Not all ramblers are monsters. Lady of the Lake will be well-behaved and easier to twine about an arch than a climbing rose. Ghislaine, IMO, is best in a space where she can roam at will as I've seen her grow to 8m or more.
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About Ghislaine. I was guided by the dimensions in the David Austin catalogue, and recall that I spoke to someone at the company about it by phone. I have seen photos of roses on walls that seem too vigorous for arches, yet DA state they are suitable, so assumed it was all in the way they are trained. My arch is not a narrow one, probably 'medium' sized, but I am now concerned that it won't be sturdy enough. I planted 'The Lady of the Lake ' last year and agree that it is a more pliable rose.
@Woodgreen Don’t be put off a particular rambling rose because of other people. Ghislaine de Feligonde CAN be grown on an arch, pillar, post or obelisk if trained and pruned correctly. There are video’s on Youtube showing you how to do it. A client of mine has one growing up a pillar, trained and pruned by me. If you have the space you can just let it go. However, like I said and the same goes for any rose, with the correct pruning it will live happily on your arch.
Thank you @rossdriscoll13, that is encouraging. I had a look online until daft o'clock this morning and came across several articles I remember reading when I was considering buying it.
One was actually a post by the OP of this thread, in 2019! Heights of 9 to 10 ft were mentioned then in replies, but somehow these have expanded to 25 ft or similar proportions. I suppose most climbing and rambling roses can get large if left alone. Looking on company websites it's the same story of differing size though it isn't described as a large rambler. 'Can be kept as a large shrub' comes up a lot. David Austin deem it suitable for a 'standard arch', a 6 ft wall, a 10 ft wall, an obelisk or a pillar....... Some companies quote a height of 7 to 8 ft, others 12 ft. Perhaps this rose can be what the gardener wants it to be. I have 'Phyllis Bide' growing into a damson tree and that has remained compact, though I have seen photos of this rose covering a large wall.
Thanks again, you've given me the encouragement to leave it where it is and at least to try to prune it accordingly.
Another vote here for Lady of the Lake here. Flowers for months on end and very pretty. As already said lovely pliable stems and she isn’t very thorny so easy to deal with and means you can have stems safely on the inside of the arch (if wanted).
We have two, one each, on standard width/height metal arches. Our original one planted maybe 18 months ago has grown almost to the top of the one side, so they grow at a reasonable speed but not unmanageable like their bigger rambler cousins.
The DA blurb says grows to three metres. They have used it a lot in their show garden, if you are near enough for a visit.
If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.”—Marcus Tullius Cicero East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
@Woodgreen Can I suggest you search for Ben Hamilton Anderson on Youtube. He’s a David Austin Rose expert. He has done a review of Ghislaine de feligonde, as he grows it in his garden, and he said that it only grows to 12 feet and then stops growing. Just type his name and the name of the rose into the search bar. Worth a watch and also worth following for his rose advice.
I would agree with @Obelixx, not all ramblers are monsters, many of the repeat-flowering ones are more modest, very trainable and suitable for an arch. A lot depends on your growing conditions though. I certainly wouldn’t want the bother of battling with GdF on an arch, although I’m sure it can be done. I’m growing it as a tall weeping standard and can attest to it’s vigour even in it’s first year. Be interesting to see how it does in future years!
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
@Woodgreen Can I suggest you search for Ben Hamilton Anderson on Youtube. He’s a David Austin Rose expert.
Thank you for this. It is one of the videos I watched just this morning @rossdriscoll13. I've also seen images of it trained on arches so I live in hope!
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I planted 'The Lady of the Lake ' last year and agree that it is a more pliable rose.
Good luck with choosing your rose @Hilary_15.
I had a look online until daft o'clock this morning and came across several articles I remember reading when I was considering buying it.
One was actually a post by the OP of this thread, in 2019! Heights of 9 to 10 ft were mentioned then in replies, but somehow these have expanded to 25 ft or similar proportions.
I suppose most climbing and rambling roses can get large if left alone.
Looking on company websites it's the same story of differing size though it isn't described as a large rambler.
'Can be kept as a large shrub' comes up a lot. David Austin deem it suitable for a 'standard arch', a 6 ft wall, a 10 ft wall, an obelisk or a pillar....... Some companies quote a height of 7 to 8 ft, others 12 ft.
Perhaps this rose can be what the gardener wants it to be.
I have 'Phyllis Bide' growing into a damson tree and that has remained compact, though I have seen photos of this rose covering a large wall.
Thanks again, you've given me the encouragement to leave it where it is and at least to try to prune it accordingly.
We have two, one each, on standard width/height metal arches. Our original one planted maybe 18 months ago has grown almost to the top of the one side, so they grow at a reasonable speed but not unmanageable like their bigger rambler cousins.
The DA blurb says grows to three metres. They have used it a lot in their show garden, if you are near enough for a visit.
East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham