I have heard that complaint of it before. Perhaps it gets better when it matures.

Jeri

You should get a nice fall flush. In my experience the older the plant is the better the repeats get. ZD's best display is spring and fall but given enough extra water it blooms intermittently through the summer.

Well at least yours is growing,Mine has been just sitting for 3 years and grew maybe 3 ft,and just sits with SKINNY little cane on it.It had a couple little 2 inch flowers on it in spring,since then nothing and the leaves fell off too.I am going to trash can this one in the fall and get ready to plant yet another climber in this spot.I had Berries & Cream 2 years in this spot and same thing with it,too.Planted mine on a arbor wanting it to grow over it,and have a Berries & Cream on the other side and ir just sits and does practically nothing as well.I have been growing roses for last 9 years and never had this before.

Jean

Ooh, too bad you live so far away Jean, I'd take the recalcitrant Zephy off your hands.

My Zephy was also planted earlier this year, July I think. It got a couple of blooms while still in the pot, then nothing after it was planted. However, I've noticed the canes have really taken off in the last couple of weeks - even with the lack of rain, so I think she has finally rooted up some.

I figure next year I should get at least some blooms, but won't demand really good blooms for at least a couple of years.

I planted one last year. I had a lot of winter damage because it is on the NW side of my house. But it came back strong and I was going to have a nice spring flush. The Easter freeze took care of that. I have had sporadic blooms. But the thing is growing like gang busters. Which is good because I want it to climb up a 10 foot deck. I think it's half way there. Now all I have to do this fall/winter is arrange the canes. We've just been tying it up so it's not flopping all over the lawn.

Climbers do take a few years to get going.

Buford, I had mine on a 10 x 12 deck segment which it covered easily. It was superb in the first flush when it bloomed heavily on laterals and then on the new basals to extend the flush to 5 or 6 weeks. After several years, it still wasn't making enough repeat to notice, just a cluster occasionally on the end of late basals. I did water enough to sustain rampant growth through the summer. Not in full sun.

As for Berries n Creme -- That one took 3 years to grow up and really produce. But once it hit its stride, it began to bloom heavily, and repeat well. It is also completely disease-free in my area.

Jeri

Thanks for all the input! I'm glad to see I'm not the only one. This is the first climber I've planted so I haven't known what to expect. I managed to kill a carpet rose...not very encouraging. Okay, the April freeze and then a (flooding) rain in May in this area may have contributed, as it was starting on it's 2nd season. Every nursery worker I talked to smirked as they said "You're not supposed to be able to kill those". Just my luck. I seem to be good at growing things but not getting them to bloom....I hope my kids turn out better than my plants.
Thanks again!

Hey, 6 out of my 8 carpet roses died last winter - and one of those that survived doesn't look like it is making a serious effort to be healthy when it is time to go into dormancy. I will not be at all surprised if I am down to 1 or 0 carpet roses next year.

i planted an ownroot Zephy last spring and got no blooms last year. This spring she bloomed very nicely. Shelley

I love Zeffy and most Bourbons but never understand why this is promoted as having a good repeat. Ours is 14 years old and kept tame 7 ft and while it is covered in magnificent blooms in Spring it never has more than 4 or 5 blooms total the rest of the Summer. I think of it as a once bloomer with a bonus

I am baffled. My ZD has about a dozen or more blooms now as it had in August - meanwhile this year she got no rain, no extra fertilizer and we didn't water too often due to watering restriction. I wonder what she will do in October when she usually has almost as good a display as in spring; I guess she will not give us a decent fall flush this year.

Welcome to the real world of ZD. You won't get much beyond the spring bloom...just a lot of stringy growth. Imagine how pretty the fall bloom would be. It would show up so well against the white powdery mildew ridden foliage. I honestly cannot understand why anyone puts up with this pitiful excuse for a variety. It doesn't live up to the hype put out by the old Wayside catalog. Color it yuch!

Hi @carrollfrankie51

Maybe your Zephy is doing the sleeping, creeping, leaping or maybe it‘s shut down bc summer heat?

My Zephy is being weird, it blackspots a lot and drops it’s leaves but regrows new ones at the same time. Right now the stems look horrible (Spotty) and there is some dieback that has me worried.

I hope some more people jump in with more knowledge of this rose.

I planted my barefoot ZD in April this year and it had one tiny little bloom right away but no more. It looks healthy and has climbed and filled in one side of the arch. I will give it until spring and if no blooms it’s coming out. If anyone has any ideas what I can feed it to make it bloom I would appreciate it.

I have had mine for 3 years, although the leaves are healthy it has only bloomed 2 roses