I'm in zone 5a, and my Lavender Crush is at least 7 feet tall in its 3rd year. It blooms ON TOP of the canes, so the only way I can enjoy the blooms is to fan out the STIFF branches. It's against my garage. It DOES NOT BLOOM at lower branches like my climber Crown Princess Magareta.

Straw, are you saying LC will not grow laterals (which can then bear blooms) when you somehow anchor the canes horizontally? It will only bud at the tip of the canes? Then is it best to grow it pruned somewhat shorter? Or at the back and then the weight of the blooms will weigh the canes forward a bit?

LC never grow laterals like CPM. I pruned it short, and it gets tall again. It behaves like James Galway, but LC's canes are even stiffer than JG, can't train it.

For this info straw thank you. I think you must have been one of the first to get this Rose I just got mine this year.

Thats great to know thanks! I am totally perplexed on how to lay out the roses I am getting :(

As big a pain as it can be sometimes, you can always move them later if you see they do not look good together or grow in a gawky way. Usually that is evident for me by the end of their first year. My lavender crush is different because it was such a tiny bag Rose it took forever just to decide to live but now that it decided to it's pushing out quite nicely. I have read that it might have died back in my zone anyway so if it gets to be a very tall Bush I'm happy with that because there is a true climber behind it.

Black spot Vap?

I'm on the Texas Forum about 99% of the time now, where it used to the Antique Rose Forum 99% of the time. so I'm not familiar with the newer roses. In checking this one out I'll have to say Lavender Crush is a beautiful rose!

I did check HMF for pic. of climbing Lavender Crush, and a nice pic. of blooming everywhere, rather on top is posted by Justin12, see link below:

https://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=21.310719

I wish mine behaves like that !! The type of soil and root-stock grafted has a factor on branching habit. Mine is grafted-on-Dr.Huey, and roses grafted on Dr.Huey (one long tap-root) tend to be tall & bloom at the top, versus roses grafted on Fortuniana-roostock (a spreading root with many branches). I had seen pics. of roses grafted on Fortunian-rootstock, more branching and more blooms. So if your rose is grafted on Fortuniana and in a climate with more sun, there will be more blooming everywhere, rather than at the top.

The type of soil plays a factor in branching. I have heavy clay, and phosphorus mobility is limited in heavy clay, thus LESS BRANCHING. But someone else with sandy soil will have more phosphorus available, thus MORE BRANCHING, and more blooms everywhere, rather than on top. Phosphorus is needed for branching of stem, and less available with higher pH-tap water. I once visited local rose park when it was near 100 degree & 2 weeks of drought. Roses were watered with alkaline tap water, pH near 9, and all roses got so tall, with one or two blooms AT THE TOP.

" Dr. McFadden budded two hybrid tea varieties, Queen Elizabeth and Tiffany, onto three different rootstocks. After counting the number of blooms ... fortuniana plants produced about THREE TIMES the number of blooms as those on multiflora and TWICE as many as on Dr. Huey."

Below pic. is my Lavender Crush in its 1st year. Now it's a tall mess, I SHOULD HAD PRUNED it short in August. Own-root does have better branching than grafted-on-Dr.Huey. I have 2 Pink Peace, the own-root is cute & round & more branching, but the Pink-peace grafted on Dr.Huey is twice taller & leggy, and blooms on top only.

Straw that is a breath taking picture at the end of that link. The beauty makes me wilt. Your pict is beautiful too! I could only get LC on DH and that was after a mammoth wait, so I am happy. I seem to have read somewhere that Justin12 works for the hybridizer and they only sell LC on DH. But I could be completely wrong. Someone who knows better might comment.

Thank you for that very useful info about rootstocks. When I have a choice I will know which one to pick.

On the other hand I just looked up pictures of JG. I get it. I can see how LC will probably grow. Its such a great idea to show the habit of another rose to explain. I could not find a picture of CPM sprawled out in my short search.

Thank you Straw!

I would love to have something on Fortuniana, but unfortunately it is too tender for my zone. It is an extremely vigorous as rootstock . Katja, I believe that is correct about Justin 12 and I believe until this year it was only available grafted. I can't remember if I read someone is now selling it OR. Mine did get BS fairly bad, but quickly recuperated. Fortunately, It's not too visible at it's current height. I don't find the young canes terribly stiff, but they are so short I couldn't see training them and possibly by the time they grow longer, they would be too hard. It's setting bud again and the fragrance is lovely. We'll see what it does next year.

Thank you Straw very informative. Roselee I hear you, ditto for me. My garden is primary English in style and rose variety. Over the years I moved to own root whenever it was appropriate. Some roses do not preform well unless grafted. I cut my “rose-growing-teeth” on grafted 20 yrs ago but lost tract until recently. I have seen many new new options today outside my English-Rose world that also will make pretty garden plants. This is my attempt to try some. I am not sure how to acquire a a rose grafted on stock appropriate to our particular climate unless you buy locally and online ordering gives so many more options. BenT discussed LCrush positively which spurred my interest because he lives close to my Dallas home. I shoveled James G years ago even thought he was healthy and threw pretty flowers. If I am remembering correctly he had the growth pattern u mentioned with lots of thorns.

My memory wrong on Galloway I just read it was almost thornless.

Straw, are you loving the fragrance? And does bloom an repeat well?

Great info, Strawchicago - thank you! Your LC does look lovely - look at all those buds!

Sounds like the good Doc might be a good choice for a climber that's known to have lax, easy to train canes. Any thoughts/information on how 'Huey' compares to multiflora for branching/flowering?

I dealt with an old, overgrown 'Dr. Huey' at my old house, and honestly I'd take 1/3 less blooms if it meant never having to deal with that monster again! Ugh, and the holes you have to dig with the shanks on most 'Huey' grafts...

I dig up lots of roses in my garden: moving them & fixing poor-drainage heavy clay, or they died through my zone 5a winter (down to -20 F, with windchill factor -30 F). I took pics. of their roots and documented them in my HMF profile StrawChicago: https://www.helpmefind.com/gardening/l.php?l=99.744145&tab=9

Thank you Straw your input is invaluable as I plan to add a few grafted into my primarily own-roof Texas garden. Instant gratification and age(mine) being the motivator. I am a designer and I joke that my plants are on wheels because I constantly move them for better effect. My garden design talents falling way behind those of my Interiors.

Thank you Straw, there is a lot for me in there. I have never planted bare root grafted roses. For coming spring I just ordered a whole bunch and am suddenly concerned, maybe should have gone OR. There is a thread going about forcing a grafted rose to develop own roots. Worth a look.

Katy I was once told by a rose nursery in Florida when trying to order an own root DAustin, that if I planted the graft very low the stems of the rose would root above the graft. I tried it a couple of times and not sure it was very successful. If it was it took much longer than rooting a cutting does. and I am not sure the rose was very happy with graft buried in my Texas heat. What is the link you spoke of in your post.

The search function is your friend. )) forcing own root. This is the post reference Notching above a bud.

Lavender Crush is available own-root on eBay. It's listed under its generic name Texmourug.

It's also available in most big box stores like Home Depot though those are mostly getting sold out in the warm weather.

Cynthia