How many hours total, would you say?

Let me count tomorrow and I'll let you know :)

Where are you located, Jo? That will help advisors.

Im located in Manitoba, Canada.

That should be enough, mine gets 3/4 hours of sun, maximum. It sees a lot of light but it's hsaded by the buildings.

Canadian explorer roses in general are quite shade tolerant. They can trhive in place where wimpy sun loving roses, sulk :)

Yes, mine grows in very little sun...it does well. :) I'm in zone 3b....Alberta. It doesn't get very tall, and I don't grow it like a climber.

Oh nice!! That's definitely encouraging :) Your rose bush is beautiful. Of course today is overcast so I haven't been able to count how many hours it gets. But it probably is a good 4 hours of direct sun.

Thanks Bob! Well as Canadians we are pretty hardy,lol I guess this translates to our roses too.

Jo - Thanks! :) :) that's probably what mine gets too. :)

@Jo (Manitoba-Zone 3) Yep, our Canadian roses grow in the most inhospiptable places. I've seen them growing almost everywhere, and I won't hesistate growing them in part shade.

Another types of roses that are excellant for your climate are Canadian Heritage Roses,rhe likes of Priaire Peace, Isabella Skinner and many more. Now those are even hardier than most of the Explorer series...

Thanks for the suggestions Bob! Very helpful. Any idea what kind of rose this may be? I can't quite figure out what they are.

Hey, I just planted two of these. One at my mother's house and one at mine.

@Jo (Manitoba-Zone 3)

You can find an exhaustive list here:

https://www.helpmefind.com/rose/l.php?l=3.9976&tab=2

These were produced before the Explorer programs....

Some of them you can find here;

https://www.cornhillnursery.com/Roses.html

John Davis is loaded with blooms this year as always! In zone 5 northern Illinois it is for me extremely reliable and prolific and is a big free standing bush.

Wow Vickysgarden, that's spectacular!! Very pretty.

I agree with Jo - that's spectacular!!! Insanely good!!! I'm in awe!!

You can totally attribute it to the rose and not the gardener! My other roses do not put on a show like this! I first saw John Davis at the Chicago Botanic gardens where it was absolutely covering itself from top to bottom with blooms and stopping people in their tracks to stare. It is just a great rose for our cold climate.

Holy mackerel ! What a display.

I think that my picture is probably more in line with what Jo should expect, because of our shared lack of sun. I sure wish mine would look like yours!! My goodness!! :) :)

@rosecanadian, I thought it was a question of hardiness that kept yours small. Mine with 3-4 hrs of sun became too big, and frankly it was overwhelming (almost guady) when it flowered, in our small garden. So, I pruned it in such a way, (almost like a standard) to contain it. Now it's manageable, and it has weeping branches, when in flower.

One of the bonuses of shade (by trees) is that it protects to a certain extent the blooms from downpours...

rosecanadian, Well if it gets to be the same size as yours, I would be very happy. I should ask, how often do you water your rose and how much do you give it?

I picked up my John Davis rose today and wow! It’s much larger and more beautiful than I imagined. I also bought a purple pavement rose. I saw it and just knew I needed to have it. Very happy with my purchases. Here’s hoping they take!

Beautiful roses, everyone! I’m a former MN resident enjoying all the gorgeous blooms on these tough, cold climate cultivars. @Jo (Manitoba-Zone 3), I started growing Rugosas in MN and fell in love with them along with Canadian Explorers. Rugosas are all over OR’s west side, too, all the way from this side of Mt. Hood to the beach. Purple Pavement is great! I am raising one from High Country Gardens for a friend who bought a beach house. Jo your new roses already look fantastic! @rosecanadian and @vickysgarden, your John Davises are breathtaking! Carol

Good to hear! I've read so many good things about them since I got home from the nursery. They also grow in part-shade, which is great given that we're facing east. I can't wait to see more blooms emerge on it.

Bob - mine is also in a planter with no amendments. :) Could be the temperature that keeps mine small. Could also be the rootstock...multiflora. I'm glad it's small though. Although...I'd LOVE to have mine look like Vicky's!! Oh my!!

