I agree with Owd Potter about banded Miscanthus, although there is one called 'Punktchen' which is strikingly beautiful in that, the yellow bands are fewer, so not so in your face, and the flowers on opening are a rich purple and large.. I was struck by it at Wisley and had to have it then, in another garden..
One grass I think goes well with roses is Achnatherum calamagrostis, because it starts to flower early, in June, and looks good all summer and winter, without growing too large.. the grassy parts are shorter.. the only drawbacks are that it seeds itself about, in fact it's easy to grow as an annual from seed, but perfectly hardy long term.. and is best on poor soil in full sun.. in rich soil, or part shade, it gets a little floppy.. and most roses like rich soil..
I also think Hakonechloa macra Aureola would go well with dark red or purple roses..
@Mr. Vine Eye I love mulching borders, looks so tidy afterwards!!
Got the westland feed, thanks again @Marlorena I decided to have a look at the available options and was immediately overwhelmed 😆 I will get to feeding everything this afternoon as it’s supposed to rain again later.
So went to Harkness today to look for a sweet syrie. Their established climbers have very purple/red stems compared to their standard 5L potted climbers. Is this normal?
Here is SS:
And here is wonderful life:
None of my established climbers in the garden have red stems.
It also depends on variety, some have redder wood.
..that's ok Zugenie,.. any one would do the job but some are better than others.. and I know it's bewildering..
@Busy-Lizzie I've grown 'Super Excelsa', which is shorter.. don't think it had much scent, each bloom is quite small..
My favourite will always be 'Alexandre Girault' because I like the strong colour and apple scent.. it has the typical gracefully cascading habit. It will repeat somewhat, providing it isn't pruned at midsummer and just left to its own devices, in fact it was almost in continuous bloom for me, a few clusters here and there.. pruning should be done in winter only in this case.. These days I am impatient so I grow climbing Floribunda types that give quick colour without getting too large..
Has anyone tried "Excelsa"? Peter Beales has that, but Chevy Chase that I had thought about isn't in stock. Otherwise what is a good rambler or climber that will bend over an arch? Preferably repeat flowering, fragrant, not too thorny, doesn't mind some shade, not pale pink. I like pale pink but OH says we have enough in that area. I already have Ghislaine de Féligonde so not that.
I have Super Excelsa, which (as far as I could tell when researchinfg) flowers more than Excelsa (mine repeated until the very end of the season) but is shorter and less vigorous. I quite like it though it's less red for me and more a powerful rich pink. It has grown quite a bit already since planted last summer (halfway up a small brick shed).
eta: Sorry @Marlorena X-post Agree it isn't fragrant but it does have one nice aspect- the bees love it.
But even though it didn't repeat for me in Year 1, I preferred Perennial Blue- strong musk scent and a richer colour.
Tried to take some pictures with my proper camera, still couldn’t get it to focus on the rose for some, will be easier when there’s some more growth!! Camera has overexposed somewhat and I’m too lazy to edit them, but…
Variegata di Bolgona is nicely leafed up, hoping for some nice blooms this year! Fed it today so hoping the pale leaves will start to green up, this was one planted last year
Minerva planted just the other week so just getting going, enjoy the pond sludge in the background there 😆
Ferdinand pichard (own root) seems happy since being planted out, haven’t fed this one as I wasn’t sure if it would be too much given that it’s a young plant
Blue moon, planted last year but didn’t thrive so had the big chop, new growth looks nice
Mary delany also planted last year, also looking happy, I suspect this will be the first one with buds this year! Leaves aren’t as pale as they look, that’s just my camera, the stems are a lovely purple colour
Climbing blue moon seems very happy to be in the ground now!!
City of york has the greenest leaves, again hoping for my first flowers on this!
Bring me sunshine, replacement for the one that died, looking a lot stronger than the previous one!
Forgot to take a picture of boule de neige, typical!
Thanks everyone for the comments. I think I will plant the Zebra Miscanthus at the front of the house, where there are no roses, just shrubs as I do not have a red or purple rose. All good stuff.
Come winter I will invest in a red/purple rose and can then think on the Miscanthus.
Thank you @Marlorena and @WAMS. They both look good. David Austin says that Alexander Girault grows to 6m, which is too big, but other sites say it is shorter than that. I really like the look of Perennial Blue. Peter Beales has it in stock. I hope it is more wine red than blue. I don't really care for "blue" roses. I'll see what PB has tomorrow.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
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Go for the bottom one, I've used it, it's very good ..
One grass I think goes well with roses is Achnatherum calamagrostis, because it starts to flower early, in June, and looks good all summer and winter, without growing too large.. the grassy parts are shorter.. the only drawbacks are that it seeds itself about, in fact it's easy to grow as an annual from seed, but perfectly hardy long term.. and is best on poor soil in full sun.. in rich soil, or part shade, it gets a little floppy.. and most roses like rich soil..
I also think Hakonechloa macra Aureola would go well with dark red or purple roses..
Got the westland feed, thanks again @Marlorena I decided to have a look at the available options and was immediately overwhelmed 😆 I will get to feeding everything this afternoon as it’s supposed to rain again later.
@Busy-Lizzie
I've grown 'Super Excelsa', which is shorter.. don't think it had much scent, each bloom is quite small..
My favourite will always be 'Alexandre Girault' because I like the strong colour and apple scent.. it has the typical gracefully cascading habit. It will repeat somewhat, providing it isn't pruned at midsummer and just left to its own devices, in fact it was almost in continuous bloom for me, a few clusters here and there.. pruning should be done in winter only in this case..
These days I am impatient so I grow climbing Floribunda types that give quick colour without getting too large..
eta: Sorry @Marlorena X-post
Agree it isn't fragrant but it does have one nice aspect- the bees love it.
But even though it didn't repeat for me in Year 1, I preferred Perennial Blue- strong musk scent and a richer colour.
Variegata di Bolgona is nicely leafed up, hoping for some nice blooms this year! Fed it today so hoping the pale leaves will start to green up, this was one planted last year