Loved how it just jumped in the cart funny I have the same problem as well...I just planted my JC last year so I cant really help but I'm sure someone will chime in soon enough..do a search on HMF ( help me find) lots of info there

Not the greatest picture, but what I could find.

Wow, a rose that actually grows BIGGER in cold zones than California! Gotta love those Canadians. I don't know where you are kleigh9, but I would plan on John Cabot getting BIG. Mine took a while to grow into his height, but he definitely wants to be either a climber or (as I grow it) a BIG freestanding bush. It took a couple of years to both get big and rebloom, but he excels at both by now.

In the picture below, JC is to the left and Alexander Mackenzie is to the right. They look like self-supporting 5' high bushes at present, right? Wrong. This was in May last year and by June they were trying to eat the rest of the garden bed for lunch. I put a green wire 5' high fence around them in June, and I noticed this spring both of them are stretching up at least twice that height with octopus arms. They stay contained because of the fence, but don't trust them around animals or small children (or small roses, for that matter).

See, no wonder John Cabot jumped into your cart. Be glad he didn't strangle you in the process...

Cynthia

No joke, my John Cabot came as an own root, 2 year field grown rose in spring 2015. I grew it in a pot all season and put it in the ground in September that year. It grew 3 feet tall in the pot, had a huge spring flush and then a couple of blooms in the fall. Then it hit 6 feet wide and 10 feet tall by the end of last year. I can't wait to see its spring flush this year and I sure hope I actually get a good repeat. At this point this is a 5 year old plant so I expect it to be fully matured.

Good Lord, why haven't you shown us this photo before, Flowers? That is so impressive and, I say without exaggeration, gorgeous. I had no idea this rose could look like that. In fact, I had no idea about John at all. You really need to show us more of your garden. I know it's wonderful. (Hope your back is better). Diane

Thank you! All of those are just beautifull......now I am glad I brought him home with me. I put him at the end of the bed, so if he gets too big I will just have an excuse to expand it. LOL. Finally I think its spring - we had snow just last week and today 80!

Diane, I thought I had posted this before, so hesitated to post it again. Those Canadians are so reliable and put up with my neglect. Most of my garden is fairly new. Back is ok today, thank you for thinking of it.

You can post that photo as many times as you want. It's a classic. Diane

@flowers - great jc.! Do you have a lot of canadian roses?

Yes, HalloBlondie, I have 2 Wm Baffins at one end of my house in total shade from an oak tree that put on a glorious spring show, then scattered blooms throughout the summer. They also get whacked on by my husband because they hang over his lawn. :) There are more J Cabots and some John Davises in the garden that are smaller. Also, a few Mordens - Blush, Centennial and Sunrise. LOVE those. They never get any winter protection. You must grow the Canadians, living where you do. I don't know why they don't get more press. They really don't need any care.

I'm trying a bunch out. My garden is only going into its 3rd year. I've been picking up roses as I see them & trying out different ones. Of course I'm a sucker for the big david austin type blooms. I love the look of floribundas & HTs. However, I'm also not willing to do much winter protection or putting up with wimpy roses. I don't spray or coddle. If a rose doesn't perform I'll replace. I have a morden sunrise, william baffin, bill reid, winnipeg parks, oscar peterson, campfire & never alone rose so far. I want the new canadian shield rose this year. That looks promising. I'm still learning about all the different rose varieties & finding out where to get them all. Even our garden centres sell more tender rose varieties than the hardy ones. I guess its better business when people replace their plants each year.

Bill Reid is such a bright sunny floriferous rose. I'd definitely have him if I did more yellow. You named some I've never heard of. Some, such as Wm. Baffin, don't have spectacular blooms, but they are so reliable and easy, they certainly have their place, providing color. I don't think I've ever seen any Canadians at a garden center.

UPDATE:

I took a picture of our JC just today. It is starting to come into it's own...historically it's best on Father's Day weekend :).

Oh, my goodness! Spectacular! Love how it curves around the window. JC is so exuberant, he's hard to hold back. I really like the form of yours.

I thought for sure I included a comment in my previous post on how crazy beautiful is your JC 'flowersaremusic'...incredible.

Here is our other JC out front. (Ignore the out of season lights still strung across the eaves :( ).

Your 'out of season lights' will make many of us feel better about having done the same thing a time or two. You have chosen some well placed plants and colors that compliment your home. I'm glad to see John Cabot getting some attention. Such a hardy, reliable rose. As for my JC, he's more crazy than beautiful this year because I only got half of him pruned before the bleeding heart at his base got to big for me to finish up. He's a little lopsided. I'm calling it modern art.

Does John Cabot flower on older or new growth. Just to see if I control the size effect the blooming

I have always pruned John Cabot when I prune my other repeating roses. It never occurred to me to prune him like a once bloomer. Mine have a spectacular bloom in the spring and continue to bloom throughout the season. They seem to always have color. Some years they get a light pruning and some years I really give them a thorough hard prune, depending on how out of control they have gotten. If you prune yours now to control the size and shape, you won't lose any blooms.

Thanks @flowersaremusic z5 Eastern WA, good to know! Can't wait for my JC to hopefully take off this year. I planted it beside ou front window and I'm hoping it grows up alongside it sort of like in the photos above. Right now it's just an 8" stick lol.

Thanks for the quick reply

I hope you all a fabulous spring and summer full of roses

I live in lake tahoe where we we are challenged by: freezing winters and tons of snow, wide temp fluctuations, hot summers if ur in the sun, but you might not be cuz we have sooo much shade from our beautiful pine trees...a beautiful place but tough to garden. Woukd JC do well in a partially shady spot, that will be covered by feet of snow between nov and march (or June...)?

Check Flowersaremusic photos of John Cabot way up the thread. Hers is the best I've ever seen, and she grows roses in zone 5 in the middle of a heck of a lot of pine trees. With needles everywhere. Diane

Thank you - yes i saw that amazing photo! looks like she gets a lot more sun than i do!

She has a big yard and not all of it is sunny. Diane

So beautiful, but this was the first bloom...and after that...zip. Nothing.

Any ideas on how to get these to rebloom?

If it's a newly planted rose, you need to give it time. That is a very impressive first bloom, and my experience was that John Cabot takes about 4 years to mature and do more reblooming. That's why it feels like a climber, not to mention the octopus arms, even though I grow mine as a freestanding bush. Climbers and other big roses tend to need about 4 years to settle into their best growth and blooming habits.

Just give it time and enough water!

Cynthia

Funny to see a 4 year old comment from me on here, hoping my John Cabot band grew up nicely one day. Here it is today, starting its show, not quite at peak yet but still very striking.

Magpie, you JC looks so happy.

Looking good, Magpie.

Wonderful! Your patience paid off!

Cynthia

Here we go, looking much fuller now. I always get too excited and show photos before the peak of the bloom.

Your JC looks so wonderful, Magpie.

UPDATE (June 12/26) Our John Cabots today:

Unbelievable!