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kristimama

Help me place these Excellenz von Shubert & Grandmother's Hat

kristimama
13 years ago

Hi all,

I scored an Excellenz von Shubert band at Vintage Garden's open house last year, it's still growing in a pot waiting to go in the ground this spring.

I'm also trying to track down a Grandmother's Hat for the yard as well.

(Can you tell I like the Cerise-colored repeat bloomers? My other faves are Rose de Rescht and Rose du Roi. LOL)

I have two spots in my yard (with slightly different size and sunlight) and I'm wondering which would go better in each spot based on the sunlight/space limitations.

The left side of entry way has a fairly narrow wall space, about 4' wide from a window to a porch opening. My planting bed (from foundation to lawn) is about 3' depth. In this area, I could theoretically get a flower to grow up and onto the porch, but I want something that will bloom from the ground up, with a minimal amount of needing to sort of "weave" back and forth to get horizontal canes. From the dirt to the top of the porch overhang, it's about 7' from the ground up. Since I'm probably not going to end up with a rose that actually climbs/trellises into the overhang (unless you can recommend one), I need to pick the one of these two that can be kept vertical to about 6-7' max or maybe just goes up a little onto the porch. This side of the house faces west, full afternoon exposure in the East Bay (near Walnut Creek), so pretty darn hot and dry in the August/September.

The right side of my entry way has a much wider wall space, almost 6-7' wide from the edge of the house to a window. It is the same rough planting area in the flower bed, about 3' from the foundation to the edge of the lawn. I also have much more room to go vertically here... because there is no porch overhang I can go almost 8-10' tall or higher if I wanted to go up to the gutters. Like in the other side, I'm not really looking for a plant I have to do a lot of weaving back and forth for. Although I'd do it if I had to. This spot gets a little afternoon shade because of some large hedges and neighboring trees casting shade. It still faces west, but doesn't have the same intensity or afternoon scorching as the left side of the entry way.

So... I own EVS, and am hoping to buy Grandmother's Hat, and these are the two I want in the front yard (for their color and near-thornlessness). I still have little kids toddling around this small front yard, hence the thorn issue.

Originally, I was thinking that Grandmother's Hat would be better on the left side because it was more "vertical"... but I was reading on GW that GH sometimes hates the intense heat of the sun, and that EVS can take all the sun it gets.

So now I'm wondering if actually EVS would be better on the left side of the entry, with some trellising to keep it upright... and put GH on the right hand side of the entry.

Any thoughts about how these grow, handle the intensity of the sun, their growth habits, etc.

Also, if you have photos of either of these varieties, can you share them? Sometimes it's hard to see how the plant actually grows, and Gregg's little stick figure drawings don't always explain how best to grow them.

Thanks so much.

-kmama

Comments (11)

  • jerijen
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    kmama, I'll look for photos, but Grandmother's Hat is one that YOU decide.
    You can let it grow upright to maybe 8 ft., narrower at the base, wider toward the top. You can prune it, and make a rounded shrubby plant, perhaps 5 ft. tall x 6 ft. It is upright in habit, and does not require espaliering to bloom, but more bloom will occur at the top than at the bottom. In maturity, you may see a couple of ft. of "naked knees" at the base.

    Excellenz von Schubert is a vigorous grower with thick foliage (and some prickles!) which can be trained over an arch.
    We trained it, rather, to a broad tripod years ago, and to this day it remains an quite large ball of a plant, which blooms all over. But it is not a plant for a constricted space.

    Hope this helps. (Note that EvS, typical for one of them Multiflora-purples, is sensitive to alkalinity, but your environment should be acidic enough to make it happy.)

    Jeri
    In Alkaline Coastal Ventura Co., SoCal

  • ffff
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Exzellenz von Schubert is a polyantha bush of unremarkable habit. The ones I've seen have been no more than maybe 4' tall.

    Grandmother's Hat, on the other hand, inclines towards being a 7' tree. If you've ever seen a really old and established alba, or maybe Mme. Hardy, you know the kind. Not all that different from a small fruit tree. Given long enough, GH will get canes that are 2"-3" thick, completing the look.

  • landperson
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    The Excellenz von Schubert that I have is a Hybrid Musk rather than a Polyantha.

    Looking over at HMF I find that there is quite a bit of discussion about this rose and that there may well be two different roses in circulation with this name. One is pink with little or no scent; the other is mauve and quite fragrant.

    Although mine is just a huge band right now, and waiting to go into the ground later this weekend, I am quite sure that I am planting the mauve, fragrant Hybrid Musk.

  • catsrose
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Vintage sells the mauve, fragrant HM EVS. The pink one is actually Gartendirecktor Otto. EVS will tolerate a far bit of shade, if that helps.

  • kristimama
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks, everyone for your help. I think I have them planned OK. The EVS is the one I think I'll put in the slightly less sunny spot so that I can let it sprawl a little.

  • jerijen
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Land -- The ARS calls EvS a Polyantha, but if it is one, it should properly be called a Cl. Poly -- and it could equally be considered an HM (like its close relative, 'Gartendirektor Otto Linne').

    These roses were LAMBERTIANAS -- created by Lambert. Any other classification is the work of those who came along after Lambert died. They certainly are related to HM's, and it makes more sense to me to call 'em that. But I ain't ARS.

    In any case, if it is EvS, and it is poiple and fragrant, it IS GOING TO GET BIG IN CALIFORNIA. I would strongly recommend that you not plant it in a location where space is tight.

    Jeri in Coastal Ventura Co.
    (Who has grown EvS for a decade or more)

  • kristimama
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Hi everyone,
    I just had another thought about where I might put EVS, but wanted to find out if EvS MUST climb or can it be more shrub-like if it has horizontal space to spread/fan out.

    I have a big front window that is about 5' above ground, and about 6' wide. Does EVS have to be a climber? If left to its own devices, does it sort of spray up and out, tumble and fall, I don't know the lingo yet. But I guess I'm wondering if 5' tall and 6' wide (even with some pruning) would be sufficient for EVS (in NorCal) if not trained to a trellis but allowed to become a shrub.

    If it can be grown this way, does it still need some sort of grid/trellis/cattle panel something or other behind it (up against the house) to train the plant initially?

    With the Celebration just a few days away, I'm still trying to decide where to place the plants I already *own* so that I can justify buying *more*. LOL

    Thanks!

  • jerijen
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    You might be able to "girdle" or "corral" EvS -- but you have here a rose which either wants a lot of space, or needs to be tied UP.

    Jeri

  • kristimama
    Original Author
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Thanks, Jeri. I'll try to find you at the Celebration, too. But I want you to know how much I appreciate your help before the event. I'm playing a bit of "landscape architect" this spring... and trying to place plants in an empty canvas (completely empty beds) without having seen most of these roses in person.

  • rosefolly
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    My GH wants to grow as a rounded vase. Here it likes to be about seven feet high and I have it placed in full sun. I do not have any problem with it that way. While its form is upright rather than sprawling, it does take a fair amount of horizontal real estate. You can underplant it with lilies, sages, dianthus, irises, what every you like. However, I don't think it can fit comfortably into a narrow place.

    Funny that you mention Rose de Rescht. I have it planted right next to GH.

    Rosefolly

  • jerijen
    13 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago

    Rosefolly's right. Any way you cut it, once mature, these roses take up considerable horizontal space.

    I fought my way through the jungle this morning, all the way to the bottom of the hill. I felt like Jack at the foot of a field of beanstalks! Those roses down there are WAY bigger than I am!

    Jeri