Hi weekend gardener, I have no input, but wanted to follow this thread as I got a small MH from the same place and am evaluating options. The best site for me would be the front where it would get morning sun only for now. As ggrgrogrowgrows larger, can get more sun. I am still debating.

It would grow mostly horizontally, mounding to about 3 feet tall and 20 feet wide, if left unchecked.

Thank you Paul! That’s really interesting. I don’t have space to leave it unsupported, so I guess I’m now leaning towards growing it on my fence. One other option would be to let it grow up a large shed, but then I wouldn‘t be able to easily prune it once it reached the roof. I can envision how gorgeous it would be, though. But what happens when I remove the old fence and install a new one? I don’t have experience with this. Would I have to cut the rose away from it? No mater what, I can’t be without this gorgous rose. I will have to find a way to keep it somehow.

I'm curious: Who is "RPN"?

Rose Petals Nursery in Fl , i am preety sure.

Ahhh yes. Thank you

Great pictures, Jeri. I think Paul? or someone mentioned on another post that it's a rose for sun, but sun in SW Ohio and sun in Houston or CA are two different things, so YMMV keeping it in a shaded spot. : )) For those in a more temperate zone, it was thought Mel would get winter die-back. I'd love to hear from anyone growing him in Z6 as I'm nursing a few cuttings. This rose roots really easily and grows quickly armed with tiny thorns reminiscent of the tips of a finely-honed cat's claw.

Hello there. Jeri your Mel’s heritage is gorgeous. I just wanted to agree with everyone else here. I have a Mel’s heritage and without support it would make a gorgeous ground cover or cascade down a bluff, but it won’t make a good self standing shrub. I also purchased multiple not realizing how huge this rose could get, so had to end up relocating some. Good luck with your Mel, it is one of the most spectacular roses I have ever encountered. Thank you Paul Barden for such a wonderful rose!

Yes. I don't think we can thank Paul enough.

And some extra thanks to the late Col, Mel Hulse, for insisting on its quality. I'm sure The Kernel lifts a "RoseGrower" to toast every compliment it gets.

I'm lucky enough to have one of the oldest plants around, so I can attest that it gets better and better, with added maturity.

But I hear from a friend that it may not tolerate real cold.

Thank you everyone for your generous advice! Jin was correct--I purchased from Rose Petals Nursery. I fear I may have acquired a monster, but oh what a beautiful monster it is. I simply don’t have enough yard space to allow it to ramble as it pleases, but I‘ll give it as much space as I can. Jerijen, your rose is spectacular! Really lovely. I don’t have any place for mine to cascade, but now I’m thinking about adding a sturdy arch just to give it a structure to drape over. It won’t have all day sun (maybe 5 hours) but I can accept fewer blooms. My roses will probably never reach their full potential since I can’t provide all day sun, but I enjoy them so much that it’s still worth it for me.

And an arbor is also a GREAT addition to any garden. Any change of height adds visual interest. So you will accomplish two things in one stroke.

Jeri, I just love your MH! That’s great to know it’s only getting better.

It’s so true—we cannot thank you, Paul Barden, and Mel Hulse for whom it’s named, enough.

Mine is a little babe from RPN, too, so we’ll have to compare notes. :-)

I'm honored that 'Mel's Heritage' has found its place in the world.

I'm sure many of you already know this story, but that seedling almost got discarded at the end of its first season because, unlike many of its siblings, it hadn't flowered in its first year. A cross like that will produce a percentage of once-bloomers and so I assumed that was what it was, and was ready to chuck it out. But by end of season, it was by far the strongest, healthiest of the 80+ seedlings I grew from the cross, and so I saved it for further evaluation. As it turned out, it was a repeat bloomer - it just needed an extra year to get itself going!

Still unconvinced of its merits, I rooted a piece and gave it to Mel Hulse, who planted it on a section of fence at the SJHRG and told him maybe it would be good as a rootstock variety. After a couple of years, Mel shared photos of the rose and reported back to me, suggesting it had a lot going for it, and so it had been spared. The rest, you pretty much know. :-)

Paul, thank you so much for giving us Mel's Heritage. It is a great, great rose, really spectacular. In fact, part of the reason I decided to get both of your beautiful gallicas Etienne and Umbra is because I love Mel so much and I'm sure I'll love these 2 also, though of course they are once bloomers and quite different from Mel. Vaporvac, I think we have discussed Mel before but just in case I'm remembering wrong, I wanted to let you know that here in zone 6 (probably 6a) NJ, I have been growing Mel for a number of years (more than 5, can't remember exactly when I got him, maybe close to 10 years? Think I got him from Rogue Valley Roses). My Mel is pretty huge, and I really don't get die back on him. I do have Mel in a sheltered location (growing right next to my house on a south-facing wall) for what its worth. But I would cautiously say that basically Mel seems to be fine in zone 6. Maybe since you have a couple of MHs, you could try them in different kinds of locations and see which seem to work best (though I think if I were you I'd grow them on in pots til they start putting on size before planting them out). My memory is that Mel grew pretty fast for me.

Wow Paul thank you for sharing your story, I did not know it. I am very new to gardening (started 2016) and Mel’s heritage was one of those roses that really made me just fall in love with roses. I purchased mine as bands from Rogue valley I think November 2017. I kept them in the garage until early 2018. Here is one on early Spring, 2019. I don’t have an updated picture but let’s just say it has eaten up the 12 feet tall post by now =). I have since then learned about some of your other wonderful roses, but this one is just very special. Thanks!

