It is healthy and pretty but it is also thorny and it gets big. I used to have it near my front gate but I moved it to the back fence. We are both happier now. It is happier because I am no longer hacking away at it all the time, and I am happier because it no longer reaches out and snags me all the time.

Rosefolly

Phyllis Bide will be unmanageable in that space after three years unless you prune it very carefully each winter. It is essentially a once-bloomer, with an unbelievable spring flush. The color is really good in my cool climate, but in the warmer zone, it may change very quickly. I wouldn't dream of growing it in a 5 x 5 space because I don't want to work that hard. Vintage grows it as a very controlled espalier maybe 6 x 6. They often sell sweet little two year plants wrapped on a bamboo stake. Ha!

Here is Phyllis blooming the second spring:
http://www.rosefog.us/imagesJtoZ/PhyllisBideMay01.jpg

The third spring:
http://www.rosefog.us/imagesJtoZ/PhyllisB28May02.jpg

The fourth spring:
http://www.rosefog.us/imagesJtoZ/Phyllis.jpg

You have just witnessed a case study of a rose much too large for its support, a 6.5 foot pillar. The whole extravaganza was toppled in a gale. Naturally I've replanted Phyllis Bide, on exactly the same foolish structure but with a better base. I will be more systematic about reducing the size of canes. It's a real show stopper.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:229912}}

I really disliked this rose. The color was always pale in my climate, there wasn't that much bloom after spring and the thorns were truly vicious. Some publications list this rose as having very few thorns; that can't possibly be the same rose, and yet the flowers looked just the same as mine. In a cool climate this might be a beautiful and worthwhile rose but it didn't work for me.

Ingrid

I grow this too...and I can tell you NOT to grow silver lace/fleece vine with it on an arbor. This was one of the first roses I grew, and, I think I may move it to another place with less sun. It does bleach out in the hot sun, but, mine does seem to repeat.

I'm wondering if another rose, Opal Brunner, would be a better similar choice. I've got Opal Brunner, but I haven't seen it bloom yet because it's still young. I think the flowers are going to be somewhat the same, and OB is thornless or nearly so, I believe.

Robert

I just dug Phyllis up for the reasons list above. She didn't bloom much except in the spring, the blooms faded almost immediately, no scent, lots of thorns when one reason I bought her was her nearly thornless rep, and she got huge! She is now cut back and in a pot to go in my spring plant sale. I won't miss her.

This is exactly what I wanted to know. Phyllis will not be coming to our house. The "thorny" issue in particular turns me off. I'm still thinking of my Rev d'Or that ARE classifies as "few" or "thornless". Hah!

Thank you Everyone! I think I can finally get over Phyllis and move on. Now I need to find a smaller climber that will fit in that space.

A little late to jump into this thread - have to admit that I love this rose - it reblooms well for me, but only on new laterals so it gets shaggy during the summer - it's been throwing out flowers all winter long, and several are blooming today, even after I pruned it and got it back into a semblance of shape on the archway. I think it would be a great shed-eater, but unfortunately I have to keep mine trimmed. I had seen Cass' pictures before I planted it so you can't say I wasn't warned. I have it right next to Perle d'Or and think of it as a mother and child reunion. I have a coppery bed of roses, with Comtesse du Cayla, too, and it makes me very happy.

I must admit it's thorny - my hands are a mess right now - and the flowers do fade in summer, but they last forever, and come off with a good shake. I read about Phyllis Bide producing a "dither of flowers" and that's how I think of it in the spring, a silly dither of a rose.

Here's a January bloom -
{{gwi:229917}}

April flowers -
{{gwi:229918}}
Anita

We have a young "P.B." and I've seen it reach the size of a Rambler.
I reccomend "Opal Brunner" which we also grow, because it bears darling roses of several hues, on a more managable plant. Each blossom is a combination of pale rose, lilac, and light apricot, . Its' leaves are abundant and pretty, and it can be grown as a 4-5 foot tall bush or trained to grow as a short climber of c. 6 feet tall. It is a much better behaved rose than P.B.. In S. California I'd suggest giving "Opal Brunner" 1-2 hours of dappled shade, if you want the hues of the blooms to be richer.

Luxrosa