Such a cheerful bloom.

Jeri, who in Europe sells it, please? All I see are American nurseries. I really would like to add this rose to my garden...regards, bart

In the space between me reading the post and composing a comment, bart has beaten me to it. Yes, I'd like to know that too, my google-fu has failed me.

I would suggest that you contact Jeri off the forum for that bit of information.

A very pretty climber rose and it's hardy for 6a....... I should give it a try next year. :-)

I don't know who in Europe sells it, but HMF lists photos taken in Europe --

In fact, HMF lists four sources, but all are in the U.S.:
http://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=2.51139.1&tab=16

That's a beautiful rose and I love that shade of pink.

I've posted on the general Rose forum, asking if it's for sale in Europe. Hopefully someone will answer...

..it doesn't appear to be... the HMF member in Baden-Baden who has it, I think is an American lady so maybe she imported it in some way...

...a pleasing alternative for us I think, is 'Mme. Alice Garnier', another wichurana hybrid.... perhaps just as nice and repeat flowers... and only gets to half the size apparently... I tried to obtain it earlier this year but it was sold out..

Too bad.

Mel is a monster here in Nashville up against my Southern brick wall. It would take the house if I let it.

Gorgeous. HUGE spring flush, always a few clusters (of 15-20 flowers!) in bloom. Healthy as a horse. Would be great on a pavilion etc in a warmer climate. Not sure how hardy it would be unprotected.

Susan

Probably not very, Susan. One parent is Crepuscule, so I doubt it can take REAL cold.

Thanks Jeri. I wanted to take it out to my farm--southwest of here but i think i am in a frost pocket. Although if i could keep the roots alive it would be well mannered. Even make a pretty living screen.

Well, it would be, like, could you grow Crepuscule there?

Good point Jeri. I will need a sheltered spot.

I think I have this rose in my garden.......but I don't remember ordering it......I can't find the tag.

If you have it, you would know it. It's a beast! Healthy, glossy leaves?

I am not too sure since there is no tag, the blooms look alike. it's not a beast though, it's about 5'x6'. The leaves are pretty glossy and health.......just went outside in the dark took a photo.

@summersrhythm: that is Cecile Brunner, not Mel's Heritage :-)

Thanks! :-) It's possible I ordered 2 Cecile Brunner back then, I killed 1 this spring by moving it around twice......I will tag it for sure. Thanks a lot! :-) I have to order 1 Mel's Heritage.

We have it, and through us, Rose Petals now has it, and I believe they have plants ready for shipment now. In keeping with Paul's wishes and in Mel's memory, we're supporting the SJHRG, and RP will be doing so as well. What a nice memorial to a great rose guy.

Thank you for doing that, Malcolm!

That just TICKLES me!

BTW -- I should say that Burling Leong (Burlington Rose Nursery) made a significant donation of plants earlier this month, to the Heritage Roses Group -- for sale at the National Heirloom Exposition, in Santa Rosa, CA.
Not only that, she worked a long, HOT shift in the booth with us -- which gave us a great opportunity to chat.
She's not only a good nurseryman, she is also a great person.

The money thus raised is going to allow us to make some grants here and there, to support various causes.

Jeri, You know her in person!? :-) How wonderful! Is she in one of the photos from the event? I have a lot of her roses in my garden! Her babies landed this far. :-) She is very nice indeed. I wish someone gives her cuttings of Edmond Proust, looking for this rose...... Jeri, I have one of your babies too through Burlington- Secret Garden Musk Climber! :-)

Yes. I have known her for a long time -- she was Ralph Moore's budder -- and she's just NICE -- and very talented, too.
Here she is with Viru Viraraghavan . . . At Sequoia Nursery.

Thanks Jeri! That's a great photo! Now I have her happy face attached with the well known name Burling! :-)

Hi folks. I am new to this rose forum. I live in SW PA, zone 6. This spring I bought and planted a Mel's Heritage to replace a very, very old climber I transplanted from a house I used to own. At first the Mel's didnt do well and the leaves started to turn yellow. I called the nursery in Oregon where I got it and they said to keep it moist all the time. I did this and VOILA' It is growing leaps and bounds. I have to trim it to keep it where I want it to grow. My question is....how can I over winter this beauty with hopes of it returning in the spring?? BTW, I am a new rose grower, but I've been playing in the dirt for many years.

mspo ... This rose is bred in part from 'Crepuscule' -- and it is not winter-hardy. Depending on your winter temps, it may require some heroic work to protect it.

jerijen, that is sad news for me because the nursery states that the rose is hardy to zone 6. Maybe I misunderstood the description. Ok, what is the heroic work I would need to do to protect my rose? I can do lots of things, but I cant stand on my head. (too old for that!)

mspo, I checked HelpMeFind and even though they rate it as 6a, I have my doubts. Like Jeri said, one parent isn't overly hardy; I get dieback on Crepuscule here in z7a. This first winter, I'd take it down off the support you have it on and lay it on the ground, cover it with leaves or something else that won't compact, like pine needles, and then a tarp. If you can get mature wood through this first winter it will be ahead of the game next Spring. After next year, I'd just let Nature takes its course, and if it survives, wonderful. If not, there are a lot of roses out there that would be hardy for you. Look HERE at HelpMeFind

