I noticed David Austin is offering Olivia on a tree rose. I just cant imagine what that would do here. My 2 Olivias easily top 10 ft and real wide too. I cut them back each late winter and they pop right back up.

I would stick with roses you know will stay small. The choices you picked are probably good bets.

I think some of the weeping-type rose trees are beautiful. I wouldn't mind trying one of them.

I used to have Angel Face and Intrigue as tree roses in a drier climate and they were beautiful. I especially miss the Intrique one.

Oh I’m glad you mentioned intrigue as I’ve seen that at Lowe’s... what a beautiful color!!! As you know I’m new to California so my mind has not adjusted at all to the giant rose mentality. My Olivia isn’t spaced at all to be that large!!

Now I do wonder if the tree roses just don’t get that big ? Does the trunk somehow stifle the rose?

Forgot I’m definitely getting the life of the party as a tree too

Here's mine, when I had it *pout*. This was at our house in Lake Havasu City, AZ. Very dry climate but roses could thrive as long as they got enough water.

Yes definitely get Life of the Party! I should too. I have the bush and I love it. It hasnt gotten huge and has lots of clusters of flowers.

I will keep my eyes peeled for Intrique at Lowes this spring.

Helen posted a Love Song tree rose that was to die for! Love Song hates it here but I may just try that as a tree and pray lol.

Jen, are you ordering, buying locally? I know the nurseries around here are about to get their new roses out for sale. I noticed earlier that Jackson and Perkins was offering Earth Angel as a tree rose. Somehow, I’m having trouble picturing an Earth Angel tree rose. I’ve seen plenty of Love Song tree roses offered at Walter Andersens each year. I wonder how Yves Piaget would look on a stick? I’m having some trouble picturing Yves, too. It might be a little brighter than you prefer, though. It’s dry a heat champion, like Love Song. L

Like sultry said, Helen has a gorgeous Love Song tree rose - I think there’s a picture of it in the recent happy holidays thread. I also think Bolero will be nice, as it’s small & has a relatively rounded shape.

I have a Darcey Bussell & Charlotte tree rose, but after the spring flush they didn’t do much - I think they were in a bad location & also had a lot of insect damage. I think DA also offers Molineux as a tree rose - if you are interested in a yellow, I would recommend that over Charlotte as it’s smaller & has better repeat.

I had no option but to get Yves Piaget as a standard over the weekend. I have had Yves before so I know the branching and form is not the most attractive. I did read on an old post someone said it was glorious a treee. We’ll see. I’ll give an update in a couple months.

Oh how wonderful! Thank you for the responses!!

Love song is indeed beautiful in helens garden. I will consider it if I see it around!

Cyndita thank you , I hope yours do better next year . I was considering roald dahl also .. molineux just dosnt do it for me :( I think princess Ann would be lovely if they had that ?!

Dar I hope you’ll share photos!!! It’s a beautiful rose . I’ve never grown it but looked it up .

lisa I’ll bother you via text about them ;)

Jennifer, I have my first standard coming, Pope John Paul 2 so I cant tell you how that one will be but I expect that it will be wonderful

My sister has had Moondance and Julia Child for years and especially Julia , they never stop blooming . They are not like a regular rose because with pruning they stay nice and rounded.

I have a feeling that the Pope will be the first of several .

Ann has A Marys rose standard that is gorgeous .

I don't have any, but have yearned for a weeping standard for years. There's something so beautiful and elegant with a naturalness less evident in the regular form. Weeping China Doll is a classic, but I don't know how much upkeep is required, especially in your new climate. It would be a luxury not to worry about overwintering. One of the less thorny roses would also be great, such as Pinkie. I also bet Zaide or Young Lycidas would make wonderful standards.

Kim, I've carried that image of Baby Faraux on Cardinal Hume since reading about it on HMF. I was SO disappointed when my CH cuttings died last winter as I was already planning that combination. I agree that the polys suit this form.

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Do you need more CH cuttings, Vaporvac? I don't have 4' lengths, but shorter ones should be able to be cut. Actually, any of the Drift and Flower Carpet roses would be splendid on standards, too. Anything "weepy" that flowers constantly would make a perfect subject.I found this image of Gourmet Popcorn as a standard. I usually see them so full of blooms, you can't see foliage. Dead heading those is a chore because there are SO MANY spent flower clusters to remove. Weeping China Doll is about as spectacular a standard as anything possible could be.

I have 3 Yves Piaget standards and they are always blooming and quick to re-bloom, and 2 PJPII standards that are always in bloom and quick to re-bloom. Though Im not sure if Im doing a good job pruning them. I will share pictures in the spring.

Hi Jen - I have seven tree roses - Mary Rose, Charlotte, Tamora, and Winchester Cathedral; my one HT is Sugar Moon, and the floribundas Violet's Pride and Life of the Party. I think shrub and floribunda roses make the best tree roses because of the more rounded shape.

Here's Mary Rose several months after I planted her in 2016.

Here she is in her first flush in 2018. My tree standards were at least 25% taller and wider in 2019. I'm not sure how well these standards will work in a pot. I know someone from Facebook who lives in zone 5 and she has her standards in pots and brings them indoors in winter. I don't think hers are as big as mine so it's more likely that a great big pot will work.

Here's Life of the Party a few months after being planted last year. I like this rose a lot!

Violet's Pride has a lot of canes with single blooms so it looked a bit awkward in year one since there wasn't enough greenery in between the canes. But I love this rose and I think it will be great in year two when it fills out more.

Sugar Moon might work out in years two and three but initially I think it doesn't produce the shape I like. I think other HTs may be fine though.

