Rose is a rose is a beast on a small trellis

[Janet Macunovich 32]

Another design issue I made a stab at but you-all can help with, I bet!

 

The big blank brick side of my house begs for something vertical so I hoped two Zepherine Drouhin roses I had would work there. My husband, bless his heart, built a nice trellis and the roses seemed to hold promise. Well, maybe I'm just not a rose person, but I kept trying. I tried to do the things you're supposed to do with roses at the proper times, like fertilizing, pruning etc. They would always have japanese beetles, the little buggers, and yes, they did climb, but I would prune off the canes that pointed to the front but eventually they would come out again and there would be canes arching way out over the wall into the lower bed.

I tried to keep up with them, but they really were quite vigorous. They didn't exactly bowl me over with blooms either; there were more in the early summer but only half as many later in the summer. I gave up and took them out last fall.

 

What I'm trying to find out is if there is another type of rose that would do better in this particular location. I have attached a photo of the bed so you can see what I'm talking about. The photo actually shows a huge shadow over the trellis, but its a winter photo. In summer, that wall is in full sun most of the afternoon, and the brick is very warm. I thought it would be a good environment for roses. They never got powdery mildew, but strangely enough were plagued by black spot. Another issue is that the depth of the bed is probably only about 18 - 24" max.

 

Is there anything you can recommend that might do well there? If not a rose, I wouldn't mind some kind of flowering vine. I'd draw the line at a trumpet vine, of course - LOL - Debbie -

 

It's a cool trellis, and good it's out a ways from the wall to help plants get a bit more air. I'm a bad one to ask for rose suggestions. They are not easy plants, and never glorious for long periods of time in any given year. Glorious now and then, aggravating for more total days than that. I put them where they can look good in bloom, then I cut the living daylights out of them so they grow back into a bit of second bloom if they're of such a variety. But I don't depend on them to carry the design all summer. Any time I ever did and got their canes arranged just so, that would be when they decided to let one main cane die and I'd be right back at "Go" again.

 

Yet even if had a higher opinion of roses in such a position (the 'Climbing New Dawn' I tend is now going to scratch me even harder this year; but I've told her over and over that she's a lot of trouble to keep looking less than wild...) I think this trellis wants something more rectilinear, not arching or scrambling, on it.

 

Do you see that trellis in the winter? In which case you want some winter interest? Or is it s summer only view? Does it get full sun (+6 hours) or just afternoon? I'd be very tempted to put an espalier tree on it... - Janet -

[DBilicki 0]

Well, the trellis is technically visible from the side yard, the street and from my neighbor's yard. I can't see it from any window or door inside the house, however. So even something with winter interest would be good. Yes, it gets full sun, sometime around noon to early afternoon the sun is on it for the rest of the day.