Hi Weekend Gardener,

I just got a baby MH about 1.5 months ago from RVR. He's in a one-gallon pot at the moment looking nice and big, but ready for his winter slumber. I plan to overwinter this baby in my unheated attached garage and then plant him next spring on two side-by-side 6'(h)x2'(w) trellises secured to a section of my fence, if all goes well with his first winter. He may completely cover the trellises then drape over the fence in a few years, if he tolerates our 7a winter in NJ well; it's yet to be seen (fingers crossed). I totally understand your concern about what may happen when you need to replace the fence years down the road, because I've also been working out a future plan myself. I'm hoping because the two trellises (more can be put in if Mel gets big - again we'll see in a few years) will support most of the plant on them, when those couple of sections of fence need to be removed, I will need to cut the plant back to no less than 6' so the workers can get their job done, but I hope Mel's vigor can still allow him to grow back to the original size. The plant will be set back by a few years, but hopefully I won't lose him. (Just a note that these trellises have stakes underneath so they can stand alone.)

Do those of you who have grown/are growing Mel think he can take such a severe haircut? That section of fence is the only place large enough that I have in my backyard with sufficient sunlight. And I reeeeally want to have Mel!

Paul - Mel is my Barden Rose #10! THANK YOU SO MUCH for bringing these treasures to us!

--Lin

I've had to chuckle while reading this thread. The idea of growing Mel's Heritage without support reminds me of Mr. Moore recounting how he created 0-47-19, the R. Wichurana X Floradora breeder Paul used as the seed parent for Mel's. He didn't train it up on poles or a wall or anything. He had it running all over the ground and he had to KNEEL on that prickly monster to prepare, pollinate, tag then later, harvest the hips! We laughed at the idiocy of having to deal with a thorny plant running all across the soil when it would have been SO much more convenient to have grown it against a fence or something. Mel's Heritage would be much the same, only full of weeds and layering itself everywhere it touches damp soil... Not something "I" would wish to have to clean up nor maintain! And, yes, I agree with all the praise already lavished on this rose. At least for "non Arctic" climates, this is easily Paul's masterpiece!

Kim, you are Funny. You crack me up :)

I felt bad for Mr. Moore. Poor guy and what Mel's put him through .

Okay, Mel's definitely needs a support. Kim,...you crack me up and i am glad you told us this story.

I meant Mel's parent...correction made or shall i say 0-47-19.

Lol

Mel survived last winter here - coldest ever :). Planted a band out late last year - probably Sept. or Oct., had some die back but doing well. Not in a sheltered location, and nothing but some mulch around it for winter. We don’t get a lot of snow cover, most of my roses die back pretty much to the ground. Will be interesting to see what it will do when it really gets going.

Thank you Kim, you’re very kind.

i remember Ralph’s story about pollinating 0-47-19 as well, and so when I planted a piece of it in one of the greenhouses, I set up a framework for it to be trained on. 90% of the blooms were at chest height, making it much easier to pollinate. Why Ralph didn’t make a support for the original plant I will never know!

You're welcome, Paul. Perhaps kindness is involved, but I also know a very good rose when I see it and Mel's Heritage IS one. I know, right? Why anyone wouldn't think of putting something like that in the air rather than on the ground. I guess he was just excited or had too many balls in the air. By 1947, he had been operating Sequoia Nursery for ten years and had how many dozens of registrations under his belt? Much less thousands of seedlings he had raised and trashed. I guess he simply wasn't used to "regular sized" climbers yet? LOL!

Lin Mel’s heritage would just laugh at the heavy pruning and grow bigger the following season. I had to cut down one of mine after a tree fell and damaged it. After the hair cut last winter it was 3 feet tall and the new canes are over 10 feet tall this year =)

We've found that we can "deadhead" Mel's pretty hard, and expect him to grow back quickly. And he gets better and better with increasing maturity.

Yes. He IS Paul's masterpiece.

Thank you Dianela and Jeri for your confirmation on Mel's vigor - I'm so happy to hear that! I will proceed to plant him at that spot in front of my fence next spring then.

Weekend Gardener, if you are still contemplating on planting your Mel against a fence, maybe having trellises in front of your fence like I described above might work for you as well when the time comes to replace your fence after a few years? We had our fences all replaced last year, so I'm planning way ahead. But based on what I saw last year, anything planted near the posts got badly disturbed as the workers needed to dig up the old posts and the underground concrete that was poured to hold the posts in place. So if you do decide to plant your Mel by a fence, have him in the middle of a fence section to minimize the potential damage later.

--Lin

Thank you linc! Somehow I missed your post on the trellises. I‘m seriously considering setting up an arch for Mel, but I really like the idea of adding trellises along the fence for extra “spillage” room. Your set up sounds like it will be stunning! Please post updates for our enjoyment!

I never thought about planting roses away from the posts although it makes perfect sense. That’s very good to keep in mind. I‘ll need to replace my fence in the next couple of years, and I’d like to minimize damage to my roses, even though it sounds like Mel can take quite a bit of whacking without suffering any real injury.

You will have such a glorious display of Mel on an arch! Good luck with it and please do post pictures later of your arch and Mel together!