Ann

Awww but your Marys rose is so pretty. I do love your Life of the Party rose as well

Echoing what roseseek posted above - I saw a containerized Gourmet Popcorn standard in bloom at a local HD almost 2 years ago. It really stood out; very nice.

Another use for standards you may not have considered... we had a design job on Zumirez Drive in Malibu, between Pacific Coast Highway and the Pacific Ocean. The master bed room had a wall of windows which began about three feet from the floor and extended to the ceiling, looking toward the ocean. When lying in bed, you could see the roofs of the houses on the slight rise across the property. There was a walk and stairs to the lower yard outside that wall. They didn't want to see those other houses from bed, so I specified an alternating row of Mary Rose and Winchester Cathedral standards to be planted on the outside of that walk so from bed you saw the tops of alternating pink and white Mary Rose standards. They were beautiful from the lawn looking back toward the house. They framed the walk from the lower yard into the main rear lawn and pool and they shielded the view of the neighboring houses from the master bed. Perfect!

That sounds gorgeous and a perfect solution!

Thank you. It really was. From the bed, your outdoor view rested on pink and white "clouds". That side of the rear sloped down and away from that wing of the house so the tops of four foot standards functioned as a colorful hedge. That was more than a decade ago. Looking at it now on Googlemaps, it's all been remodeled and looks nothing like it used to. I liked it better then.

That does sound beautiful Kim! I loved my Mary Rose as a bush, but it had terrible RMV. We removed it because it succumbed to every disease possible. She bloomed like a champ nevertheless. Mary and Winchester Cathedral don’t make good cut flowers, but they both bloomed constantly for me.

I’m excited to see Yves Piaget blooming as a tree rose! I grow the bush, and adore the blooms.

Lovely roses, Ann. Those Mary Rose standards are beautiful! L

Thanks Lisa!

Ann

Just don’t do what I did. I bought a Peace rose standard and planted it in a pot. Naturally, it quickly grew too large for me to enjoy the blooms and their scent. Maybe for a tall person it’s different, but I am under five four and it’s neck-craning time.

on the other hand, I got it because I wanted to be able to look out over my kitchen sink and see flowers — and it works fine for that.

I’m dreading having to get on the stepladder to prune it, Shoulda planted it in the ground! Shoulda! (sound of hand slapping forehead)

Here are some old pictures of my Yves Piaget from two years ago.. As you can see i failed to prune it. I've sense pruned them into the ideal shape. The blooms are big and fragrant. Will get some better pictures this spring.

I grow weeping China Doll as a 4’ standard and love it. It requires a fair amount of winter protection and it will never attain its full potential in my zone since I have to prune back some of the dead/damaged exposed canes in spring. I can just imagine what it would look like in a warm climate. I purchased it a few years ago from Witherspoon but I don’t think they sell it anymore but wonder if any local nurseries may there in CA.

Sounds fabulous! Is yours in a pot or in the ground?

@Vaporvac Z6-OhioRiverValley It’s in the ground. Because of what it takes to winter protect it and wanting to have those longer draping canes, I have thought about putting it in a large pot but it is well established where it is at and so I’m going to leave it there for now.

Have any of you seen any other polyantha standards available? I agree with you, Kim - I enjoy the weeping habit that many polyanthas have. Your Baby Faurax standard sounds spectacular. Regan’s has one of gourmet popcorn’s offspring available - Pillow Fight - as a standard. I’ve never grown it but I am tempted to now.

Lilyfinch, I think Julia Child, LotP, and Bolero would all be nice as well. I grew Eglantyne as a standard once and I didn’t like it in this form - gawky 6 foot canes going everywhere and there were two Scepter’d Isle canes mistakenly grafted onto it as well and they long and straight up.

Oh wow everyone! Thank you for the input and gorgeous photos . I really appreciate the help . I was able to get life of the party and state of Grace as tree form . Julia child wasn’t delivered to the nursery :(. Sadly I never see any tree roses with polyanthas or weeping roses. I have once seen renea grafted but decided that wasn’t the look I wanted for renea . The photos here are so helpful!! I’m thinking of adding Mary this am and then calling it good for the tree roses . That will give me an even 4 to learn on .

I seriously need a new plant habit . I can’t seem to adjust my mentality to California yet . I don’t have yard and our water bill is probably going to be crazy!

Ann , I may be able to plant them in the landscape once I make my official plan! Otherwise I was going to do whisky barrels . I love your Mary standard . It looks perfect!!

Kim, I love the idea you have there. Sounds like a beautiful solution !! Also I appreciate your post on someone else’s thread about pots on concrete . This really was helpful to me too!

I’ll be back in a min to this post my baby just woke up :)

I really like the idea of adding a Mary Rose standard, Jen. I truly love how much mine bloomed in the shade. I know she’ll look great as a tree form. It’s too bad that Burling is so busy that she hasn’t been taking special orders for making specially grafted roses or tree roses anymore. Or maybe it’s good, because she has enough business. She has a lot on her hands and she does everything herself.

Watch Costco beginning in February or so for great deals on giant containers! Lisa

Also Home Depot has resin half barrels for $20

LilyFinch, how did the standards do for you?

Echo , they did great . I had grown the life of the party , bolero , and one other i forgot its name .

I planted geraniums in the bottom of the pots . I loved them !

Also have Roald Dahl as a tree . It’s doing wonderful .

I did try scepter isle as a tree and it was NOT graceful lol

Let me find pics .

Sadly I only have Roald left . Life got busy for a bit with kids and I downsized but I feel my garden dreams slowly returning . I’d definitely try them again

That was sceptred isle