told not to plant new roses in a spot where roses have previously been grown is that you may have problems with 'rose sickness'. As far as I know, this is not fully understood, but it seems that there is a build-up of something in the soil which may cause the new rose to fail. The RHS has just planted up a brand new rose garden on the site of an old one, but I imagine it imported tons of fresh soil so that things got off to a good start. I suppose you could try doing the same thing on a smaller scale! However, if you dig in lots of compost/manure and take care of your new rose, it will probably be ok. I'm all for giving things a go.

 

Thanks both, I will take a pic of the rose
I say neigbour, it is a lady about six streets away, but she is open to chat passing the time of day

Jack McH

 

:-( went with my camera yesterday afternoon
Gone I tell ya gorn

The garden is slabbed, not a flower in sight

However I think I have found what I was looking for on the David Austin site

Jack McH

 

Which one have you chosen, Jack?

David Austin has many lovely, fragrant roses. His 'English Roses' (new varieties which have been bred to look like old-fashioned ones) are often a good choice if you want a traditional looking rose which also has good disease resistance and the ability to flower for a long time. But if your neighbour's rose was in place for any length of time I think it's unlikely to have been an Austin rose. The catalogue lists others, however, including Guinea.

 

I have short listed six
I want to buy three
I like deep red but am open to suggestions, and I need it to climb, well about 8'-10' would be good
I prefer many large single blooms rather than these multiheaded small blooms

Wenlock rose
Tradescant rose
William Shakespeare
The Squire
Lady Emma Hamilton
and finally his wifes Pat Austin

One on a SOUTH facing front wall alongside front door
Two on a shaded after 15.00 West facing wall

Jack McH

 

You're hooked already. You'll end up buying the entire catalogue!

The Austin catalogue is very informative and will tell you whether a rose makes a small bush, a large shrub or a climber. There are climbers and climbers; if you don't have a stately home which needs covering, it's probably best to choose a plant which doesn't get too big. Sometimes roses are listed as being suitable to grow as shrubs 'or short climbers'. These are ideal if you want a rose to grow around your front door but don't want it to take over.

'William Shakespeare' looks as though it is a lovely rose, but it is a shrub rose, not a climber. This means that it has a naturally bushy shape, rather than the long canes which can be trained against a wall or fence. The same goes for Lady Emma Hamilton (I fancy that rose myself), Pat Austin and probably the others you've listed although I don't know for sure without checking.

If it's climbers you want, go to the 'home' page of the David Austin catalogue (other suppliers are available)!! and then click on the left hand column where it says 'bare root roses'. Then you'll be given an option to tick which category of rose you're after, along with other characteristics such as colour. Click on 'climbers and ramblers'. Then you'll be able to see all the available climbing roses. Stay clear of 'ramblers' - they only bloom once and they tend to be very vigorous plants. Make sure you check the eventual size of your rose, too.

South and West facing walls should both be fine.

By the way, 'bare root' refers to the way the plants are sent out. At this time of year, rose suppliers are taking orders for plants which will be sent out in the autumn as dormant canes on bare roots. Sometimes you can buy plants in containers as well- but these tend to be more expensive because of the costs of posting heavy items.

 

PS ... Maybe I should explain a little about the different types of roses. Forgive me if I'm telling you boring stuff you already know.

Hybrid teas and floribundas are the rose bushes which you commonly see grown in formal rose beds in parks and gardens. They are generally hard pruned each year so that all you are left with is a few short canes. The difference between hybrid teas and floribundas is that the latter produce their flowers in clusters, rather than as single blooms. Both sorts of rose seem to be rather out of fashion at the moment, but one of my favourite roses is a floribunda. It's called Margaret Merril, and has creamy white flowers which smell heavenly. It's also very easy to grow.

Shrub roses, as the name suggests, are grown like any other shrub and left to grow into a medium to large bush, with just a bit of tidying here and there if they need it. Many old roses are shrub roses, as are David Austin's 'English' ones - although you can prune these harder if you so wish.

Climbers and ramblers are roses with a naturally tall, lanky habit. They have long canes which can be trained against a wall or fence (no rose truly climbs; the stems have to be carefully tied into a support). Just how tall the plants will become is down to the individual variety. Mme Alfred Carriere, a beautiful old white climber, is huge. Kiftsgate is a downright monster. There are, however, many other varieties which will grow to more modest proportions - catalogues will list the eventual size. David Austin has some shrub roses which are a bit on the 'leggy' side, and can therefore be grown either as a shrub or a small climber.

('Ramblers' form a separate category of climber which is distinguished by the number of leaflets the plants produce - seven on a rambler, five on a climber. They tend to be very vigorous and bloom only once, so they are only in flower for around six weeks.)

Once flowering versus repeat flowering (sometimes called remontant) roses:
In the beginning, all the roses which were grown in British gardens flowered only once per season. If you buy an Alba rose - a beautiful shrub with grey-green leaves and scented white or pink flowers which dates back to the Middle Ages - you'll only get one set of flowers. Then, breeders discovered a wild rose which had the ability to go on blooming. And lo! We got garden flowers which would bloom right through until the autumn. Most of the roses which are now sold are repeat flowerers. But it's always wise to check, especially if you're buying an old variety.

Hope this helps

 

PPS If it's a David Austin red climber you want, 'Falstaff' (Climbing) looks wonderful, although I've not grown it myself. It's marked as strongly scented and has crimson flowers which are arranged it a lovely 'quartered' pattern. As with many 'red' roses, it's actually a deep purple:-

Falstaff Climbing - David Austin Roses

The blurb says it grows to six feet. In my experience this generally means that it will probably stretch to the eight feet or so you want.

If you want a more 'modern' looking plant, how about Etoile de Hollande?

Etoile de Hollande, Climbing - David Austin Roses

It's a climbing version of a hybrid tea. A bigger plant that 'Falstaff', I think, although the catalogue simply says 'tall'.

 

Thanks Clara lou for all your posts most informative
the Etoile de Hollande, is the one I am after and just two more now for the side
I am not keen on the flower on the Falstaff
I may be looking for something that does not exist in the sort of rose I want petals like the pic on here

Jack McH

 

Jack, have you looked at the Fryer's rose catalogue. In my opinion, most of their roses have the ' Romantic ' rose shape, like that one in your pic.

Dublin Bay, High Flier and Crimson Cascade are the red ones that caught the eye.

Cheers.

 

Cheers Grumpy only looked at David Austin
I will take a look at your suggestions
After all got to live with them for a good few years

Regards Jack McHammocklashing

 

Well after much checking on here and me going to order the above Roses

I saw SWMBO order form and all that is on it is
Albertino
Compassion
Gineger Syllabub
Morning Jewel and
Zephrine Droubin

Non of which are bloody Red
Why did I bother
Just who is the boss in this house

Jack McHammocklashing

 

Rose Sickness - cure

Hello Jack
I just read the following advice in the Peter Beales catalogue:
" ....either dig out the soil and replace soil from elsewhere in the garden (or import fresh soil).
You could also dig a hole large enough for a bio-degradable cardboard box, no smaller than 1 cubic foot in size and fill with fresh soil. The box should be sunk into the ground in the position where you wish to plant your new rose and filled with good soil or compost. Plant your rose in the centre of the box at normal planting depth " :yess:
Hope this helps.

Susi