Zephirine Drouhin, thornlesss and fragrant

As Kathy Jentz, publisher of Washington Gardener magazine (DC and surrounding areas) www.washingtongardener.com

stated recently “ thornless, blooms in shade, great fragrance, what’s not to love,” and I would also add that  it produces masses of cerise pink flowers.  A point worth noting is that last year many of  the flower buds on my ‘Zephirine Drouhin” were destroyed by a green caterpillar chewing into them.  This year I was ready.  Once the flower buds were swelling and showing color I  inspected the plant and sure enough the green worms were back.  Although I  avoid using pesticides in my garden (one dog and one 8 year old, need I say more) on occasion I resort to using organic pest controls like  Bacillus thuringiensis commonly known as Bt.  Bt is a naturally occurring bacterial disease of insects.  By spraying (mix it with water according to the directions) the leaves (both the tops and undersides) as well as the buds, it will kill the chewing caterpillars when they ingest it.  This insecticide is considered safe for people and wildlife and is also used on food crops. 

The bottom line is that it works as exhibited by all the flowers my rose has produced this year.  It also helps that we have had plenty of moisture and I am fertilizing with organic chicken poop.  Roses are heavy feeders but most years I don’t fertilize as often as I should.  I will try to do better this year.   

Rosa 'Perle d'Or' and Spiraea 'Ogon'

I select roses for my garden that are tough and for the most part undemanding. In talking with some of my fellow gardening friends we all agree that so far this has been a great year for roses. 

David McMullin of GardenHood says some of his favorites this year include R. ‘Climbing Pinkie,’ with gorgeous deep pink flowers, R. ‘Cecile Brunner,’ R. ‘Darlow’s Enigma,’ an upright tidy shrub with yellow buds opening white, R. ‘Altissima,’ a climber with single deep red flowers and R. chinensis mutabilis also known as the butterfly rose with single blooms in shades of yellow, pink and orange. 

Garden Designer Caroline Riggins says she is excited by roses but stresses that she is a  no spray gardener.  She too grows the roses I mentioned and also likes R. ‘Climbing Pinkie’ and  R. ‘Climbing Old Blush.’

Paula Refi who is also a garden designer says that she is not a big rose grower and that she currently has 7 or 8 bulletproof roses.  Her top five are

R. ‘Buttered Popcorn,’ a white polyantha, R. ‘Baby Love,’ a single yellow polyantha she grows with Clematis ‘Arabella,’ R. ‘Perle d’ Or,’ R. chinensis mutabilis and R. ‘Nearly Wild.’ 

Rosa 'WEOpop' or 'Gourmet Popcorn'

If you aren’t already growing roses, the ones listed here are satisfying and for the most part easy to grow provided they have plenty of sun (6-8 hours of direct sun is ideal), moisture and fertilizer.

During a visit to a garden in Nashville a few years back I admired the deft way the gardener trained  the pink flowered  Rosa ‘William Baffin,’ and  Clematis ‘‘Henryi, with large striking white flowers,  to grow up the same arbor.  The effect was charming.  Next to the same arbor she added the diminutive shrub rose Rosa ‘Marie Pavie.’

David McMullin of Very Good Plants www.verygoodplants.com is offering a limited number of  heirloom roses this spring including  R. ‘Altissimo’ a climbing Floribunda with single red flowers;   R. ‘Climbing Cecile Brunner,’ a fast growing large climber with blush pink blooms;  Rosa chinensis  ‘Mutabilis,’ the Butterfly Rose, a carefree shrub offering flowers of yellow, pink, orange and red;  and R. ‘Old Blush,’ also a  shrub type, which grows to about 5′ tall with small medium pink flowers over a long period.  Happy companions for all of these roses include Siberian Iris, hardy geraniums and herbs like rosemary and golden creeping thyme. 

As a group, Knockout roses continue to be a popular choice for the landscape as shrubs, hedges, screening or  part of the mixed border, not only for their nonstop flowers but for their resistance to pest and disease problems.  A few of the popular selections include red, double red, pink, double pink and most recently a yellow with fragrant flowers called Sunny Knockout, with flowers that open bright yellow and fade to a cream yellow. 

