If you are willing to learn, the rose will teach you.
—Cynthia Westcott
Roses are hardy plants, and if you have a sunny spot with six hours or more of direct sun each day, you can easily find a perfect rose for your garden. There are even roses for shady spots, although most do best in full sun.
Blaze is a very popular red climber with scarlet semi-double flowers in clusters. This profuse bloomer with a light fragrance grows ten to fifteen feet tall in zones 4/5-10. Blaze is a repeat bloomer that provides masses of red color in the garden, on vigorous canes that make this rose easy to grow.
Iceberg [pictured above] has been termed the most sought after climber today, with its pure white semi-double flowers and light honey fragrance. The white flowers appear in clusters with up to 15 blooms per spray, and are dainty, rain resistant and long lasting on the plant and as cut flowers. Iceberg has a floribunda form and the climber form, and has three inch blooms with 50 petals per flower and is suited for zones 5-10.
The Fourth of July (Crazy for You) is the first climbing rose to win an All American Rose Selection award in 23 years, and produces clusters of four inch flowers which are red striped with white. Its arching canes grow to ten to fourteen feet, and its blooms are exceptionally fragrant. This repeat bloomer is one of the few striped climbers and grows in zones 5-9.
Golden Showers is one of the most profuse bloomers of yellow climbers, and UC Davis developed virus-free plants. The golden yellow ruffled petals form four inch moderately fragrant flowers in zones 4-10 on 7 to 10 foot tall canes. This rose will give you color from late spring to mid-fall, and the strong stems make it excellent for cut flowers. Golden Showers tolerates more shade than most climbers and is disease resistant.
Compassion (Belle de Londres) is the number one climbing rose in England with its four inch blooms a lovely shade of apricot, copper and gold. One of the all time greats in rose breeding, Compassion is completely repeat flowering in summer and autumn and can also be grown as a shrub. As a climber it has 8 to 10 foot canes, with flowers borne either singly or in clusters of three, in zones 5-10.
Abraham Darby [pictured at right] is available as a shrub or climbing rose and has large five inch very fragrant flowers in shades of pink and apricot. The blooms have 100 petals and this rose is suited to zones 5-10.
Jacob’s Coat is admired for its splashy orange, red and yellow blooms which will add a riot of bright color to your garden all summer. This rose will be covered in blooms in all three colors at the same time, on canes that can reach ten feet tall and five feet wide, in zones 5-9. Its three inch double flowers have a slight fragrance.
Climbing roses need support from a fence, trellis or arbor and do best with at least six hours of direct sun each day. Roses in containers can be planted in spring or fall, and in summer if you water them for at least six weeks after planting. Roses that are grafted have a rounded knob where the grafting occurred and it is recommended that you plant with the knob two inches above the soil in warmest climates, slightly above soil level in moderate winter areas and two inches below soil level in the coldest winter areas. Bare root roses benefit if you soak them in water for two hours before planting, with the bud union at about ground level. When in doubt about the planting depth ask your local garden store.
The American poet and author, Katherine Lee Bates, wrote “Love planted a rose, and the world turned sweet.” Imagine the years of sweetness and beauty your small bare root or container rose will offer you once you have selected and planted it.
Photo Credits: from Wikimedia.org, Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Iceberg Rose (top photo) by Stan Shebs. Abraham Darby rose (pink) by Anna Reg.
