I am a novice with respect to roses. I have a picket fence, 48" high,
around my backyard. I want to plant a climbing rose near the fence and
have it grow along the fence. My wife has the impression that a
climber planted like this will tend to grow over the fence and the
neighbors will see more blooms on the other side of the fence than we
will. What are your opinions on this? Must I have a trellis or
something similar next to the house or in the middle of the yard to
get full advantage of the blooms?

In a related question, an alternative location (side of my house) gets
about 6-7 hours of sun, but only morning sun. Is this sufficient for a
climbing rose?

On 22 May 2003 10:14:40 -0700, (Rob Samples)
wrote:

I am a novice with respect to roses. I have a picket fence, 48" high,
around my backyard. I want to plant a climbing rose near the fence and
have it grow along the fence. My wife has the impression that a
climber planted like this will tend to grow over the fence and the
neighbors will see more blooms on the other side of the fence than we
will. What are your opinions on this?

Hi Rob!

If your climber is like any I have seen, it will produce long canes
that, when long and heavy enough to fall (or be trained) over and grow
parallel to the ground, will produce lateral shoots about every few
inches along the cane. These in turn will do the same thing, or
not--depending on how you train them. So I guess my answer is that you
will have roses growing both ways--along your fence and over your
fence. One key bit of information is how long canes on a particular
climber will grow, as they vary. In any case, your climber will mound
if left to do so naturally, and most blooms will be on your side of
the fence.


Must I have a trellis or
something similar next to the house or in the middle of the yard to
get full advantage of the blooms?

No. You will need something to attach the canes to the picket fence,
though.



In a related question, an alternative location (side of my house) gets
about 6-7 hours of sun, but only morning sun. Is this sufficient for a
climbing rose?

You bet! Full sun is considered anything over 6 hours.

In article , Rob
Samples wrote:

I am a novice with respect to roses. I have a picket fence, 48" high,
around my backyard. I want to plant a climbing rose near the fence and
have it grow along the fence. My wife has the impression that a
climber planted like this will tend to grow over the fence and the
neighbors will see more blooms on the other side of the fence than we
will. What are your opinions on this?

She could be right, depending on the orientation of the fence to the
sun's path in the sky. If your fence runs east-west and your house is
on the north, it's true that your neighbors could see more of it than
you do because it will search out the south sun. So....give us a map.

Must I have a trellis or
something similar next to the house or in the middle of the yard to
get full advantage of the blooms?

No, a picket fence is terrific.

In a related question, an alternative location (side of my house) gets
about 6-7 hours of sun, but only morning sun. Is this sufficient for a
climbing rose?

If it gets 6 or 7 hours of morning sun, then during part of the year it
must get a lot of shade. Where are you located? Do you know your USDA
zone? Sun is darned important for foliage health and lots of bloom.
Some roses are shade tolerant, but they aren't all terribly hardy. So
where you live is important. If it's really hot during the summer, some
roses would actually enjoy a little afternoon shade.

--
-=-
Cass
Zone 9 San Francisco Bay Area
http://home.attbi.com/~cassbernstein/index.html

Cass wrote in message . ..
In article , Rob
Samples wrote:

I am a novice with respect to roses. I have a picket fence, 48" high,
around my backyard. I want to plant a climbing rose near the fence and
have it grow along the fence. My wife has the impression that a
climber planted like this will tend to grow over the fence and the
neighbors will see more blooms on the other side of the fence than we
will. What are your opinions on this?

She could be right, depending on the orientation of the fence to the
sun's path in the sky. If your fence runs east-west and your house is
on the north, it's true that your neighbors could see more of it than
you do because it will search out the south sun. So....give us a map.

Must I have a trellis or
something similar next to the house or in the middle of the yard to
get full advantage of the blooms?

No, a picket fence is terrific.

In a related question, an alternative location (side of my house) gets
about 6-7 hours of sun, but only morning sun. Is this sufficient for a
climbing rose?

If it gets 6 or 7 hours of morning sun, then during part of the year it
must get a lot of shade. Where are you located? Do you know your USDA
zone? Sun is darned important for foliage health and lots of bloom.
Some roses are shade tolerant, but they aren't all terribly hardy. So
where you live is important. If it's really hot during the summer, some
roses would actually enjoy a little afternoon shade.


Thanks for your answers. More details about my situation -- I live in
Lexington KY, not sure what zone number that is off hand. The
climbing rose I planted is a Golden Showers that I ordered from Spring
Hill Nurseries. Its been in the ground about three weeks and looks
like its off to a good start. Based on the answers you gave me I think
I'll leave it where it is and see how it turns out. While this is my
first climbing rose, I did plant my first rose of any kind last year -
a hybrid tea Peace. It is already about 3 feet tall this year and has
6 huge blooms. Success with this one inspired me to plant more this
spring, so along with Golden Showers I ordered two more hybrid teas --
Chrysler Imperial and Shades of Autumn (I actually ordered Double
Delight, but the grower was sold out and substituted Shades of
Autumn).

Again, thanks for your help and encouragement.