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White rose - advice please

DevonianDevonian Posts: 176
in Plants
I'm afraid Googling can sometimes lead to brain scrambling, so I'm turning to the forum for advice again!

I'm looking for a white-flowering rose bush for a border, ideally up to 2m height max and with a long flowering period. The border it's going in is SE facing so gets sun all morning and dappled shade during the afternoon.

Might consider a climber as there's a fence to be covered, but would prefer a shrub.

Thanks in advance! 
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Posts

  • K67K67 Posts: 2,506
    edited August 2020
    Try looking at David Austin and Trevor White website as they have good filters for colour, height etc 
    It's difficult for others to do you research.
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    It is a minefield out there, so much choice it does fry your brain. I feel for you, my brain is currently toast! Most David Austin roses don’t thrive here (too hot) but if I lived in the UK I would love to have Desdemona - such perfectly beautiful white blooms. As to narrowing your choices:

    1. I would first decide if it needed it to be pure white or whether a blush white or cream was acceptable.
    2. How important is fragrance and health? It’s tricky to find roses with both those attributes AND is a good, long season repeat bloomer so usually something has to give.
    3. If a good repeat flowerer/maximum blooms on show for the longest period is your top priority, look to floribundas. Ground cover roses can also be bloom machines but too low, I think, for your needs. Most shrub roses bloom in flushes with a break in between, so are never continuously in flower, whereas floribundas pump out the blooms in greater quantity and frequency. The drawback is few have good fragrance, but if it’s in a mixed border with other scented flowers, that is perhaps not so important

    Once you start whittling down like that your list of possibles gets smaller and smaller so choice is easier. After much research and whittling,  I came up with the following shortlist and ended up ordering four out of five of them. And I still want the other one!

    Marie Pavie
    Souvinir de St. Anne’s
    Boule de Neige
    Mme. Alfred Carriere (climber)
    Blush Noisette (climber)

    It’s such a personal thing though, anyone else’s choices would be totally different.
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • DevonianDevonian Posts: 176
    Thanks @K67, sorry I wasn't clear - not looking for others to research for me but for personal recommendations from people who have grown them themselves. I find that honest feedback is much more likely on a forum like this than on a site trying to sell the product!

    @Nollie that's incredibly helpful, thanks so much. You're right, fragrance isn't quite so important as it'll be in a border. Interesting to note your recommendations, I've actually been looking at Desdemona and Boule de Neige. Also really like the look of William and Kate!

    Thanks for your help
  • gjautosgjautos Posts: 429
    I have iceberg. It's very white if that makes sense? I mean it isnt cream it is pure white. I'm no rose expert, but its easy to grow and seems healthy. I haven't had any disease issues that i have with some other roses. 
  • edhelkaedhelka Posts: 2,351
    With so many varieties offered, it's hard to find someone with a 1st hand experience with a significant number of them. I have around 50 roses but nothing that would fit your criteria. So this is "what would I do" combined with 2nd hand experience.
    You said up to 2m max but no minimum, but I am going to assume you don't want small. So for white, in 1.5-2m range, I would choose one of these:
    - Blush Noisette - some people here grow her, so you can get 1st hand experience
    - some of the white hybrid musks - Penelope, Prosperity, Moonlight or Sally Holmes - some members also grow some of these
  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    Another one for Iceberg. It's an old variety but l've found it keeps on flowering and stays very healthy. 
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    I have the climbing version of Iceberg - meant to be excellent in heat, a good bloomer and disease-free which is why I got it. 2yr old plant, gets terrible blackspot, really wimpy so far and hasn't bloomed much at all. However, it is a bit overshadowed in it’s location and needs more direct sun, so that’s probably my fault, clearly not a typical experience!
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
  • edhelkaedhelka Posts: 2,351
    One of my Instagram rose friends has both the shrub and the climbing version of Iceberg and says that the shrub version is much healthier. The climber blackspots for him too. So probably not your fault, Nollie.
  • DevonianDevonian Posts: 176
    Thanks @edhelka, @gjautos and @AnniD - all useful in my search! Iceberg is a lot less expensive and might be better while I'm still a beginner  :)
  • NollieNollie Posts: 7,529
    That’s good to know and explains a lot @edhelka. My experience with climbing Iceberg put me off suggesting it. Iceberg’s other sport, Burgundy Ice, isn’t a strong or healthy rose for me and some other forum members either.

    The original white shrub is clearly a very popular floribunda for a reason so I should have stuck to that! Sounds like a good bet, Devonian.
    Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
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