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learnednlearning

Roses for Southwestern VT

7 years ago

Hello.Former z6-7 gardener wants to grow roses on a small hill between the Greens and the Taconics, which was once zone4, is now zone 5. There’s plenty of room, trees, meadows, wind and sun; these are not for growing by house. Varieties: Alcymist, At Last, Moss Berenger, Bonita, Gentle Hermione, FJ Grootendorst, Jens Munk, Morten Sunrise, Mundi, Olds College Centennial, Prarie Joy, de Rescht, Rosarium Uetersen, Snow Pavement, Stanwell Perpetual. Any first hand experience with these?



Comments (9)

  • 7 years ago

    Do a search for roses offered by the late Mike Lowe. He lived very close to where you are and had beautiful gardens at his home as well as a hobby of selling roses that he grew himself.


    Surely someone has saved a old rose list of his.

  • 7 years ago

    Good tip. I was able to find internet traces of his legacy. His nursery sounds amazing, but not still in business, or so it appears. ThAnk you for such a relevant response.

  • 7 years ago

    Hardiness is one consideration, and Japanese beetles, Asian beetles, and rose chafers another. I have ended up growing mostly roses that bloom spring and fall to avoid the worst of the beetles as I am not willing to use insecticides. Hand picking doesn’t prevent damage since I am surrounded by fields, great habitat for the grubs. I will try to put together a list of some that have done well for me. I do have Rosa mundi which grows well in part sun here. I have grown several rugosa cultivars and hybrids but timing is such that the beetles tend to get them, so I won’t add more. Same with John Davis. Zephirine Drouhin is great here, blooming before and after the worst of the beetles most years.

    I have had the most success with own root roses rather than grafted. We tend to have good snow cover most years in the past, though that is lest reliable in the last few years. Often my roses get killed back to the snow line, but they regrow quickly in spring.

    learnednlearning thanked NHBabs z4b-5a NH
  • 7 years ago

    I'm a bit south and west of you in the Hudson Valley, near the Mass-Conn line. Of your list, these are the roses I've had experience with.

    Alchymist - had it but ii never thrived. I've heard other opinions that it is only hardy to zone 6. I saw a magnificent specimen in Newburgh once, but that is south of here.
    FJ
    Grootendorst - I've not grown it but seen it around. The flower form is quite distinctive, so it is easy to identify. It probably exists in some public landscaping close to you.

    Jens Munk - I really like the AgCanada rugosas. There is just something refined and manageable about them. I lost Jens to too much shade and alkaline soil, unfortunately.

    Morden Sunrise - I haven't grown this one, but all the Morden roses I've grown have had terrible blackspot problems.

    Rosa Mundi - the pictures don't do it justice. It isn't as vigorous as its sport parent, the Apothecary Rose, so needs a certain amount of babying. Mine is unfortunately reverting back, so I'll have to replace it at some point.

    Rose de Rescht - borderline hardy, borderline disease resistance, classic fragrance

    Snow Pavement - another one I haven't grown personally, but have seen it around. Nice, but widely misunderstood. It will grow to the normal rugosa size of 4-5 ft, so isn't a low growing rose to shove in a corner somewhere.

    Stanwell
    Perpetual - this one really needs babied. Most of them in the northeast are small, ground hugging plants. Mine came from Mike Lowe grafted onto R. canina in an attempt to get it to grow. It did, but then the parts above the snowline were subject to winterkill.

    For the rest of them, IME there are very, very few roses that can rebound from winterkill without benefit of a rootstock. So many times, where the rose is sourced is more important than the specific variety.

    learnednlearning thanked mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
  • 7 years ago
    last modified: 7 years ago

    Mad Gallica, my experience and yours are quite different as to own root vs. grafted, perhaps due to different growing conditions, particularly soil. By this point I only have 2 roses left that aren’t own root, and I have only lost one own root rose, and that was to encroaching shade. I have found this to be true across a wide range of reputable sources as well as rooted cuttings from friends and family and in two gardens in the same town. I know that this doesn’t agree with the commonly held wisdom for growing roses in cold zones. I don’t know if learnednlearning has soil more like you or like me since I know far western VT has soil similar to yours, but I am not sure where the changeover occurs.

  • 7 years ago

    How many own root floribundas, HTs or Austins have you grown? Those are where I see the biggest differences.

  • 7 years ago

    I love gardeners generous with info. So far it looks like RoSa Mundi is a definite. Unfortunetly, the two local nurseries around me just stock Knock-outs. Those are fine, I can get one or two, ditto the Drifts and Flower Carpet lines. But now that I have the space— I’ve so wanted to outwit the predictable and do proper homage to the Beaty of this place.

  • 7 years ago

    Aah, MadGallica, that explains it. I don’t grow any hybrid teas or Austin’s or floribundas as far as I know. The first two I have actively avoided since I don’t think either would be happy here.