I'm growing Tradescant in a pot as own-root. It's throwing a 2 feet long canes .. same height as Teasing Georgia. Tradescant is 3 times taller than Wenlock (both are band-size own-root bought this June 11). Tradescant is VERY PRICKLY, so it's more heat & drought tolerant. Wenlock has much less thorn and less vigor.

Tradescant habit is more like a tall climber among the 18 own-roots that I bought this year.

Bart, I have grown Tradescant here in Portland for over 20 years, and none of my plants have ever grown beyond 4 feet (and could easily be kept a bit smaller). In my experience, grafted Tradescants grow quite a bit faster than non grafted ones, but own roots catch up in time. I love this rose! Carol

We bought Tradescant the first year it was released, budded in 'Dr. Huey;' in the U.S. (Probably from J&P). I was all excited about it because of who it was named after.

What happened was, I have NEVER seen a rose plant that suckered like that one!!!

It never put up a basal break of 'Tradescant,' Never. And it never got over about 14-inches tall. BUT THE SUCKERS!!! OMG!

It seemed like it put up a new sucker every day! (That might be an exaggeration, but not by much.) If we'd left it on its own for a month, it'd have been surrounded by a forest of 'Dr. Huey.'

After a few months of that, we dug it up, transplanted it to the trash can, and I'm pretty sure that was the last budded plant we ever bought.

We never saw it bloom.

'Tradescant' was one of the worst Austin's I ever bought. Pitiful, miserable plant that bloomed infrequently, and the plant never exceeded 3 feet, and that was only on a good year. And talk about RUST.

Thank you all so much. This is so funny: out of four comments,2 are positive, 2 negative; it just goes to show...

Anyway, on the FilRoses nursery site I did find a comment about Tradescant ,and if Google Translate isn't too off,this lady said that hers was lanky,and she put 2 together to give a bushy effect, and that it isn't a particularly vigorous rose. All of this is giving me the impression ,along with the comments here, are beginning to give me the impression that the smaller estimate may be more accurate.

Jeri, I've had that happen ,too, where a roses' rootstock seems to be determined to take over. But I'm not sure that it depends on the variety so much as perhaps just a weak scion? Could that be possible, do you think? You know so much more than I do about roses...I'm thinking of my 3 Sir Paul Smiths. One of these, though a nice, BIG plant, does seem to be having continual root-stock issues ; the other two don't seem to suffer so much from this defect.

Bart, I think my comment was more directed toward saying that I can't tell what the rose CAN be, because it never had a chance.

I think, in my case, the growers did such a truly bad job of preparing the rootstock to perform AS rootstock that it just wanted to be 'Dr. Huey.'

It had no energy to spare, for the scion.

So, I'd just about bet money that to be a vigorous plant, 'Tradescant' would have to be budded on vigorous, well-prepared rootstock.

And that's so sad.

I really wanted the rose named to honor the two John Tradescants (Older and Younger) to be something special. :-(

John Tradescant the Elder - Wikipedia

Ha, ha! We’re all over the map, Bart! I think Tradescant is defintely a rose that needs a specific climate and good culture to thrive and grow at its best. Then it is gorgeous! I know two more no spray Portland, OR, area gardeners who love Trad and one WA island gardener who also loves it. I’ll be curious to read your feedback. I should emphasize that the velvety blooms burn in hot or west sun! East facing or dappled shade (like mine) are perfect. Trad does NOT tolerate as much shade here as Albas, a number of Hybrid Musks and such. Picky, picky. Carol

Hi, Bart - chalk me up as a positive comment, too. It grew very well for me in my previous garden in Portland, OR. It grew up one side of our front porch and had a south-east exposure. I had it on drip irrigation, and with the East sun in the morning, I didn't have many disease issues. There was a little black spot on older leaves in late spring/early summer (we have dry summers here). I did have rust on other roses in that garden, but not Tradescant. Thanks to the support of the porch, it grew about 6 feet tall and was so easy to work with - I really enjoyed training it, because I had to do so little! It also bloomed freely all summer.

I'm enjoying growing Paul's 'Diablo Hawk' which has Tradescant as a parent. It seems to capture much of what I liked about Tradescant's beauty and free blooming habit, but the blooms promise even greater complexity and it also has the useful form of a shrub rose.

For fun, I also picked up one of Tradescant's parents, 'Gloire de Ducher'. So far, not a single bloom has fully opened, and it briefly lost all of its leaves to black spot in late spring...so it may not find a permanent home in my garden, but I'll give it a couple years to show why it has survived this long in commerce!

