Climbers

[Heather]

Does anybody know what this is climbing up this little cottage? I'm looking into climbing plants - other than ivys - and I like this:

[CohenCottage]

They look like 'lady banks roses' to me...

[ChapterTwo]

I can't really differentiate between roses, but I was going to suggest a pale pink climbing rose also...saw this one (second photo), called Cecile Brunner: http://www.love-of-roses.com/climbing-roses.html

If you like scented flowers, don't discount honeysuckle as a nice climber. In my old yard, I had white/yellow and white pink flowers on my honeysuckle, and they grew beautifully every year.

[shabbychick]

I love the look of climbing roses, and if they have a scent, too, then so much the better.

Also, how about wisteria? I've always like that. You might consider morning glory, too, (the real ones, not the bindweed we have here that looks like morning glory but will eat your house).

[ChapterTwo]

I think I wrote about my experience with wisteria, and I'd never plant it again! I continually battled it as it tried to strangle my honeysuckle. It ran shoots along the ground, which I tripped on. It actually grew up towards my huge maple tree and wrapped itself around a big limb - I had to get on a ladder to cut it! :eek:

It looks sooo pretty in the catalogs with the lovely lavender flowers (which I never got), but once you give it a toehold, it goes WILD! (Never again, for me...not at this house!)

Have you successfully grown it, shabbychick?

[Heather]

Ok thanks! Here's what I could find:

Lady Banks - they need full sun and can grow up to 20 ft high and 12 feet wide, yikes!

Honeysuckle - indestructible they say and a nice looking climber but I wanted something more rose-ish.

Wisteria - has the potential for invasiveness. Same about wanting more of a rose.

Cecile Brunner - climbs up to 18ft, disease resistant, tolerates partial shade, blooms mid-spring to frost, but can grow rampant (the Cecil Spray does not as much).

So... I think it might be the Cecil or another clematis. I've got this evergreen clematis that I like on one of our sheds and it's got pretty white flowers when it blooms. Here's what it looks like now:

[ChapterTwo]

Oh, Heather...that clematis has nice foliage - different from any clematis I've seen. It looks like it would feel sort of..."leathery". I bet it's so pretty when in bloom.

I have zero luck with Clematis and I want one so badly! I've killed off two, so far.

I bought one at the end of this past summer, on sale, so we'll see if it resurrects once Spring comes. :confused:

[shabbychick]

Have you successfully grown it, shabbychick?

No, I've never tried to grow it because I don't have an actual house. But I've seen it on houses in Oregon, and it looked well-enough behaved there. Perhaps it depends on the climate. I would guess that most climbers are bred to grow pretty fast to quickly cover arches and trellises so would need a fair amount of aggressive pruning. Bindweed, however, while it also looks lovely, does the same thing here that your wisteria does. It grew wild in the yard in the house I used to rent, and if you didn't stay on top of it, it would cover the whole yard and kill everything else. I was almost afraid to nap outside on the hammock for fear I'd be strangled by the vegetation before I woke up. Blackberries do the same thing here, with the extra attraction of having vicious thorns, but at least you can eat them (if you don't bleed to death first).

[cheapdiva]

love climbing roses - had one at our old house - Billy Baffin, maybe? Sorry can't remember which rose it was but has beautiful big white roses that smell great!

and for quick results - morning glories are it!

[yarborough house]

Heather - it is a cecile de bruner rose. They are the most beautiful climbing roses out there. They do get big but their blooms only last about 2 weeks. I would recommend planting it with a clematis that goes with the pink.

The lady banks are also good climbers- my friend planted them along her chainlink fence between she and the neighbor and they now cover the fence..they are yellow roses and do not have thorns.

But remember all roses even though climbers have to be helped out..meaning that you have to either tie them or wind them through.

I got a purple blooming plant for my arbor and it was still blooming up to thanksgiving..gotta find the plant stake for it. Or course I was told it was a white flower - dang :)

[Heather]

Ok, I think it will be the Cecil - thanks!

On another note - now I get to work on some other curb appeal.... Hubby says to me yesterday, " I think we need to put up a fence in the front yard" I asked him what type of fence and he says, "white... picket". Yippee! I think he's GOT it, you know what I mean? He's got the cottage in him!!! I love, love, love white picket fences and now I get to design a lovely garden in front and behind it! Happy dance, happy dance.

[shabbychick]

Hooray on the picket fence! A picket fence adds instant charm, doesn't it? I love the way flowers peek out from between the pickets. Can't wait to see pictures.

[ChapterTwo]

See that? I picked the correct rose (Cecil Brunner) in the beginning, without even being sure!:o HaHa!

I LOVE the thought of the picket fence. That's on my wish list, down the road. It's great that your hubby has been brainwashed...I mean..."cottagized"! ;)

[rubyslippers]

I love the idea of the picket fence! There are a variety of both climbing and rambling roses you could plant along either side of the fence. Lavender also looks lovely at the base of climbing roses. Also, I was about to identify the rose for you, but I noticed you all guessed already. In my days of "renting" I experimented with climbing roses in containers and had a lot of fun with it. I also experimented with roses that would tolerate some degree of partial shade. ( I have had much more difficult with this - - so, if you go with one of these roses, then DEFINITELY seek the sunlight!) With that said, there are some awesome rose websites allowing you to research the different climbing habits and fragrances of many roses. Also, some of these climbers will repeatedly bloom with a little bit of "maintenance" in regarding to dead-heading the plants and carefully pruning throughout the seasons to enforce second blooms. Knock-out roses are pretty if you are interested in a shrub-effect and many of you around here know I have a special affinity for the Joseph's Coat rose. It puts on a lovely show in a wide-range of yellows, oranges, and reds. I also like the mutablis (sp?) rose - - better known as the butterfly rose - - the blooms look like dogwood blossoms in soft sorbet colors. I really am entranced by the picket fence idea. I am seriously considering the picket-fence & some sort of arch or pergola for the long haul, but I haven't quite decided. I will be interested in updates on this project! It has been so cold here that I have started dreaming about gardening. I am glad to see that others of you are getting excited about that time of year as well.:)

[chyna]

I bought a Josephs Coat last year and thought of you. Seemed like the perfect foil to the red siding of the garage. Now to see if it comes back this spring. Keeping my fingers crossed. ;) My rose shrubs up front didn't bloom last year so going to trim them back alot this year. If they don't bloom they are going to be out the door, can't have a Briar Rose garden without the roses!:mad:

[rubyslippers]

Hello Chyna, How did the Joseph's Coat turn out for you? Did you like them? We are going to have to cut some large tree limbs this year to try to "rescue" some shady areas. I need a little more sunlight in order to really get some roses going at this house. Did you like the choice of the Joseph's Coat with the red like you imagined? I hope so!