Re: roses for hot and dry climate
- Subject: Re: roses for hot and dry climate
- From: C* G* <c*@modulonet.fr>
- Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2007 09:26:37 +0100
Moira,
I'm not at all qualified about roses, because when I started
gardening, 25 years ago, I did not like roses because my father was
only growing modern roses and I had no idea about the huge amount of
varieties existing. Then I discovered the old roses as Old Blush,
Cuisse de nymphe émue, Félicité Perpetue, Gloire de Dijon, New Dawn,
Mermaid and so on... and it was a great discovery for me.
I planted a lot in my first garden close to Paris and had a lot of
pleasure with them. But now that I moved to the south of France where
the climate and the soil are so different, I must adapt myself and
try to find some others varieties for the hot and dry summer ( 35 °C
sometimes and no rain during 4 months is an usual season). And during
winter it can freeze down -8°C.
So I read that Nabonnand was an hybridizer from late 19th century
who worked in the Lyon area which was very famous for rose
hybridizing and moved to the french Riviera because he used to work
for the very rich people and the jet society which built palaces in
the very fashion spots on the mediterranean coast. This was before
the first world war. And you can notice that the names are always
very famous people or high society ladies.
Do you think tea roses are best suited for warm climate ?
At the present time, I'm growing 2 banksias, white and yellow, New
Dawn, chinensis sanguinea, Iceberg, Ville de Roeulx, pimpinellifolia
and I try to keep Phyllis Bide, rugosa and Pink Grootendorst in good
form, but I suppose they don't like too much heat or chalky soil.
I'm just planning to plant climbers on a pergola and had choosen :
Aloha, Guinée, La France Climbing, Mermaid, Mme Bérard, Paul Lédé,
Sénateur Amic, Rêve d'Or, Alister Stella Gray and Princesse de
Nassau. I hope they will thrive.It was so difficult to choose because
I wanted the perfume, repeat flowering and resistance to mildew.
Chantal
Montpellier, France
Chantel
I was very interested to see how many tea roses were in your list
of varieties for a warm climate. The locality where I live has
mild winters but also cool summers, rarely rising much beyond 25°C
even in the warmest weather.
I once tried a tea rose climber (I can't remember now which
variety) and though we had a good sunny year I scarcely ever saw a
bloom open properly. They almost all balled . I kept on trying to
get decent flowers for two more years with no better luck and then
read somewhere how teas need really warm conditions to open
properly so I gave up the struggle and gave away the rose to
someone who lived out on the west coast where the climate is
warmer both summer and winter. I gather that the move made all the
difference and I regretfully decide tea roses were not for me.
I have however grown New Dawn successfully for many years, but
though the flowers are very pretty I do not much .like its horrible
thornyness !
Moira
Tony & Moira Ryan, Wainuiomata New Zealand
Climate ( US Zone 9). Annual averages:-
Minimum -2°C; Maximum 28°C Rainfall 2000mm