Rosa ‘Home Run’ is one of the offspring of the Red Knockout rose with single poinsettia-red flowers.   It grows 4′ tall and wide and is a good candidate for the garden or a container. 

Erica’s Pick

Altissimo Rose

Botanical name: Rosa ‘Altissimo’

About the plant:  Altissimo is a climbing Floribunda rose with single rich red flowers that are mostly single.  A repeat bloomer it is also disease resistant and  grows 8 to 10′ tall by 5 to 6′ wide. 

Use in the garden:  Train it to grow up a fence, wall or arbor.   Combine it with perennials and cool season annuals like snapdragons. 

Planting and care:  Plant this rose in full sun. Water and fertilize it on a regular basis for the best results.

Sources: Very Good Plants, 7011 South Goddard Rd., Lithonia, GA 30338  Open Saturdays through June, 9am-1pm.  Visit www.verygoodplants.com for directions. 

Roses Unlimited, 363 N. Deerwood Dr., Laurens, SC 29360,864-682-7673 www.rosesunlimitedownroot.com

For Knockout Roses, Ashe-Simpson Garden Center, Habersham Gardens, Land Arts Nursery and Scottsdale Farms.

While it is ideal to have a plan for your entire landscape,  you may want to start by redoing one section at a time.  This fall pick an area of your garden that you want to renovate.  Start by selecting plants that offer blooms, berries or colorful foliage in autumn.  Then you can expand your palette to include those that offer interest during winter, spring and summer.  For a woodland garden that gets morning sun  but is protected from the hottest sun of the day, here are some suggested combinations.

Camellia sasanqua -Select one of the numerous cultivars with red, pink or white flowers.  This camellia blooms anywhere  from September until December.  The rest of the year it provides an elegant evergreen backdrop.

Hamemalis x intermedia ‘Jelena’    Witchhazel-The leaves turn orange-red in autumn;

in late winter to early spring it produces flowers that are red at the base, orange in the middle and yellow at the tips.

Hydrangea quercifolia Oakleaf Hydrangea-The  leaves take on shades of bronze, crimson and yellow in fall.  In late spring it produces masses of  white flowers.

Magnolia macrophylla Bigleaf Magnolia- This tree which  grows 30 to 40′ tall has a tropical feel.  The giant  leaves, 12 to 32 ” long, green on top with silver undersides, add to its exotic appeal.    In the autumn they turn muted yellow. The white fragrant flowers 8 to 10″ across or larger perfume the air in June.  This magnolia provides a perfect living umbrella for the camellia, the  witchhazel and the oakleaf  hydrangea.

Perennials and ferns for the edge of the woodland

Anemone x hybrida ‘Prinz Heinrich’-This anemone has stunning rosy red semi-double flowers on 18 to 24″ stems.  Plant it in front of the shrubs.
Aster carolinianus – Called the climbing aster,  it needs a wall or a stump to grow up and over.  Masses of pink to lavendar daisies with yellow centers  appear in October and last  for several weeks. This aggressive aster can be cut down to the ground in spring.

Dryopteris erythrosora-Autumn fern is an evergreen fern that starts out with new fronds that are tinged red, pink and yellow, then they turn green in the summer and rusty brown in the fall.  Plant this as a groundcover under shrubs. Treat it as a carpet for the woodland.

For a hot sunny spot- Plant a mix of shrubs and perennials

Amsonia hubrectii-This arkansas blue star looks like a golden willow in autumn.

In spring it has blue flowers.

Aster laevis ‘Bluebird’- With lavendar-blue flowers and a yellow eye, it makes a good companion for the blue star.

Osmanthus heterophyllus- This holly osmanthus pumps out tiny white fragrant flowers from autumn until frost.  Plant this evergreen as a backdrop for Hypericum,

the perennials and the ornamental grass.

Hypericum ‘Sunny’ – This large arching shrub has green leaves until late in the fall

when they turn brilliant red-orange.

Panicum virgatum ‘Shenandoah’- This ornamental switchgrass turns shades of deep red in the fall.

