Hi Gang,

This is the year I'm going to plant a few more big vining roses. This note could go into the "trade" area but it is also a discussion-type note. I have 3 large roses types I can root and trade, maybe 4, and am looking to trade for more types. By "great big" I mean vines that can run up into a tree 15-20 feet or more. I have lots of skinny pine trees and think its time I put them to work.

I have Rosa gigantea, it has not bloomed for me and it's taking its time getting established. I have Belle Portugaise (fantastic in zone 8 or warmer). I've also got R. laevigata. Don't confuse R. laevigata (the Cherokee Rose) with R. bracteata (the McCartney Rose). The McCartney Rose is a noxious weed in large parts of Texas. The Cherokee Rose is not (as far as I know) a weedy rose.

Cherokee rose will eat entire garages if you let it, and it is essentially evergreen for me (down to 20 F and maybe colder). R. gigantea is slow taking off but last summer started up into an oak tree. It is supposed to make 40-50 vines in India, China, and Bangladesh. The flowers are single but large. Belle Portugaise is a hybrid of R. gigantea and it too is taking its time, but it has really put on a lot of growth in its third summer. I think next spring will be a big bloom year. Perhaps these large roses take a while putting down a large root system before they take off for the skyÂbut almost all IÂve ever grown have been worth it in time.

Another rose for which I might have for cuttings is the Climbing Fairy. I never realized how large this plant can get till I saw it arranged on a two story home on Long Island 10 years ago. It climbed past the second story window and made a great show in spring--it had been in the ground for about 10 years and like the regular Fairy had the same flower and a bit of powdery mildew. Like the others, Climbing Fairy is healthy enough along the Gulf Coast and doesn't need spraying. The Cherokee rose is by far the healthiest (nearly immune to everything), but R. gigantea has had essentially no problems here in Conroe.

Anyway, if you have other "great big roses" that you can trade for cuttings in spring, please let me know. I do my rooting in late May and in June--the wood is just ripe enough and the heat helps the process. I'll try to send out rooted cuttings in exchange for same or just for cuttings.

One note about the Cherokee Rose. It has stunning shiny leaves, and it is dark green. The dogwood-like flowers are superb for 3-4 weeks in early spring. Then the rose is finished for the year---at least it will make no more flowers. It is an explosion of flowers and then---nothing. However, it grows, and grows, and grows all summer. Anyone foolish enough to grow it must also hit it hard with the pruner at least twice a year or it will make a giant rose pile 20-30 feet across and 10 ft. tall. If you plant it near a tree it can be trained up into a large tree but diligence is required to keep the side shoots from eating the garden. If you let it, the Cherokee Rose will eat a garage in a few years. Once trained up 15 or 20 feet, the Cherokee Rose sends out side branches; it makes a waterfall of flowers each spring--astonishing and beautiful. Each flower doesnÂt last more than a 3-5 days, but there are zillions of them.

One other note about the Cherokee Rose is that it has razor sharp thorns, and lots of them. It takes courage and BandAids to keep the Cherokee Rose in check.

So, please write to me if you want to set up a trade--great big rose for great big rose.

Cordially,

Joe

jshaw@opuntiads.com

Conroe TX