You should not need 4 of either rose to fill the space. My guess would be 2... 3 at the most...

There are single (1 plant) climbing roses that will cover this space...

You might want to ask other Los Angeles growers how either of these roses fade in your climate. In my experience, 'Abe' fades to a dirty pink hue, and does so very quickly on hot sunny days.

I am not certain to what size either of these grow in our climate when planted in ground, as both of mine are in containers, however I can say that my Abe (3 yrs old) though absolutely gorgeous, does fade quickly. I tend to cut the blooms and bring them inside so they last much longer and I can enjoy them so much more. Colette on the other hand. WOW. In my garden this rose is a massive producer. The blooms are smaller than that of Abe, but my Colette is only 2 years old. The amount of blooms it produces though so far surpass Abe it is incredible. For every one of Abe (again, one year older than Colette) Colette gives me 10-15. Abe is never really that full, while Colette is very full and tall! I do prefer the coloring of Abe a bit more, but that is just personal preference.

Colette

Abe

Sorry I don't have pictures of the plants themselves, I've been searching through all my photos, but they seem to be on a different laptop.

To the Original Poster- Megan

Would you be open to suggestions of other roses for this space? Are you in Los Angeles proper, so inland?

Diane -

Your Colette is beautiful! It is why I attempted to grow it, rather unsuccessfully in Las Vegas.

Diane, your Colette is truly a flowering machine!

I got one own rooted Colette one month ago, now really looking forward to her season. :)

I got an own root Colette from Northland Rosarium this Spring and it is doing very well. It came with blooms. Thank you, Diane for inspiration.

Wow, Colette is heart-stoppingly beautiful. After seeing the gorgeous pics above I don't think I could even consider another rose.

Diane your Colette is simply magnificent. Since the first day I decided I wanted a pergola I have had your beautiful Colette in mind. Ingrid is on the money, your pictures make this rose unforgettable.

Thank you both---it's so nice to read your words, given the marvelous roses you both grow. I'm still waiting for the big show from my roses, and have no idea which one will be the first to bloom. I'm ashamed to say that I botched some of my pruning job on Colette. I was so worried about climbing up on a step ladder (it's a special oldsters' stepladder, and my son in law had to stand behind me--ha) to do the topmost pruning that I wasn't careful about Colette's midsection. and took out too many canes. Her middle looks kind of funny right now--just proves that you're never too old to make mistakes growing roses. Right now, "Twig" Darby has the biggest buds and is looking a tad larger, thank heavens. I think he heard me insult him one too many times. Diane

Sheila, I love your little Colette, already reaching for something to climb on. What a cute baby with a little bud "head". Am I anthropomorphizing a little too much? Diane

Diane, I also got my Colette in Feb and thank you for inspiring me too. I got mine from Witherspoon as bareroot . Pls ignore the hose as i was super excited. I bought a obelisk but at the moment working on an area. Hopefully, in Fall , Colette will be out of pot and in the ground.

Thank you, Diane ! ❤

Well, houzz, or some unknown gremlin, disappeared my response to you Jin, and so I'm trying again. Your bloom is lovely, and what progress your Colette has made in such a short time. Colette will love an obelisk (hope it's a big one). This rose takes no time to start blooming and growing vigorously. Thank you for the nice comment, and I think you're doing pretty darn well with your rose growing skills. I love your rose growing enthusiasm and the encouragement you give the rest of us.

Also, Lynn, Illia, and Sheila, how did I miss your posts? You all are so very nice about my Colette, but you inspire me, too. I'm sorry, Lynn, that Las Vegas wasn't kind to Colette. Will you be trying to grow her in Texas? You have gardened under some really challenging conditions--very differing conditions, too. I admire your perseverance and desire to learn. And Sheila, your whole garden is inspiring. I wish I was your neighbor. Diane

Wow, what a wonderful start, you lucky Florida girl. When you plant your Colette, she'll take off like greased lightening--this is a rose that's in a hurry to bloom, no matter where you live. Thank you for the lovely comment--what a nice thing to say. I know your Colette will do well in your climate, or Witherspoon wouldn't be selling her. Diane

Megan, i have both now but Colette seems a better choice.

Shiela , we both git ours maybe a month or so apart. We can compare notes .

Lynn, you should give it another try.You are in perfect environment for roses.

Diane, I bought an obelisk from Plow and Hearth and it is 8 ft tall. I went with HMF height about 6-7 ft. I miss Jasmin / Sultry a lot and i know she has Colette too. Thank you for your compliments and i am very honor to get great advice and compliments from you :)

Kimberly and Diane, your roses are beautiful.

Happy Mother's Day ! ❤

@Diane Brakefield Hi Diane, I know this is an old post but I have questions about Colette. I have one on order from Regan to be delivered early spring and wonder if I need to order two in order to completely cover an arbor? The arbor I am ordering is 9'x5' ....... I am reading that Colette gets really big in some areas and I suspect she will here. The arbor is solid iron and sturdy enough to support a big heavy rose but I want it to look balanced. Thanks much for your help! Crow

Crow, it would help to see your arbor in its new setting. Is the Colette you'll be getting grafted? Mine is grafted on Dr Huey and was a very fast grower. I recommend a grafted Colette. My arbor is at least 5 feet wide, but I'm not sure of the height--I've had it 18 years, and have forgotten. I have just one Colette, and she pretty much fills this arbor. Two would be way too much rose. My Colette is a mature plant, but still wants to grow more. Will this rose be in full sun with a hot summer? I recommend that as well, unless you are in Arizona or something similar. Where are you located? A zone rating is cold hardiness and doesn't say anything about summer heat. Diane

First year, already blooming;we have a definite winter here.