I should mention, my Tradescant was an own-root plant from Chamblee's.

Ha, ha! John, did your 6th sense pick up on my mentioning your beloved and gorgeous Tradescant on the forum? 😁 Carol

Haha, you know how much I loved that rose, Carol! Something told me to check the forum...call it what you will! 🤣 Actually I was checking for updates on Burlington Roses and couldn't help seeing the title of this post. A little less exciting than extrasensory perception... 😉

Sometime I should start a thread just about that whole rootstock-trying-to-take-over subject,Jeri.I'm having this issue of sprouting from the rootstock on mature plants; it's annoying because I usually don't spot it until the invading sprout has gotten quite big and I can't pull it off...but that's another topic

Back to Tradescant...

Carol, we are indeed "all over the map" when it comes to this rose it seems. As I mentioned in my original post, my Trad. was totally neglected for years, but DID survive and bloom in spite of this-and when I say "survive"I mean that, though it remained very small, it also remained a decent plant-AND it was going own-root as well,which to me indicates a certain vigour,in complete contrast with what some of the commenters (and that Belgian or French lady on the FilRoses site) experienced with their plants. I also got the impression that mine wasn't particularly susceptible to burning/frying,and my garden is plagued by hot sun and is on a sharp slope facing south-west! However, it wasn't like I was watching the plant viligently-I just happened to notice that it had a flower or so, and they looked good, but this must've been May or early June-once the heat kicks in I don't tend to wander around in my garden. (My garden is huge, WAY too big for me to care for alone, but that's what I do..) Once potted up,and put on my terrace here at the house Trad's flower didn't burn; here, we have sun in the morning, and shade in the afternoon, so it's much milder than out at my land. However, another unknown black/red/purple rose (subject itself for yet another future thread) did burn, even here. After reading your comment, however, I think I will try to provide some dappled shade from some neighbouring rose...

I also posted on HMF about this matter, and recieved helpful answers. All in all, the impression I'm getting is that this plant probably will remain on the smaller side.

John, if you have any photos or comments about your experience with Trad., I'd love to see/hear them.

I have three plants of Tradescant, all own root. I love it! It anchors my "wine-red velvet" garden bed. They are in a spot that receives less than full sun -- light shade in the afternoon. No winter protection, no supplemental water, just a heavy mulch of pine shavings and manure every April. I spread the mulch about 4-5" deep in a big 24" circle around the plant -- no mulch on canes though. It gets about 36" or so every year with two big flushes (spring/fall) and each flush lasts for ~ a month or so. The plant has a nice rounded cushion shape to it, slightly taller in the middle. This year they were so covered in flowers they looked fake -- they looked like I had set clusters of plastic roses in the area! It def. looks more like a floribunda than either a hybrid tea or shrub. Very healthy -- I don't spray. I can't say it is strongly fragrant to my nose, but it is fragrant.

For the spring flush this year, there were purple double peony poppies and an antique iris to keep it company -- glorious!

Bart - I wonder if you missed my earlier post in this thread where I described my experience with Tradescant and included a link to a photo album? Hopefully that helps!

John

John: I looked for your post twice but don't see it. Houzz hides post with certain links (esp. Amazon links), so the poster can see it, but others can't. Houzz did that to me many times and I had to remove the link to Amazon products, before others can see my post.

rosesmi5a I love all the reviews you wrote, very informative and I appreciate your reviews. My Tradescant as own-root in a pot is 100% healthy (bought June 11 as a band from LongAgoRoses). Pretty Lady Rose next to it has blackspots. We got 3 to 6 inch. of rain per day early July .. 2 weeks of rain plus flash flood.

Thanks, @strawchicago z5 - I've removed the link! Can you see the post now?

Here is my Diablo Hawk (Paul Barden) baby of Tradescant. From RVR. I love it.

John: Thanks for those amazing pics. of Tradescant. You have a nice house !!

Bart, you amaze me! Truly. Searching for the Supergardener emoji…. 🦸 It sounds like Tradescant is a GREAT rose for you, too. Our climates are so different, but it seems like our Tradescants may behave similarly in the garden. Paul and Jeri live so much closer to me, but their experiences are very different from mine. Go figure, right? Crazy (but wonderful) DA rose!

John, WOW!! That is exactly what I was hoping you’d post. I’ve never seen a lovelier Tradescant. EVER.

Sheila, I must have Diablo Hawk! Like, like, like,….

Carol

Aw, Carol, you're so sweet...Indeed I do hope that Trad., once given decent conditions, will prove to be a winner. I so wish that Paul Barden's roses were available here in Europe!!!

