Mu Poseidon IS a climber. I dont know if its a sport or what but its 10 ft up an arch and was taller but Ive cut it back a few times to try and see if it would become more bush-like as everyone elses seems to be. Its in full sun so its not like its reaching for light. Perhaps its trying to compete with the 2 baby Quick Silvers nearby lol. Anyhow, a lot of people say their Poseidons can get big so I think your plan is feasible. I am not sure about the zone thing maybe someone in a 6 can comment on that.

My own root Poseidon is small in its second year 3 ft x 1.5 ft

For me, Poseidon is totally and reliably cane hardy, a remarkable thing to say about a lavender rose (but of course, it's a Kordes). Mine wants to bloom largely at the end of 5-6' canes off and on all summers, and while it bushes out reasonably well with multiple canes from the base it stays pretty narrow, maybe 2-3' wide. I've tried bending over some of the tallest canes to peg them downward in an arch, since I haven't had luck pruning it to bloom shorter and bushier, but the canes are so stiff I haven't been all that successful in this.

I think it would absolutely fit into your space at 6' high, but you'd need two of them side by side to equal 6' wide. "Billow" isn't a word that comes to mind when I think of Poseidon, think more of Poseidon's trident standing like a sentinel in front of your fence. He'd be great with another smaller rose in front of him and some clematis twining through to create the effect of billowing.

The following isn't a great shot but it shows the height of Poseidon relative to the 5' fence in the background. This is only a top of the bush shot, but it captures most of the width of the bush here.

I love the fact that Poseidon's blooms get that grey tinge most of the summer as below. Even in hot weather, it doesn't "pink out" very much. It's not a prolific bloomer in a bushy sense but it has a couple of blooms at least most of the time.

He's a great and totally dependable lavender for zone 5, but not a climber in any sense I can make him climb. He'd fit your space well but not the image I'm hearing from your description. Still, he stays reliably lavender and might be a nice complement for another more billowy rose that doesn't get as tall.
Cynthia

Cynthia,

Thanks for your in depth review of Poseidon.

What I meant by billowing is when Poseidon's canes reach fence height, at 4', I was inquiring if the laterals or cane tip growths could be made to continue horizontally along the fence top, and even bend down, billow out, and get some width there, which I would like to occur.

OR, do you think Poseidon would just want to continue to grow vertically, fighting me when I try to get it to grow horizontally/billowing along the fence top.

I intend to tie the canes to the fence in a fanned out pattern to fill in the 6' width at the top of the fence. I think this method would work better than to try to bend the canes when they reach the fence's top, since their stiffness could prevent me from getting Poseidon to do what I want it to do.

Moses

Poseidon canes are thick and stiff - i think you would fight with it to try and bend them on the fence.

I agree with Chris - you could try to fan it out at the top of the fence but I think Poseidon would fight you. At best, you could spread out the canes kind of like an upside down rake so that the canes are as wide as possible at the top, but I can't see Poseidon's laterals continuing horizontally along a fence. As I say, I've tried to encourage some of his longer canes to curl downward and put out laterals and it has been largely unsuccessful every time. He has very stiff canes and likes to be upright.

Think "Queen of Sweden" shape rather than "Scepter'd Isle", and you'll see what I mean. Scepter'd Isle could be used in the way you describe but not QoS in my experience.

Cynthia

Chris and Cynthia,

Thanks for setting me straight. Oh well, I think I need to scrap my Poseidon plans entirely. I really like Poseidon's bloom color, and petal structure, no quilling, just what I Iike.

In the mean time, Quicksilver has come to my attention. There is not a lot of information about it on HMFR yet, it being so new. Many Roses Forum members havce given very favorable reports on it, several posts on it. Its flower looks quite a lot like Poseidon's, but a deeper lavender color.

It may be the answer. Heirloom has it in stock right now, but at $38.00 plus another rose to go with it to get free shipping, I don't know right now. I think I better slow down and study up Quicksilver.

What do you know additional about Quicksilver? Is it ADR, or still under trial? Will it be tip hardy in my zone 5/6 garden?

Perhaps Chamblee's will start stocking it.

Moses

Northland Rosarium has Quick silver

https://www.northlandrosarium.com/products/quick-silver-korpucoblu-1

Quicksilver was the only Kordes rose not to come back for meafter winter. I have two posidon's that are coming back strong, as are most of my Kordes roses. ..

Zone 4 is a stretch for most climbers. It had to be a band pot as the field grown plants only became available this spring. I do think that very young plants(bands) have a hard time in the colder zones because they are so small and young they do not have much time to put down good roots and make a carbohydrate reserve in a short summer. Palatine reports no problems with Quicksilver in field production in Ontario but they are warmer than a Zone 4.

Chris, Palatine is in US zone 6b. I am about 1 hr away from them, I am in zone 6a.