Your favorite cl roses

last month

I was fortunate to have 6 palms removed from my back wall which was causing a lot of shade and made the bed not very rose friendly . Now I have much more sun ( hooray ! ) . You know as a rose gardener we need all the sun and space we can get !

I can now plant in the beds a few more climbing roses . I haven’t given much thought to these since we weren’t planning on doing anything to the palms for a year or two . So with spring coming I thought I’d love to see and hear all about your favorite climbers . Please share pics . Who knows , you may inspire others as well to try a new one !!

Featured Answer

erasmus_gw

last month

Those are pretty, Susan. I second Compassion. Mine is grown freestanding and over many years has become very tall. I think of the fragrance as a perfect rose fragrance...sharp, citrusy , and sweet.

I also second Eden. Mine was a big freestanding shrub. I have another one

given to me which is grafted, and it is getting established nicely. Have another one I got just this spring from Palatine. My nearby rose friend had a couple of huge ones on a tall pergola- like structure. Ben T's is beautiful also.

Alchymist was great for me for a long time but had very stiff, fat, thorny canes and was bs prone. Worthwhile anyway. Gets big.

Penny Lane is very pretty. I don't have mine trained on the arbor yet but it has been putting on size.

I like my Blossomtime a lot. It's in part shade but does well considering.

I think right now my Climbing Pinkie is the biggest climber I have. It's healthy. I don't find it fragrant. This is my old plant.

This one was going up a tree but the tree died and now it's just sprawling.

Parade is a good one.

Cl Cecile Brunner can get very tall. Mine was going way up some Leyland cypress trees until we had to cut them down. I cut back Cecile to 4' and it is showing some new sprouts.

I also like Fields of the Wood, Crepuscule, Violette, Veilchenblau, Madame Alfred Carriere, Zepherine. Have Bathsheba on an arch which it's covering on one side but so far the blooms have not been that great. I think this year it's going to be good as it is better established. Lavender Lassie is wonderful if you have room for it.

Clarence House is healthy and vigorous. See Marina's pics on hmf.

Colette is wonderful and seems to have it all....great fragrance, vigor, health, and beauty. Mine reblooms some but blooms most in spring. Mine's own root and not very large yet but at the top of an arbor. I think it might be one of the best.

I like Purple Skyliner and grow it freestanding but it can probably be grown as a climber. It's also known as " reblooming Veilchenblau" but I think not as big. The color seems pinker when the plant is young but it can be quite purple later.

My plant when younger:

Gertrude Jekyll can be trained on something:

I also like New Dawn and Elie Beauvillain, The IMpressionist, and Ashmitterwoch.

I have one Ashmitterwoch in a tough spot. It died back some. Have another one ( own root) in a pot and it is very vigorous. Can be mostly white or can have tones like this:

Madame Alfred Carriere is beautiful but is pretty big.

Am looking forward to seeing my young John Cabot plant bloom this spring. It's doing ok but so far not extremely vigorous own root. Love the color. Frances in NJ has a great one.

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Comments (10)

susan9santabarbara
last month
I only grow a few climbers now. I think everyone is familiar with Eden, which I grow as a large free-standing arching shrub. I love Sally Holmes, but it doesn't re-bloom well for me, although I keep reading it does for others. I also love William Allen Richardson, but I don't think of it as a climber exactly, since I let it sprawl. Compassion is really great, and you don't hear much about it. I have it growing up my Jacaranda tree. Gorgeous, and very fragrant. It re-blooms, but you really have to deadhead it for great re-bloom, since it loves to set nice big hips. Here's Compassion:

William Allen Richardson:
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Kristine LeGault 8a pnw
last month
If you grow a climber but let it go free style, how do you prune ?
erasmus_gw
last month
Alot of climbers that I grow are stout and sturdy shrubs, in fact on hmf many are described as either shrubs or climbers. So I just prune for branchiness and to shape them or keep them the size I want. Some examples of shrub/ climbers : Westerland, Autumn Sunset, Portlandia, Freisinger Morgenrote, Dublin Bay, Aloha. They make fine shrubs. I've seen Westerland grown very well on an arbor too. Felicia makes a good shrub but an old member here, Jon in Wessex, had a beautiful one on an arbor. Austin says some of their plants can be either shrubs or climbers. I think even Darlow's Enigma has been used as a climber but I think it could be very tricky to get a very bushy plant to confine itself to a structure. Harder than growing a climber freestanding. I think climbers with very flexible or long canes wouldn't make a good freestanding plant.

I grew Nur Mahal freestanding but when it was in full bloom and it rained, the canes would flop down with the weight. It did better with some support. It all depends on how stiff the canes are.
Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca thanked erasmus_gw
oursteelers 8B PNW
last month
You of course know that Renae is at the top of my list but Mel’s Heritage and Arcata Pink Globe are close seconds.

My next tier is Florence Bowers Pink Tea, Quicksilver and Raspberry Cream Twirl.

Next tier would be cl Sombreuil, Bathsheba and Lady of Shalott…..and I guess since we’re doing favorites I should stop but I feel like I’m leaving so many out!😩
Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca thanked oursteelers 8B PNW
Moses, Pittsburgh, W. PA., zone 5/6, USA
last month
Lily, it would have to be Quicksilver for me. Lots of blooms of incredible durability...like plastic roses. The canes though, need to be carefully approached, not being supple at all, but very rigid. Its vigor is impressive.

Moses
Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca thanked Moses, Pittsburgh, W. PA., zone 5/6, USA
alameda/zone 8/East Texas
last month
Two of my favorites are High Flyer and Tangerine Skies. High Flier gets tall and spreading and blooms ALL the time with hot pink flowers. It is just striking seen from a distance and one I plan to buy more of. Tangerine Skies also blooms all the time - gorgeous golden/yellow-orangish color - it just glows. I love Quicksilver as well but the canes are, as Moses said, very rigid. Polka is another favorite - I love apricot roses and the color on this one is like Peach Sherbert. My Wollerton Old Hall is several years old and coming into its own - like it very much, lots of blooms. My Strawberry Hill is also getting a few years on it and the blooms are just beautiful.
Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca thanked alameda/zone 8/East Texas
haku84_zone9
last month
I like Teasing Georgia if you have the space, also High Society is a nice one very fragrant, self supporting. Tends to black spot and defoliate but the large fragrant blooms makes up for its short comings... for me at least.

Teasing Georgia

High Society (In the far background)
Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca thanked haku84_zone9
Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca
Original Author
last month
Wow!! These are some fabulous photos everyone . Thank you so much for sharing!

I totally forgot compassion was on my wish list so that one is definitely one I want to try .

I’m already growing quicksilver , and Renea so I know they are good too ! I definitely am ordering a Mel’s heritage and I think I want to try Blossomtime again . This area may still not be 100 percent full sun but it’s much improved. I do have teasing Georgia back there already and it seems to be happy in its spot .

I’m going to look up high flier . Thank you for mentioning it judith . And I do have wollerton and strawberry hill planted elsewhere too!
susan9santabarbara
last month
I forgot to mention Altissimo in my previous post. It's in a weird spot, and I noticed a bloom today when I was working in the yard. Meant to take a pic for you, but got distracted. Single, red perfect gorgeous blooms. Also forgot Lamarque, which is blooming too, but it's in the process of being eaten by my wisteria :-(