John, thank you so much. That is one heck of a beautiful Tradescant; I'm hoping that mine might do half as well, lol. Perhaps yours got so tall because of the support from the porch and from being forced to grow upwards and away from the euphorbia?

Rosesmi5a-that is a wonderful description, and it sounds like your Tradescants must be absolutely breath-taking.Again, I can only hope that mine will some day be somewhat as nice as yours.

Thank you all so much.

I have one flourishing in essentially full shade with a ton of buds. It is under open sky but the sun beams never really directly hit it due to the position of the building next-door. I didn't have space for it in the fall so just stuck it in a pot in a holding pattern until spring, and am really sort of amazed it seems so happy in that spot (so it's staying there). Very few roses would seem to bloom like that with so little direct sun? I feel that both my own root and grafted ones are taking off with little effort on my part. (In Europe, there is different rootstock than in the US). For the moment, they are short and bushy, so good for the front of a border (or a pot).

I had one once, but it died over its first winter. I am in zone 7, but we have occasional late frosts.

Oh, Monarda! I am so sorry. Roses and weather…. For data collection: My 2 mature, own root Tradescants survived our MN level winter freeze this year! (Snow, freezing rain, ice, zero or near zero nightly wind chills for days.) They are budding up to bloom. Go figure. 🤷🏻‍♀️ The big freeze killed a variety of other plants in this area, even ones that had lived comfortably for ages . My young, own root, nursery potted Diablo Hawk is fine, too. I tucked it onto my porch and bubble wrapped it. I stuffed outdoor pillows and piles of bubble wrap all around my baby, own root Annie Laurie McDowell. I lost a bit of it but not all. Yay! Carol

Diabolo Hawk caught my eye, that's for sure.

Carol, you guys really got the worst of Oregon’s weather while down in Medford we barely got winter. The house next door is for sale, just sayin lol

My Tradescant, flourishing in the shady, wet area of my yard (the flowers are a bit darker and smaller than Munstead Wood, for comparison, and if you can't find it, you could perhaps try Louis XIV, which is not that dissimilar in hue and size, at least in my yard, but perhaps less robust):

@Kristine Le Gault, Yep. We got hammered by the Arctic! I’m glad Medford missed that storm. I lost a few things.

@bartbart My Tradescant (and Marie Pavie) bouncing back from a week of zero wind chills. Mine is about 20 years old, own root, and still 4’x4’ (or a bit less wide) with very light pruning.

I purchased Tradescant from Garden Roses LLC. I probably won’t need to prepare a spot for my new plant anytime soon, or ever.

Here's my less-than-one-year-old Tradescant getting bigger...It really does seem to be doing better in the NE exposure rather than the SW one... I love the way it has dark-red, even at times, almost black-red swirls, and the fragrance has been getting stronger!

Sympathies Ben - Tradescant is a good rose in at least some conditions. Mine was so huge when I placed it at the front of the bed that I moved it to the back. At that point it promptly started sulking and refusing to grow. Up to that point it was a good 5' tall with gangly arms, grafted from DA roses. It was quite hardy until it decided not to be, but never quite got as Munstead Wood dark as the earlier pictures from John, Sheila and RoseParis. Mine was more like the later RoseParis pictures with a burgundy pink-purple tone.

Once established I think zone 5-6 is fine for it, but like a lot of Austins it can be temperamental.

Cynthia

In year two, it got even richer colors... I have two own-root, and two grafted. All are doing well, but own-roots are doing betterthan the grafted, with especially, glossy foilage, super healthy, long canes (and all have superb fragrance...).The own roots seems to be getting longer stems than the grafted, and wanting even to climb... It seems to prefer part shade.. This one is under open sky so gets diffused sun all day, but gets very little sun shining directly on it, maybe as little as 1 or two hours during parts of the spring and summer and zero direct right sun right now in late Sept., but still it blooms....

I have, not not currently as it was at my previous home and garden, but I am rather fond of it even if it is not a favourite.

The colour can be incredibly deep and rich crimson red with blackened shades. This blues over time to what I consider to be an incredibly rich, velvety royal purple and love the shift.

A little susceptible to black spot but still better than most of my hybrid teas.

I find the scent interesting and sometimes elusive; it is the best one gently warmed by the sun on a humid day. I find it to be strong, deep, rich, and warm but with a slight bitterness and lacking the citrus/candy sweet aspect that one would find in something such as Mirandy and Chrysler Imperial, or even David Austin's Gabriel Oak. It can be a touch elusive.

Not notably winter hardy usually dying back to the soil level.