zone 7 rose + zone 5 = what you are seeing

I'm inclined to agree. An relatively tender climber like 'Iceberg' in USDA 5 isn't going to cruise through every winter like a hardier variety would. It would not surprise me to discover significant cane freeze damage most years.

HU - …1:

Is it your understanding that canes from an own root rose overwinter better than canes from the same rose grafted?

You write that the rose is ”growing branches at the bottom” now, and you ask “Is the plant salvageable?” What do you mean by ”salvageable”?

Thank you for all your comments. By the way, Jackson&Perkins sell the rose as appropriate for zone 5 to 9. I am dumb, but I am not that dumb: https://www.jacksonandperkins.com/iceberg-climbing-rose/p/v2540/?2

I have no idea what to think about the rose growing from below. For me it shows that there is something going on with it and that it is struggling. It could be that it is freezing. I am just wondering if I should even try to save it ot just dig it out and forget about it.

Could you please share some pictures of what the roses looks like right now? It would give us a better idea of that you are dealing with. I personally had some extreme cane loss on a rose that is normally perfectly fine to the tips of the canes. Some times extreme temperature fluctuations can damage roses like that even here in zone 7b in the south. I can only imagine the problem could be more common in your cooler zone.

Hardiness Is generallgenerallygenerallgenerally only applicable for survival of the plant, not necessarily for the canes. For climber sake I ally I have found it best to zone down and even ghen, I experienced a lot of dead canes this year. Excuse gremlins s.

I don't live in a cold weather climate. My understanding is that an own-root rose may still die back in winter, but the new growth from the roots/bottom will be the same variety -- since it was not grafted. A grafted rose, on the other hand, may have canes die back in the winter, and when it re-grows you will then get the rootstock rose, vs. what was grafted on top. But I don't think that the canes of own root roses are supposed to be more winter hardy. I wonder if you could find the Griffith Buck variety roses, which were bred to survive very cold winters? I love Distant Drums (though as I say, I'm not in a cold winter climate).

I don't live in a cold climate either, but have learned from experience that some own-root roses can be pretty ornery about getting started and, no, I don't know why some are more problematic than others. Both Noella Nabonnand and Annie Laurie McDowell are supposed to be "very vigorous", according to HelpMeFind,and yet I am having great difficulty in getting them to take off. In their pots, they looked to be big enough to put out in the garden, but once out there they wound up just growing backwards-most of the top dying back. Yet they both survived after I dug them up and re-potted them. So now I plan to keep them in pots for the next few YEARS,coaxing them along until-hopefully-they get pretty huge and THEN I'll try putting them out .

close to the house itself (benefits from the heat in the winter, but it also gets its roots covered with straw to protect it from the cold)

==>>>

i found the opposite to be true... the trick is.. get them dormant.. and keep them dormant all winter long...

and a warm wall.... can allow the canes to go in and out of dormancy every little warm spell you have during an otherwise cold winter.. and ergo.. cane die ..

z5 is unique in that half of it have ground freeze.. and half doesnt...

in ground freeze.. you cover the soil.. to maintain the frozen sate of the soil.. to keep the plants roots dormant ...

came with non ground freeze. but it can be a little harder.. especially if you plant it in a location that you know is extra warm ...

and what they said about a z7 plant

in this case.. a big city name.. would get us a lot further than minimum winter temp.. aka.. zone ...

ken

Thank you all for your wonderful and insightful responses. I am starting to realize that the gal I have planted might not be the right one for my zone, but here she is, huge, ornery and absolutely ungrateful. Still love her though. I also have a damascene rose next to the house which is thriving and enjoys its proximity to the porch. I bet that there is something in her (she is an old Bulgarian kind) that makes her appreciate the proximity to warmth. All roses are different, of course :). I am attaching a photo of what the Iceberg is showing right now--some growth in the bottom and a single cane (I thihk this one grew last year) with some more leaves and even a few microscopic buds.

I am thinking of letting her do her thing until around beginning of June (it is still cold here and even the trees have not yet developed all their leaves) and after that cutting whatever appears dead. BTW--a few years ago, the whole rose became green but by mid May the leaves on one of the main canes suddenly withered and dropped. Since that time she has been going down and showing life less and less.

What do you think, should I eventually move her somewhere else where she can get the proper freezing and not go in and out of dormancy, or should I cater to her a few more years and see how she will be recovering? What are you, rose experts suggest? I am very tempted by the Canadian rose suggestions. I would feel really heartbroken if I have to take her out and let her go; and yet she is a huge plant which takes up alot of space...

Many thanks again!

Go with your heart.

And consider delaying some of the pruning till later, to ”support” some of the new growth that otherwise might get knocked off by errant feet.

https://youtu.be/Hsr6ZVzq-dQ

HU, it sounds like Iceberg is petering out for you. I would replace her with a hardier plant. I saw many plants in Alaska grow backward and it is so sad to watch when they are not happy.

Sad to say, I agree with Sheila. I don't remember ever seeing a plant does that "growing backward" thing turn around and begin to flourish. As I mentioned in my former post, I AM giving Noella and ALMcD another chance,but they weren't unhappy because of cold or anything; there's a good chance that they were just too immature. But I don't think I'd bother doing it if either rose was easy to obtain; I'd just start over probably.

I'm in zone 7 and get roses rated zone 5 or lower. And prefer Kordes over DA and other hybridizers. I would rather have a healthy rose producing 100 blooms than a few blooms that look good in a vase.

As @mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY) stated, Agriculture Canada bred a number of remarkably good, extremely hardy roses suitable for cold climates. If I were you, I'd select one of those and get rid of 'Iceberg' - a rose I'm familiar with, and which has a reputation for producing a lot of short-lived canes that die off and must be removed. I've never liked 'Iceberg' myself, finding it bland and far too Blackspot prone.

I suggest something like 'William Baffin' instead. Or 'Quadra' or 'John Davis'.

Thank you so much for all this wonderful and substantial comments. My experience with Iceberg is exactly as described by Paul--short-lived canes has been a problem since year 2 of its growing here. If only I had an idea what I will get myself into when I ordered it (I think I wanted a white rose and Jackson and Perkins have a good reputation...). I will definitely look into your suggestions, Paul. All three are stunning, but I am very attracted by John Davis even though I have a David Austin pink climber right around the corner. I might look into the Kordes roses as well. Thank you again. I am so lucky to have been able to communicate with all of you. May your roses flourish better than mine :) (actually most of mine do!)

I'm afraid J & Perkins is not what it used to be.

In fact, Jackson & Perkins survives in name only; it was bought by a conglomerate called Western Capital Resources (they also own Park Seeds and Wayside) after the 2007 financial crisis and subsequent bankruptcy of J&P. (which sadly took down Weeks Roses and others)

However, the fact that 'Climbing Iceberg' isn't really suitable/ideal for all USDA 6 and colder climates isn't J&P's fault - they just produce varieties that sell well. It's always up to the customer to determine how well-suited a particular rose it to their climate and specific situation. Noted in previous posts is the fact that when a nursery lists a rose as "hardy to Zone 5", they are only stating that the rose will survive those conditions, but they are not claiming that the variety is guaranteed to be cane hardy to the very tips in cold climates.

That said, and as others have noted, placing a rose close to a building may only exacerbate freeze/thaw cycling problems which are known to result in cane damage.