Three years old.

2022

Where is here, exac exactly?

Diane, how do you do this? And it's not just this incredible rose; all your roses are super performers. Your photos are such an inspiration, even though I know that the same rose in my garden will never, ever rival yours. It doesn't matter though because the pleasure I've had from just looking at your roses has been immense. Please don't ever stop showing us your roses. Now that I'm starting over I need your inspiration more than ever. I wish now that I had planted Colette instead of Lamarque, although I wonder if the color might not be too strong where many roses will be planted together. I simply don't know.

Ingrid, thank you so much. I'm blown over by your kind words. If you can just get those critters (I prefer to call them rodents) under control, I'm sure your roses will come through beautifully for you. Did you see my post to you about using garlic powder, or that garlic oil outdoor squirrel repellent? It was the best reviewed of all the repellents. The deer repellent I use seems to be more effective than others because of the mint oil and pepper oil added to the egg solids. I just don't think the pests like peppermint or garlic. If you feed birds you need a really squirrel proof feeder. I do have one, and the squirrel that came around here a few years ago, gave up on our feeder. He would run by it and not even look at it (haha, vanquished by his enemy, the squirrel proof feeder). Finally, he left to plague someone else. As far as ground squirrels, we don't have them around here, though out in the sticks farther, there are many. Our problem is gophers. Voles, which I can control, aren't very bad,and our kitty helps. He's murder on voles. Colette's color varies some and it's big flush in spring can be a little brighter, but in your sun, maybe not so much. Diane

Diane, thank you so very much for your guidance and advice. The Colette I ordered is grafted on Dr. Huey. I am in zone 8b about 40 miles from Portland, OR. My garden gets full sun, all day. The arbor I am going to order is not here yet, it's one I am looking at on Etsy, a company called A Rustic Garden. Their arbors look very sturdy and hefty and well worth the $$, unlike some of the spindly little arbors one sees offered through so many online garden supplies. My very favorite place for quality obelisks and arbors and all things garden is GardenArtisans.com. They are fabulous but so $$$$$ that I own only one of their gorgeous items, an obelisk that I treasure. As far as Colette, I am so looking forward to her, just hope she is as thrilled with her new home here as I am to welcome her. I also snagged an Augusta Luise from Palatine that I am thrilled about as well as Lavender Crush and Twilight Zone from Regan. You are my inspiration! Happy New Year to you and your family and everyone else here, having like-minded rose lovers to converse with is such a delight! I'm holding my breath until spring (hurry up, spring!) hoping that all my roses came through OK. We had an ice storm that covered everything in a 2" coat of ice unlike anything I have ever seen before. In all directions, it was like looking at a mirror, just a sheet of glass reflecting everything around. I will find out which roses are hardy here! It does get hot here in summer, especially in the sun trap that is my rose garden.

Crow, thank you so much. You know, many years ago--I mean many, many--my first home was in Portland. I was born across the river in Vancouver. I'm a true Northwest Native. I think Colette will really like your climate. I've heard about ice storms in Portland a long time back. So this awful weather must occur once in a great while. A 2" coat of ice is a little mind boggling, though. Diane

Diane, it was quite amazing and very challenging to get around safely on solid ice. Even getting out to our barn to feed the horses and donkeys was a daunting task. We live north of Vancouver 16 miles and 28 miles north of downtown Portland. I was wrong about 40 miles! I have to ask my hubby 'cause I still don't know my way around here very well. You and I have swapped locales, I was born and raised in Idaho (Nampa and Boise areas). One thing about this climate is that things grow really fast, like weeds! And I love the mosses that grow in the forests and even here at our home during the fall and winter. Portland is called "Rose City" and I knew why the first time I visited the International Rose Test Gardens here. Simply gorgeous! I am ready for spring and rose gardening!!! Crow

I remember discussing some roses with you, and our respective locations a while back. The Oregon time for me was temporary because my dad was finishing up his education post WWll; he took his Idaho state board eksams (no eks key; new keyboard very soon), and then we moved back to Idaho where I grew up, graduating from good old Caldwell High School. I've also lived in Nampa, and now Boise. We probably know some of the same people, though I'm way older than you. To complicate things, I lived and got part of my university education in California, and my daughter is a California native. It goes on and on....I would love to visit the International Rose Test Garden. I've spent some time in other Portland gardens and parks, and visited Heirloom a few times back when there was a display garden there. Diane

I have an old grafted Abe Darby which never sends out long canes...it doesn't seem to be a climber. It's shrubby. I have a young own-root Colette on an arbor which I'm very happy with. In my zone 7a it has no winter dieback, is almost blackspot free, reblooms well , is beautiful, branchy, vigorous, and very fragrant. It seems to have it all! Many years ago I had one which I had planted in too much shade between two shrub roses. It did very poorly and I blamed the plant. Seeing Diane's great plant of it I tried again and am glad I did.

Mine is just reaching the top of the arbor but the plant is so vigorous it is not going to confine itself to the arbor. I planted another own root one in a bit more shade and gave it plenty of room. Another thing, it has so many small leafy branches from top to bottom that you don't see large bare canes.

Abe , not climbing. Abe reblooms very well and I love the fragrance but it is very blackspot prone here. Mine doesn't grow 8 to 10'...more like 5 1/2'. In your climate it could be bigger.

Erasmus, your Abe above looks like my Augusta Luise (beautiful photo). Roses! I'll never understand them. My little Abe own root) shows no signs of wanting to be a climber, either. I'd just be happy not to have his blooms face plant. Diane

colette is very healthy here on Cape Cod - unlike many other roses, Very prolific flowering early in the season as well.