These combinations can be added to or altered to suit your tastes and garden but both offer blooms, berries and texture for the fall garden. Using a mixture of evergreen and deciduous plants will result in a dynamic landscape.  Having a canopy, a middle layer and a carpet will help tie all the components together.

Climbers

One that I added last spring is  Rosa ‘Zephirine Drouhin’.  This old-fashioned climber dates to 1868 and is still popular today.  The semi-double deep rose flowers are very fragrant and the thornless canes are easy to deal with if you train this rose up an arbor, trellis or column.  The flowers peak in the spring and the fall and the canes will easily reach 15 to 20’ high.    Another climber I have grown that is vigorous and disease resistant is Rosa ‘New Dawn.’  The pale pink fragrant flowers cover the plant in spring and then continue on and off through the summer, with another flush in the fall.   The glossy green foliage looks good all summer.  One word of caution this rose has lots of thorns so site it in a spot where you won’t be bothered.  Since it produces more flowers on old wood, keep pruning to a minimum.

One of the first  climbers to flower  is the species rose Yellow Lady Banks, Rosa banksiae ‘Lutea.’  This nearly thornless evergreen rose was introduced from China to Europe in 1824.  Popular in many established southern gardens this beauty blooms once in the spring  producing masses of double yellow blooms that last for up to four weeks.

Don’t be fooled by the delicate looking narrow foliage, this plant quickly develops into a large specimen with a beautiful trunk (orange and brown bark) that requires a substantial structure to support it.  This rose also blooms on older wood, 2nd and 3rd year so prune out dead canes and keep other pruning to a minimum.    The canes  grow 15 to 20’ long or longer.   For some reason deer don’t seem to bother this rose so it makes a perfect candidate for a natural garden.  Another selling point is that once it is established it will tolerate periods of drought.    There is also a white form ‘Alba’ with fragrant flowers but it is not as vigorous as the yellow form.

Shrubs

It’s always rewarding when plants live up to their reputations.  This is the case with the Knockout roses, Rosa ‘Radrazz.’   Although I don’t grow any (space limitations) this carefree plant has vivid  cherry-scarlet flowers  beginning  in spring and continuing  late into fall.  This is a rose you don’t have to dead-head or worry about spraying.  It makes a great hedge, specimen or foundation plant easily growing 4’ tall and wide.  The clean foliage and disease resistance are other reasons this rose appeals.  If you want a more subtle color Pink Knockout is also a good  performer.

A shrub that I do grow is Rosa ‘Perle d’ Or.’  As far as putting on a show it doesn’t compare to the Knockout roses but the delicate intensely  fragrant flowers which start out apricot in but and open to pale pink are a delight.  The apple green foliage looks good most of the summer and this rose blooms heavily in spring and then sporadically in summer with another flush in fall.   It is also a manageable size growing 3 to 4’ high and wide.  I limit pruning to removing dead wood or shortening the occasional long shoot.

This old-fashioned rose has been designated an Earth Kind rose which means it has gone through rigorous testing by horticulturists at Texas A&M University.  The roses that receive this honor require a minimum of care,  adapt to a wide range of conditions and are good performers in the landscape. Rosa mutabilis, called the Butterfly rose is another to receive this designation.

A rose that I look forward to growing and one that  is at the top of Pat Henry’s list (of Roses Unlimited)  is a bourbon called Rosa ‘Mystic Beauty’ with very fragrant pinkmulti-petaled flowers, vigorous growth and continual bloom from May to December.

Sounds great, I’ll let you know how it performs for me.

For information on rose culture visit www.antiqueroseemporium.com or www.rosesunlimitedownroot.com

Erica’s pick

Zephirine Drouhin rose

Botanical name: Rosa ‘Zephirine Drouhin’

About the plant: This old-fashioned climber is a bourbon rose with fragrant semi-double, deep rose flowers.  It is both vigorous and thornless and blooms heavily in the spring and then lightly in the fall.

Use in the garden:  Train this rose up an arbor, fence or column in the perennial garden.

Planting and Care: Full sun is ideal, a minimum of 4 to 6 hours and a well drained soil that is rich in organic matter.

Source: Roses Unlimited, 363 N. Deerwood, Laurens, SC 29360
864-682-7673