@Obelixx I haven't grown 'Alfred Colomb' but as a hybrid perpetual, they are usually a black spotty mess by mid summer.. it does offer some repeat I gather.. worth a try.. similar is 'Surpassing Beauty'.. which I do have.. the scent is wonderful..
@Topbird Some roses just grow better on their own roots depending on soil conditions.. this seems to be one of them but it's largely trial and error..
I have hot and humid summers with high disease pressures but MW is one of my healthiest, best blooming most heat tolerant roses. I would also recommend trying cuttings and growing it in a pot for a couple of years to give it a head start.
It is a total water hog here, needs regular feeding and extra iron in my rocky alkaline clay/hard well water to counteract chlorosis. A bit of cosseting pays dividends.
I have three grafted MWs planted in a triangle to form one larger shrub (the awkward habit is well disguised) and it blooms near continuously - after taking 4-5 years to reach full potential.
My 3yr old cutting established well and has a better habit. It too gets chlorosis with my hard water but a neutral-acidic potting mix helps. Not as prolific as the grafted group yet with droopier flowering shoots, but it still has a fast repeat and will doubtless catch up.
The own root preparing for another flush - nice, rounded habit, very clean foliage:
A week or so later it’s getting into it’s stride:
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
@Nollie yours certainly look healthier than mine. I will try and cosset it a bit more as it is such a beautiful flower
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
I wonder if a bit more breathing space from your perennials would keep it healthier for you as well, Butterfly? I try not to over-crowd roses and that does seem to help, but there are so many local variables it’s hard to say definitively. If a rose is languishing and poorly, lifting and potting it up can work. It did with with my Ebb Tide and others have said it helped their Gabriel Oaks get a wiggle on.
Mountainous Northern Catalunya, Spain. Hot summers, cold winters.
I'm glad you've asked the question because I'm looking for a red rose too. I had ordered a Darcey Bussell a couple of years ago but it turned into American Pillar! From a French nursery. I would still like a red rose to buy this autumn and haven't chosen one yet.
Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
Two reds that I like are Royal William, an upright HT with gorgeous perfume and my climbing Etoile du Hollande, which I think comes in shrub form as well. Again this one is absolutely beautiful and very fragrant but has an HT shaped bloom, I love it but others seem to prefer the many petalled Austin like blooms these days.
Sadly I think my EduH is suffering and may be dying. It doesn't like the very hot weather and is perhaps too dry at the bottom of a wall and near a big birch tree.
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I haven't grown 'Alfred Colomb' but as a hybrid perpetual, they are usually a black spotty mess by mid summer.. it does offer some repeat I gather.. worth a try.. similar is 'Surpassing Beauty'.. which I do have.. the scent is wonderful..
@Topbird
Some roses just grow better on their own roots depending on soil conditions.. this seems to be one of them but it's largely trial and error..
Let me know how they get on.
It is a total water hog here, needs regular feeding and extra iron in my rocky alkaline clay/hard well water to counteract chlorosis. A bit of cosseting pays dividends.
I have three grafted MWs planted in a triangle to form one larger shrub (the awkward habit is well disguised) and it blooms near continuously - after taking 4-5 years to reach full potential.
My 3yr old cutting established well and has a better habit. It too gets chlorosis with my hard water but a neutral-acidic potting mix helps. Not as prolific as the grafted group yet with droopier flowering shoots, but it still has a fast repeat and will doubtless catch up.
The own root preparing for another flush - nice, rounded habit, very clean foliage:
A week or so later it’s getting into it’s stride:
East facing, top of a hill clay-loam, cultivated for centuries (7 years by me). Birmingham
Sadly I think my EduH is suffering and may be dying. It doesn't like the very hot weather and is perhaps too dry at the bottom of a wall and near a big birch tree.