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David austin Roses
I bought a bareroot David Austin rose Gertrude Jekyll and planted it in February. It is specifically a climber for a shady spot, they recommended it gets at least 4 hours sun a day which it does.
I love roses but don't have a lot of experience with them, followed all the instruction to the letter, I intend growing it up a pole like the entrance to the rose garden at Mottisfont as space is limited.
It's now July and the bush is 2 foot high, it was covered in lots of beautiful fragrant flowers and is preparing itself for repeat flowering but I assumed it would be taller than 2 feet by now and I could start training it up the pole.
Am I being over optimistic? I'm not sure how fast they are meant to grow but it's not sending out any long stems.
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I think you need to be a bit patient. I have Gertrude in my garden she is a couple of years old and has reached the top of a six ft fence. The two climbers I planted in the spring (Claire Austin) are about two ft tall and doing well. Gertrude is not a rampant climber.
Right, thanks for that - I wondered if I was being impatient.
The other one, Lady of the Lake is growing quite fast and I think I can start to train it next year but then it is a rambler so it will grow faster.
At any rate it is something to look forward too the flowers and the smell were wonderful.
I have three Gertrude Jekylls and they never grows past 2.5 feet. Never knew it was a climber - are you sure?
I emailed the people at David Austin and they told me it was a tall shrub for the back of a border that can be trained into a climber of up to 6-8 foot. They also have it down as a climber on the online website.
http://www.davidaustinroses.co.uk/english/Showrose.asp?Showr=4254
Gosh - that is interesting. Perhaps mine have been misnamed as they certainly do not look anything like a small climber!!!
Well it will be interesting to see if mine stays this height or grows any taller.
Some DA variety do come both as climber or bush, depending on the rootstock. That said even the most vigourous bare-root climbing rose will not grow much taller than 60-80 cm in its first year, especially if it is flowering a lot.
Its first task is to make roots. It may take 2 or 3 years before it starts shooting up strongly. Be patient.
Roses never give of their best in the first year. It takes at least a year to form sufficient root systems to support growth. Katherine has got it right with bare root supplied roses. However, potted roses are usually 2 or more year old plants and can be a different story. If you want more established roses buy potted especially if patience is not a strong point.
I shall be patient, I've waited a long time for my new garden and it's all new, I posted pics on another thread. It did produce loads of wonderful smelling blooms this year all over the bush so I can't complain really.