Mermaid is a wonderful rose, but one that should be sited in a location where people are not forced to interact intimately with it.

We have Banksiaes that go 50 ft. up trees, and some giant "Grandmother's Hat" bushes, but they don't get near our neighbor's property.

Jeri - wow! I did not know GH got that big!. I will have to go talk to mine -

Jackie

New Dawn…..that I planted on a wrought iron fence next to a sidewalk. Seriously, gardener self?!! I wasn’t even a newbie when I sited ND there. No excuse in the world. My punishment matched my crime. Nonstop, excruciatingly painful pruning just to keep the razor sharp whips in check. Carol

I love my ramblers and wichurana hybrids, and though they will all take every inch they're allowed, some growing canes in excess of 25' (in every direction, lol) I love them one and all; the only "monsters" here are the wild multiflora roses. Not only are they invasive, they are a reservoir for RRD. And if they happen to be near any object or plant they can clamber over, they'll smother it. Any multiflora plant that reaches blooming size can, and does, set thousands of hips that birds disperse far and wide. I own 110+ acres, and they grow in every fence row, in every copse of trees, in every field and meadow. And every third plant shows signs of RRD. They truly ARE, collectively, monsters. There's just no way to rid my property, much less every surrounding farm, of the pest. I mow them, cut them, dig them, even, horrors, spray them. There's no stopping their advance.

Pink Surprise is my monster.

Feeling for you Fig.

A year or two ago I posted a photo of my 'Archduke Joseph' that climbs up a persimmon, then pergola, on HMF. Go take a look. It's a monster, but a GOOD monster. The double yellow Lady Banks rose has climbed to the top of the still leafless flowering ash and has opened its first blooms. It's a lucky thing that it has a whole woodland to ramble around in. I don't think our climate really suits R. multiflora, and thank Heaven for that. Good luck dealing with yours, John!