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Arch Partner for Spirit of Freedom Suggestions?

Hi friends! I have an arch coming for Christmas! SoF will be on one side. My current inventory of climbers I'm considering as a partner are: Perfume Breeze, Honeymoon, or another Spirit of Freedom.

I like the idea of the different textures mingling between SoF and Perfume Breeze. I also think they would bloom at the same time and both be super fragrant.

I have a baby Honeymoon on fort. But I might shoot for one on multiflora if y'all like this combo idea most. I'm not sure how floriferous Honeymoon is/if it will bloom as much as Sof. Both are gorgeous, about the same size bloom and similar petal count. I think the white would be a pretty compliment to Sof.

OR I could have Sof on both sides.


The arch will be at a garden gate entrance, so I'm hoping whatever I choose will be fragrant, bloom a lot, and be easily tamed/wrapped back into itself so it doesn't snag visitors walking through. Thanks!

Comments (37)

  • 5 months ago

    I can only comment with experience on one of these options: Perfume Breeze. I have two of them and like them a lot. They bloom profusely. The scent is incredible and wafts well. The canes are pliable and easily trained. So far it’s been totally clean, no mildew in my climate. I have low disease pressure here, so perhaps my experience doesn’t count much for your area. Obviously, I like it a lot if I have two of them. :)

  • 5 months ago

    I like to the same with perhaps something else planted at the base. I also have perfume breeze but it is still in a pot. A large pot! I have not yet seen a mature perfume breeze. Judy, How tall is yours getting in your zone?

  • 5 months ago

    Vap how-far are you from Mt Vernon?

    My husbands boss want to relocate him

  • 5 months ago

    Vaporvac, I have had my Perfume Breeze in the ground only one full year and it has several 6 ft canes already. I don’t expect it to stay small but neither does it behave like an aggressive monster.

  • 5 months ago

    I have had several Spirit of Freedoms for several years. Bathsheba and Quick Silver both bloom at exactly the same as my SoFs. Its weird but those 3 always bloom together even in different location in the yard lol. I think either of them would be good on a trellis with SoF. I am in the FL Panhandle so a similar climate.

  • 5 months ago

    Sultry I have a Quicksilver in a large pot and it needs to go in the ground. So maybe SoF with Quicksilver. Thanks for the suggestion. My concern is will Quicksilver we flexible enough for an arch? Mine seems stiff and upright, but is still young.

  • 5 months ago

    I like the idea of putting a clematis in also to vary the shape :)

  • 5 months ago

    Aaron, I've been wanting to post that, but you had more courage. I agree that a large, vigorous clematis would be a great partner on the arch. Colette might make a good rose partner, too. Diane

  • 5 months ago

    I think a clematis or a white or cream rose would look best with "Spirit of Freedom".

  • 5 months ago

    So Spirit of Freedom and a clemtis OR white/cream rose on the other side? I have a Madame Anisette coming in the spring. That might be a viable partner. My La Fountaine aux Perles (Nirp) is also acting like a climber and might be a contender. I have a Kiss Me Kate but her repeat has not proven as quick as SoF.

    If a clematis, which do you recommend? I was impressed by the variety my local nurseries carried this year. But my experience with clems is at a stage 1.

  • 5 months ago

    Also a local nursery will have Colette available this Feb. So she is an option too!

  • 5 months ago

    Colette is peachy and Sof Freedom is a cooler pink. I wouldn't put those together. Maybe a darker rose colored rose would look great too with S of Freedom.

    Jackmanii or Perle d' Azur are great clematis.

    Of, course I have all sorts of bad color combos too, but I would not want it to happen to anyone else.


  • 5 months ago

    Take a look at Helen's pictures on HMF To see how wonderful Herbert is Herb arbor is Just with spirit of freedom. Deeper reds that would look nice with that color pink Could be florentina or field of the woods........

  • 5 months ago

    My Spirit of Freedom was paired with a cl Maman Cochet who has grown too big for her britches and is getting moved. My cl Souvenir de la Mamaison will be going into the empty spot in spring. Their bloom shapes are very similar with SoF having just a little bit more petals and SdlM retaining the closed ball shape just a little bit more

  • 5 months ago

    Your Quicksilver arch is really pretty, Oursteelers. The purple clem goes well with it.


    I think pink and apricot can look good together. Martha Stewart uses that combination in bouquets. She seems to have had an influence on color combinations that hadn't seemed harmonious before. I like her imagination or it could be the imagination of people who work for her.


    Sunnymississippi, there is a lot of good information here on the clematis forums. I went overboard on clems four or five years ago. Some easier ones for the south are viticellas. I think it helps to get the plant and roots to be bigger before planting in the ground. I pot them up in one or two gallon pots and grow them on awhile, then plant in the fall or spring. Just got some planted last week. I think your idea about Honeymoon on the arch with SoF sounds great, or the different size blooms of Perfume Breeze would also be charming.



  • 5 months ago

    I use all sorts of combos, including Colette with Young Lycidas piled next to her. Close by is Julia Child and Bernstein-Rose (deep yellow amber). Diane





    Colette and Julia Child


    Colette and Young Lycidas


  • 5 months ago
    last modified: 5 months ago

    Our Steelers, I had a Maman Cochet Cl on a large gazebo with 2 James Galways (which are good sized climbers here) and Maman completely engulfed those other 2 roses. She was tearing the whole gazebo up. Had to cut the whole shebang down when we moved. Maman was even only in a 3 gallon pot and still did all that LoL !! She is a beast. I put her in the ground by our RV carport here and she is going wild there.