John

Thanks fig_insanity. I may try that . Tell me, what would happen if I cut the rose back to say, 12 inches and cover the short canes and the root area with leaves and a tarp?

mspo, you could do that, and it would certainly be easier, but I was thinking about carrying over as much mature wood as possible, so that next year the plant could add some bulk. There are a lot of nutrients stored in the canes that you'll lose if you prune in the Fall. But since Mel's Heritage is a repeat bloomer, you should still get bloom next year; but it may be delayed and much less than if you keep this year's canes. You might compromise by cutting it back to a manageable size, tying the canes together but leaving them upright, and then wrapping (just be sure to go to the ground with the cover, and don't leave bare legs at the bottom!). But if you need to prune, have at it. Saving any is better than saving none, lol.

John

John, I appreciate your help and that of jerijen and all who post here about roses. I'm glad you have given me some options to try. Thank you!

Mel's Heritage is coming from CA along with Lady Hillingdon, Juane Desprez, mme Carnelissen and La Reines. They should be here on Thur. I got potting soil and pots ready for them. This is the way I carry potting soil home from Lowe's:

My horse: Honda Ruckus

Speed: 42mph

Gas usage: 100mpg

I posted last September about my new Mel's Heritage. I am updating how the Mel's survived the SW PA zone 6 winter. We had a very mild winter and it seemed the rose survived well. I did nothing to it to help it get through the winter. But now the leaves on many of the long canes are turning yellow. I don't know why. (I am on the novice side of the rosarians). We just had a couple of weeks of wet weather. About three weeks ago I fertilized with Root Tone. As you can see it is starting to bloom. Is this the end of my Mel's? What can I do to help it, at least til next winter? I haven't sprayed or done anything else except prune a few dead branches.

Thank you.

That looks like a plant that has suffered cold damage to the cane, but it had enough stored energy to lead out anyway. Once the cane's resources are depleted, foliage yellows and shoots die. I've seen it happen on tender climbers even in my zone 8 climate.

I think it will be a battle in zone 6 to keep this rose going, winter after winter. It should likely be treated as an "old school" climber to be properly freeze-protected. It's even prone to freeze damage here in zone 8 PNW.

trospero, thanks for the information. Now I'm thinking I should prune off the yellowing canes and see what happens the rest of the summer. If it doesnt make it through the coming winter, so be it. I will replace it with some other type of climber, preferrably highly fragrant like a very old climber I already have.

Did you see the photos of it from this spring?

Oh well ... I tried to post photos, but it appears that they didn't post. :-(

One word: beautiful!

jerijen, your photos have come through!! Your roses are wonderful!! It looks like Mel's likes to grow sort of close together (the canes). Your roses certainly look happy!

Wish it was available here in Europe; that is one beautiful rose!!!

Beautiful Jeri!! Just planted mine in the garden last week. Want to move to Jeri's neighborhood, so I can see her roses all the time, but can't take the heat. Now my "ice hole" is burning, it's 90F here right now, way too hot!!! I have to dig 40 holes...... have 40 bare root soaking in the water right now, didn't know they could get here at the same time, ordered on diff days....... I'm wondering if HD has a small digging machine for rent.......

mspo, Yours looks great for being in zone 6, hope mine can get to that size. Are you in zone 6a or 6b? How old is yours? Did you grow it from a band?

summersrhythm, I am in Zone 6b. I ordered the Mel's last year and we planted it either in the spring or summer. It was a band. It grew like crazy, canes reaching up to 15-20 feet. I pruned the yellow leaved canes today.I thought maybe it would help a wee bit with it's problems! you must have a lot of space to plant 40! would a post hole digger help you?

@Jeri: not bad, not bad! LOL

Mspo, I am so glad to hear Mel's can grow big in zone 6! I have deck railings for them to climb. I don't have a lot of room for roses, a lot of roses don't grow big here, so I planted them 1-2' a apart. I planted 21 of them tonight before dark. I only dig half of a hole, will buy a trailer compost later to cover them up more. I am a lazy gardener. :-)

I should tell you that this is not by nature an upright pillar climber.

No. What it wants to do, true to its Wichurana side, is to sprawl all over Hell's Half Acre.

To make it go UP requires patient tying and pruning -- and I suppose it always will. But I think it's worth it.

It puts out some laterals into the middle of the arbor, but I cut those off and make bouquets out of them.

Definitely a classic Wichurana rambler, as Jeri says. If you don't support/train it, it will make a spreading mound that can travel horizontally to a significant circumference. But the canes are supple and east to train any way you wish.

@Jeri: isn't the fresh apple scent of it lovely?!

Paul, that fragrance is beyond wonderful. It definitely (and I don't much use this term) "WAFTS".

I am so glad I have it.

BTW, Paul -- Those two 'Carolyn Supinger' plants sold at the Celebration of Old Roses in a nanosecond. They were in bud and bloom, which sure didn't hurt.