"Kim" wrote in message
...
[This followup was posted to rec.gardens.roses and a copy
was sent to the cited
author.]
[snip]
Hi Gail -- I just moved to West Virginia from
Massachusetts, about 10 miles
south of Nashua, NH.

I am quite the novice when it comes to roses, as you'll
see when I tell this
story.

Much like your sister, I wanted to plant "a rose". Not
knowing a bloody thing
about roses, I went to the Agway a few miles away and came
home with John
Cabot, an Explorer rose. I picked it because the
description of it said "does
well in harsh climates", or words to that effect.

[snip]
By 2001, John had grown...REALLY grown. He was now at
least 8' tall and
literally growing like a weed. The original center canes
were at least 12'
tall and drooping over quite nicely. He was producing
mass quantities of
fragrant small blooms. At one point in the summer, it
seemed like he grew
several FEET overnight!

In 2002 John was pretty darned big. The center canes were
at least 14+ feet
long. The blossoms were great!

Last fall we moved to West Virginia (zone 6, just like
where J.C. was planted)
but, of course, were unable to bring him with us.

I have another John Cabot coming any time now out of
Maine, to replace the one
that I had to leave behind.

Based on my quite limited experience, I would recommend
John Cabot in her area
of NH. If you'd be interested in a picture or two I could
email them to you,
as I don't have a web site to display them.

--

Kim

"We have done so much with so little for so long that now
we can do anything
with nothing." -- Dave Marcis

Hi Kim -

Thanks for a great (& useful) rose story.
I'll pass it along to my sister so she can
advise her friend.

I was able to find a photo online & will give my
sister the link. If you're not familiar with HelpMeFind,
it's a great site to find roses.
www.helpmefind.com

Best of luck in your home.

Gail