Jo, mine is in the front yard and I barely fertilize it or water it. Another reason why mine could be smaller. LOL I fertilize with different things in different years. But, this one is all by itself and doesn't get much. Holey cow!! Those are GREAT looking new roses! Good going in snagging those beauties! They'll do well for you. :) :)

@rosecanadian, it's the planter. I am impressed that it roots can survive the cold. That's simply amazing! So it must be hardy to zone 2.

I though I post some photos of mine. Note how gracefully it weeps. To the left is Felicia, a hybrid musk.

rosecanadian, Thanks!! I was very lucky as they had just received them and hadn't even brought them into the nursery yet so I got first pick. I'm hoping my grows large enough that I can train it onto a trellis in the front of my home.

Bob, what a spectacular rose, that's gorgeous! I just love the color of the pedals. Oh I love your fence too, what a nice design.

Bob, that does look amazed, but Im shocked Felicia survives in your zone. I neverhear her mentioned as a cold zone rose, although mine has been tip hardy for me. I lived in Montreal for many years and miss it still, even and sometimes especially the winters.😊

Felicia survives quite fine. Some years better than others. I always have a couple of branches that manage thorugh winter. Mine is burried under 4/5 feet of snow. And often espcaes the spring cold snaps as that part of the garden loses it's snow cover last.

But for several year, I had another problem, something ate the buds. So, I have to spray it everyspring with neem oil and it's been flowering ever since.

I had Buff Beauty and Cornelia too, but exchanged them for Chloris and Priairie Peace.

In retropsect it's fun too have some tender roses, but in the long run, I prefer roses that can fend for themselves :)

Me too, I love Montreal winters. I don't mind, cold or snow but when it rains on snow, ugh, that's not fun. But seeing the ever green stems of John Davis or the orange hips of Semi-pena or rosa glauca in the snow, reminds me that spring will come and roses would abound and fill the garden with their scent...

It is that wistful hope for spring that keeps one going through the long nights, but they can be so romantic also, and it makes the the break that much more special. Although its also a good time to work on other projects and xcountry ski!

For those that grow both, which is better, John Davis or John Cabot?

Bob - so beautiful!! :) :) I love how you've grown them as beautiful climbers!!

Jo - good luck with creating a beautiful climber. :) :) It's going to be amazing!

L Clark - I grew both in Fort McMurray many years ago. John Davis is better IMO...by a lot!

@rosecanadian Thanks! It's blooming like crazy right now which is great. I can't wait for it to grow and climb.

@rosecanadian, @Jo (Manitoba-Zone 3)

One of our neighbour's has a John Davis against a brick wall. It's 10' X 10'. I realy wouldn't want that.

@L Clark (zone 4 WY) I haven't grown John Cabot. But another neighbor had one of them. It was handsome shrub with tall arching limbs. The flowers had some scent. I would say, if you want it big go for John Davis if you want it tall with arching limbs and a darker pink,go for Cabot.

If you want another climber go for Felix LeClerc.

Jo - yes, it's a rose that doesn't need coddling and will bloom really well. Repeat bloom, for me, wasn't as good...but I don't mind. Maybe if I fertilized it a bit...it would rebloom better.

Bob - 10' X 10'...yeah, that's a little too much. :) :)

@rosecanadian, John Davis only reblooms with maturity. And is more scattered blooms. In all honesty, with our short growing seasons, it's more than enough. I have papver that flower for three days and they go dormant, untll next year.

@L Clark (zone 4 WY), another thing to consider is that John Davis is almost thronless. Cabot is thorny beast :)

@rosecanadian

Oh, My, You have John Davis! Is it doing well for this spring 2023? Loved your photo of it posted above…Heirloom Roses Nursery says it is 1986. Although it is an Explorer rose…But……. I guess not old enough to be an OGR! OGR stop at 1867 when La France was bred starting the modern Era!