    I like the clematis idea too. I am finally in an area where I can grow some of them easier (less sand, more winter chill). I am hoping to get more clematis and hydrangeas in my garden in 2024.

  • 5 months ago

    Sultry, sounds like my New Dawn/Dr Van Fleet. She broke my arbor. Diane

  • 5 months ago

    Those are stupendous roses, Diane . The color combinations are great. You definitely help sell those roses all over the place.


    Is Cl. Maman Cochet very tender among teas?

  • 5 months ago
    last modified: 5 months ago

    I love the colette And young listensAlL. L.. TogetherTogether DianeDiane Climbing clotheiled souffle Super Is a great climate that blooms a lot. Show ball under heavy rain is better in that regard than the bush form I have found.

  • 5 months ago

    Yes, cl Maman Cochet is finally starting to take off. She will be taking Veilchenblau’s old spot and Veilchenblau is getting moved to a maple

  • 5 months ago
    last modified: 5 months ago

    Diane, My New Dawn is still a baby but I have heard she is a monster!

    erasmus, I found several sources that listed Maman Cochet Cl hardy as a 6b. ARE lists her hardy to zone 7. I am 8b and just got bumped to 9a. Our last winter got into the mid to upper teens F many times (not typical here). She survives here fine but I cant speak to colder climates. Maybe someone like Jeri or Roseseek might know for sure?

  • 5 months ago

    In regards to cl Maman Cochet and tolerance to cold we are often in the mid to upper teens in Jan and February at night, occasionally December but the stretches aren’t usually more than 3-4 days at a time.

    Now that she has been in the garden 4 years and is established and putting on size there hasn’t been any dieback. Even Feb/March which frequently have bouts of freezing and wind hasn’t hurt her.

  • 5 months ago

    If you don't mind a smaller flower Take a look at purple skyliner. This is definitely a repeat bloomer

  • 5 months ago

    Purple skyliner is in stock at Rose Petal Nursery

  • 5 months ago

    Thanks for opinions about Cl. Maman Cochet. Many teas do ok here in zone 7a but some are too tender. I think I lost a regular Maman Cochet once but it was small. Any pictures of yours?

    Purple Skyliner would be pretty with a cool pink. It's not fragrant to me and it's pretty bushy but probably could be trained.


  • 5 months ago

    I will try to run out and fet a couple of pictures when my grandson takes a nap. Of course there aren’t any flowers but you can see size and growth pattern

  • 5 months ago

    I really like diamond ball or multi blue clematises. They have a unique shape and I love the color. Other than that you can go for one of the four petaled varieties—prince charles is a really pretty light blue.

  • 5 months ago

    You can go to Donahue's or Brushwood's clematis sites and search the small flowered varieties. The vitacellas are among those. I am growing some larger flowered ones in zone 7a, NC, too. They are not as fussy about water as I thought they'd be. We had about 6 mo. with hardly any rain here this year so it remains to be seen how mine will look in spring. I did try to keep them watered.

    I bought a Multi Blue last year but haven't seen it bloom yet.


    Here are Prince Charles and Etoile Violette together:




  • 5 months ago
    last modified: 5 months ago

    Sunny I really like the quality of the clematises from Brushwood. They are pricey compared to other places but they are true 1 gallon giant rootballs

    Diane I just ordered a Colette to test here. If mine grows half as good as yours I would be super happy.

  • 5 months ago

    Oursteelers and Sultry: in your experience, is Maman Cochet prone to balling?

  • 5 months ago

    I’m trying to remember, she hasnt been particularly floriferous yet; all she’s wanted to do is put on size but she wasn’t too bad. I have her on thr other side of the fence where she has full sun and no summer water unless I water by hand so no moisture ever hitting it helps I think.

    Nobody balls for me like Potter and Moore and it is getting moved to this part of the garden in the spring to see if it will help alleviate the problem.

  • 5 months ago

    I like the wonderful selection from Brushwood and most of their plants do well but in my experience they send a whole lot of potting soil that is not fully rooted out. Much of the potting soil falls away and is not needed. The strongest root system I've had on a mail order plant was from Hummingbird Farm in I think Vermont.


    Fresh out of the box


    This is Emilia Plater, which seems to be one of the most vigorous. Could be that Brushwood sends densely rooted plants but I have bought a number of them and mine were not dense.

  • 5 months ago

    Bart, Maman Cochet does not ball here.

  • 5 months ago

    Thank you, oursteelers and Sheila.After my experience with E Veyrat Hermanos,I'm pretty paranoid. The fact is that , for me, the big "spring flush" of flowers is really the only time of year when I can -hopefully-enjoy the flowers of my roses: summers are too hot and miserable. So I don't want any roses that will ball too easily if they recieve a little moisture as can happen in spring. I think it was Nik the Greek who said that his Maman was a terrible baller, but specific climatic conditions could have been the reason : i.e, if someone is gardening near the coast of the sea, the atmosphere is going to be pretty much constantly humid in the evenings,which wouldn't be the case for someone living in the hills, far from any large body of water. Not that I should be thinking of getting more roses! but I can't seem to stop myself from doing so. I guess the important thing is that I don't ACT on it, lol! At least not without very, very much thought and consideration.

  • 11 days ago

    I have Maman Cochet Cl, White Maman Cochet Cl & Nils Cochet. None of them ball here. I am about 30 mi N of The Emerald Coast in FL. We are warm and humid most of the time except early spring which is cool and wet and winters are dry. If I get balling here it would be early spring. The only rose I might get some balling is Earth Angel.

    My E. Veyrat Hermanos never bloomed lol. I was warned but got her anyways. She grew into a monsterous beast in 5 years but no blooms. Left her at the old house lol!