Saturday, January 24, 2009


On the hunt for an old-fashioned, hardy rose...

I'm no rose expert, just an avid rose lover. I am a great fan of old garden roses. However, the only rose bushes I have right now are a miniature rose in a pot and two rose bushes that I rescued from a bargain table.

I'm in the market for a hardy, old-fashioned rose -- one that is very disease resistant. I'd prefer one that is grown on its own root stock rather than being grafted. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Here are some older roses that I think are pretty:

This is a tea rose called Sombreuil. It is a climber. It is supposed to be hardy, though I always thought that tea roses can be quite delicate.
The picture is from Antique Rose Emporium.


















This is Souvenier de Malmaison. It is a Bourbon rose. This might be a good choice for me as it does well in the cold, but also does well in the humid South. Since I live in the mid-South, I mostly have to deal with the problems that roses can have in the South. But, we're just far enough to get a few really cold temps during some winters -- a la this winter.

This photo is also from Antique Rose Emporium.




Marchella Bocella is a light pink old rose that does well in our area.

Some say that Darlow's Enigma is a rose that grows well almost anywhere.

Or, I'm toying with thought of adding a pale pink rambler to my garden.

Our hardiness zone is 6 and our heat zone is 7.

So, all you rose lovers, send in your thoughts.

Enjoy!
Elizabeth





3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Elizabeth,

I have some of the roses you mentioned, the purchased ones mostly from http://www.antiqueroseemporium.com/ located in Texas, which you mention. The Climbing Maiden's Blush might be a good choice. I have the bush form but the climber winter killed here in our northeast location which varies anywhere from zone four to six. I try to find zone four plants. I lost most of my clematis a couple years ago in an especially cold spell as well as several climbing roses so won't opt for zone six plants any more even though the catalogues that arrive sometimes tell me they will be alright.

Perhaps you are already familiar with http://www.love-of-roses.com/Meaning-Of-Roses.html
which you might enjoy perusing as a lover of roses. :-)

The Brooklyn Botanical Garden has a wonderful website you might enjoy. I have also bookmarked http://www.roseinfo.com/ as I search out some more vintage climbers from before 1830 to replace the ones I lost.

Being sentimental, I love to take cuttings from the favorite roses of loved ones. Aunt Doris showed me how and gave me a piece of their Climbing Don Juan, a later red rose that just blooms and blooms all summer with long stems perfect for arranging or drying. It is one of my favorites. She just cut some new growth which included a leaflet of six, stripped the lower leaves and put it into the ground in a shady spot. She watered it well and covered it with a large glass jar. In a few months, you will lave a small rose bush!

Well, I could write so much more on this favourite subject but will wish you a blessed day!

Caryn

Rachel said...

I love roses, and as I used to live in NC, I had a lovely rose garden there..and loads of experience in dealing with the worst the South has to offer.

Now I'm in OK, and am having to start all over again...

I'll be carefully perusing the answers you get...

Mimi said...

Thanks for all the information, Caryn. That's so helpful.

Hi Rachel,

We used to live in Dallas/Ft. Worth, so we experienced a little bit of the western clime. I'm sure you know that Ft. Worth has a beautiful public rose garden. I'm sure most of the roses there would work in Ok.

Where were you in NC? Depending on where you were, I'm sure that conditions might be similar here in middle Tennessee.