@pitter-patter, lovely flowers. You clearly like the pink/peachy orange combo. Just a personal opinion, but Kiss me Kate looks a clear, cool pink, which I think would look good with a similarly cool white/lilac climber or perhaps purple/burgundy. But what do I know, still can’t decide on which two roses to grow on my own planned arch 😆
Would KmK grow tall enough to cover it’s half of the top of the arch and would the canes be flexible enough to bend over? Or would you need the other rose to cover the whole of the top?
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
@Nollie The arch is about 220cm, so not too tall. I hope that KMK would grow to cover the top and join the rose on the other side. You’re right about its colour being clear pink. I’ve made a shortlist of roses, but still don’t know what to chose. 😜
Should I add a clematis on each side as well or would that be too much?
@peteS personally I would simply pull those leaves downwards and they should come off the canes cleanly.. (you’re essentially defoliating your rose) and then you should have a good idea of what the rose’s framework look like (without the senesced and dead leaves). You can then decide how you would like to prune your rose - it would be much easier to see which wayward or disease canes you would like to prune without those dead leaves.
@pitter-patter I have KmK growing on the side of an arbour. I've only had it since last year and at the moment the longest cane is about 4.5ft but I'm hoping to get more growth this season. I have to say though that I find the canes quite rigid. I had planned to criss cross them up the side but have had little luck with that.
I'm a rose newbie, planted Kew Gardens last Autumn...
Do I need to prune it at all or just let it grow in its first season?
Did you plant it from a potted plant or bareroot?
If it was bareroot then it will have already been pruned. Only if it had previous seasons growth on it when you planted in Autumn would you need to prune it now.
Potted plant.
I'll maybe take a photo so you can see how it currently looks.
Not sure if this has been asked before but do you all have any recommendations on books related to roses? - books that contain lovely pictures of roses, introducing the different varieties, growing methods etc etc? I have bought one of David Austin’s books and although it was great, a third of the book consisted of portraits of his roses - I would have preferred more pictures of roses in their natural environment rather than portraits personally..
Not sure if this has been asked before but do you all have any recommendations on books related to roses? - books that contain lovely pictures of roses, introducing the different varieties, growing methods etc etc? I have bought one of David Austin’s books and although it was great, a third of the book consisted of portraits of his roses - I would have preferred more pictures of roses in their natural environment rather than portraits personally..
I quite like one called roses and rose gardens by Claire masset, not sure if links allowed, but easy to Google, lovely inspiring photos.
Vintage roses by Jane eastoe also very good book on individual roses, though had left me searching everywhere for one called mon jardin et ma maison, looks devine, but rarer than hens teeth
For an older one you could look at Graham Stuart Thomas, pics are old of course but still interesting, and info is great. You can find used copies in good condition on eBay for not much.
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Would KmK grow tall enough to cover it’s half of the top of the arch and would the canes be flexible enough to bend over? Or would you need the other rose to cover the whole of the top?
Should I add a clematis on each side as well or would that be too much?
I'll maybe take a photo so you can see how it currently looks.