Paul Barden’s Siren’s Keep

7 years ago

I have a hot spot in my yard where the DA Queen of Sweden currently resides. Needless to say, she hates it there. This is a raised bed, with a wooden fence behind it. The spot receives full sun from about 11 am on.

A few years ago I purchased ‘Siren’s Keep’. What beautiful blooms! As many of you know, I don’t care for red roses, but this is a magenta/purple color. A little like Darcey Bussell, but less red. Anyway, I was inexperienced and foolishly planted my Siren’s Keep in an enormous cement urn. The urn must be about 40 gallons, at least. I WAS warned against this on this very forum, possibly by Paul Barden himself. I don’t remember if I had already planted it in that pot, and didn’t want to admit it, or if I was thinking, “He just doesn’t know how big my pot really is”.( I’m sure it didn’t help that RVR lists Siren’s Keep as “good for pots”.) Well, I’m not above admitting it when I’ve made a mistake, and I’m admitting it now. Siren’s Keep is healthy, but hardly blooms in that pot. It’s difficult to keep it watered enough, and by the looks of all the new growth coming up from underground, probably full of roots. That beautiful concrete urn also gets so hot in the summer sun that I have to have someone come move it into the shade, so the roots don’t cook. Sorry for not listening. Lesson learned.

Now that I’ve got that off my chest, would Siren’s Keep be a good candidate for the spot Queen of Sweden needs to vacate? I need something that will be 3-4’ wide( NO wider) and 5-8’ tall. It needs to be able to handle full So CA sun and dry heat. I hate blooms that fry or shatter in a day. I was going to put a Tea Rose there, but it seems that they get too wide for this spot.(Thanks Jeri, and others for saving me from more disappointment. See, I do listen now) Thanks, Lisa

Featured Answer

Lynn-in-TX-Z8b- Austin Area/Hill Country

7 years ago

last modified: 7 years ago

Mine receives afternoon sun that is filtered via a Chitalpa tree. It can handle the dry heat and afternoon sun. It does not bloom when it is 100 degrees + but most of my roses do not. It is not mature, so I do not know how large it will become, however, I did give it room...

This is a not so fresh bloom from early October, (low to mid 80's in temperature) and definitely dry

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Comments (6)

ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
7 years ago
Lisa, I don't know if there is a rose that can be happy in such draconian conditions as you describe. Roses just aren't that crazy about morning shade and hot afternoon sun. As far as size goes, La France is about 3 feet wide and can be up to 5 feet tall although mine never reached that height. It succumbed to canker but I just planted a new band today. It does tolerate heat well. Siren's Keep is such a gorgeous color. I'd love to have that color in my garden.
Lisa Adams thanked ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
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Lisa Adams
Original Author
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Thank you, desertgarden. That picture sure reminds me why I absolutely HAD to have this rose. I’m sorry to say that I haven’t seen a bloom like that since February or March. Actually, I haven’t seen any blooms since then at all. I should have listened. My Siren’s Keep is obviously VERY unhappy in a pot, enormous or not. So desertgarden, you said yours is still young. May I ask just how young, and what its size is now? Thanks, Lisa
Lisa Adams
Original Author
7 years ago
We must have been writing at the same time, Ingrid. Actually it must not be quite as hot a spot as I’ve made it sound. There is no hardscaping to reflect heat, and I have a few other happy roses there already. ‘Queen of Sweden’ just can’t handle it. The blooms are small and blow within a day during the summer. I had hoped that QoS would be wonderful during this time of year, but I’m not impressed. There are very few blooms, and they’re still small and blah. They do hold together for a couple of days on the bush now, but I’m not crazy about the bush either. The leaves have an almost gray cast to the green, if that makes sense. I don’t give up on a rose easily, but my QoS is about to be dethroned.

‘October Moon’, another Paul Barden rose, is next to QoS, and doesn’t mind the shade until 10 or 11 and then full hot sun. I even have the HT ‘Princess Charlene de Monaco’ on the other side of ‘October Moon’. Her blooms do fade in the summertime, but otherwise she definitely does just fine, thriving. All I have to do is provide enough water. My soil is rich clay, and it retains the water very well. Even though Ingrid’s home is only about 10 miles from mine, my “scorching hot” isn’t quite the Hades that hers is in summer. It’s my lower altitude and closer proximity to the ocean, I think.

About the only thing I liked about QoS was her tall and narrow form. I don’t expect that from Siren’s Keep, but I really do need to be sure it won’t get wide and sprawling before planting it there. Otherwise, here I come ‘La France’! Lisa
Lynn-in-TX-Z8b- Austin Area/Hill Country
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
My S.K. is approximately 2 years old. It is a little more than 2' tall, and thus far has a narrow, upright growth habit.
Lisa Adams thanked Lynn-in-TX-Z8b- Austin Area/Hill Country
Kevin
4 years ago
Does anyone have an idea on how big Siren's Keep will become at maturity? Ant experience in SoCal would be welcome.