But….. John Davis looks teally old fashioned to me! And amazing Canadian disease resustant & cokd hardy., Herloom Roses Nursery says zone 3! I am so wxcited tp have a very hardy-almost thornless rose! Great to walk beside at entrance of my backyard! She can reach 7ft I read.

My Mother’s Day Gift!

First Blooms today, May 15, 2023

John Davis, my baby climber

Gardener mowed 6 days ago, but, with fertilizer & rain-grass growing too tall.

@KittyNYz6 I LOVE my John Davis; it put on the most spectacular display last spring, and I'm hoping for the same thing this year. So far, only leaves are starting to form on the branches; there are no buds yet. Oddly, it only bloomed here and there over the rest of the summer. Someone I spoke to at a nursery said I may have needed to fertilize it more often.

How are your roses making out so far? I remember you had some beautiful varieties. Your John Davis blooms look gorgeous!! What a nice Mother's Day gift. It's obviously much warmer where you are, than here. The weather should be looking up soon. May is always an iffy month.

Pictures from last year!

Jo,

Your John-boy is spectacular! Lol! I am sure you will have another amazing rosey display this season! Even bigger as rose matures each year!!!

My Johnny D is new, planted on Monday! I bought her Mother’s Day, with buds already!

The only roses I have blooming are ones that grow-lights have prompted!

I am living it up with roses everywhere this year! I ordered about 24 ETSY rare roses & grew them over winter in the house…. 11 of them still go back in the kitchen under grow lights on our constant rainy days right now!

On “Leap into Spring Thread,” You can see my garden photos & a few rose blooms, due to grow lights, bloomed early this spring! Woohoo!

Come join our Spring thread? My garden is on the Spring thread.

My garden is mainly green right now…. with ranunculus & some bulb blooms until May end. Lilacs are starting to bloom, allium is budding up, pansies, petunias blooming. Rhodes should bloom soon. Cherry blossoms are finishing blooms. I have Anemone corms in kitchen inder grow lights sprouting green leaves -hope to bloom in couple weeks. Anemone & ranunculus usually bloom together now before roses. I’m now into these bulb bloomers so experimenting!

And 21 dahlias growing like monsters on my kitchen porch to go outside when less rain-more sun-hardening off now. Peony will bloom end of month, too-I have a few new peony babies & adults!

And I’m planting lots of seedlings… zinnia, scabiosa, carnations, stock& more…..

Gardens are a little much for me right now. I have new designs working on…

Hope sun should shine for rose blooming time May 31st in NY!

How are your gardens?

Oh wow! I'm so envious, sounds like you have some exciting blooms to look forward to. I saw your cherry blossom iris on the other thread, what a dream! The color is amazing. Can't wait to see more pictures of your lovely garden. My own is quite small, just the front yard, we haven't landscaped the back yet. My daylilies and hostas are slowly coming up. I also have some dogwood and limelight hydrangeas that are leafing out. They were beautiful last year so hopefully more of the same this year. I'm very anxiously awaiting buds on the john davis to arrive. When it was in bloom last year, I spent so much time just looking out the window at it. Hopefully the rose slugs aren't as bad this year, they were a pain in the butt and ate up a lot of my leaves.

Jo,

Thank you! I once had only the front yard landcsped on this property of mine. It took me about 5 years to landcape 11,000 sq feet, my whole property! I hauled out weeds, dead grass, mess and had a few helpers do some. Each spring/summer I would do a side or back section. I had asphalt & cement hauled out and demolitioned a garage. Then soil dumped in yard . A neighbor & I spread the new soil, then I seeded grass. He helped me plant some of my first roses. 2 summers back I finished. I now have a front and back yard and 2 side yards. Now I keep redoing flower beds, Lol!

You will get there! Enjoy your progress! Day lilies are beautiful! I love lime hydrangeas, which I have some! Dogwoods areca favorite! They are blooming now! I think zi just itdered my last tree, a Magnolia!

Join us this spring as blooms open on the Spring thread……See you there! I would love to see your roses & John Davis bloom!

Here's my John Davis being unruly and rowdy. (Behind kiss me Kate and some foxglove)