Climbing Roses – The Explorer Series
William Baffin Climbing Rose
The Explorer Series of roses are a good choice, especially for those of us in cold climates. Developed at Canada’s Agricultural Research Stations, these hardy modern climbing roses are very winter hardy and disease resistant. They have a heavy bloom time in early summer followed by scattered blooms through the season. They don’t need much fuss or winter protection – very easy care.
My favorite Explorer Series climbing roses:
1.) Rosa ‘William Baffin’ - This is one of the hardiest climbing roses you will ever find! It bears semi-double, deep pink flowers in abundance in late June, with recurrent bloom well into fall. This gorgeous climber is also exceptionally vigorous and disease resistant. I’ve grown this charmer for over 15 years now and it looks better each and every year. Grows 8 – 10 ft. tall.
2.) Rosa ‘John Davis’ - This climbing rose features clusters of loosely double blooms of medium pink with yellow stamens. A wonderful spicy fragrance and thornless canes are some of the outstanding characteristics of this strong climber. Very winter hardy. Grows 6 – 8 ft. tall.
3.) Rosa ‘Quadra’ - This Explorer Series rose is classified as a shrub rose or climbing rose since it is easily trained to climb due to its spreading habit. The large full blooms have curled inner petals that are shorter like an heirloom rose. The rich deep red blooms mature to lighter red. Quadra’s cut flowers are wonderful with a good fragrance. Grows to about 6 ft.
Quadra Rose
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Pruning Your Roses
Pruning roses can be very confusing. The class of rose and the time of year it blooms influence the type and amount of pruning. General pruning principles apply to all roses, but there are differences between classes. The closer one gets to species roses the less severe the pruning. Hybrid teas have the distinction of requiring the most severe pruning for optimum bloom and plant health.
Pruning roses is primarily done to remove dead, damaged, or diseased wood; increase air circulation; keep the shrub from becoming a tangled mess; shape the plant; and encourage the growth of flowering wood.
The majority of pruning is done in the spring – I’ve found that to be the most successful. Many rose growers suggest waiting until the forsythias start to bloom as a good signal for the pruning season to begin.
The goal of spring pruning is to produce an open centered plant. This allows air and light to penetrate more easily. This routine maintenance helps prevent rose diseases and results in healthier, stronger plants. It’s definitely worth the effort!
Basic pruning fundamentals that apply to all roses include: (I’ll go into more detail on pruning various types of roses in upcoming posts)
- Use clean, sharp pruners.
- Cut at a 45-degree angle about 1/4 inch above outward-facing bud. The cut should slant away from the bud.
- Entirely remove all dead or dying canes. These can be identified as canes/branches that are shriveled, dark brown, or black in color.
- After making cuts, it is suggested to seal the ends of the cuts to prevent the entry of cane borers. White glue works well.
- Remove all thin, weak canes that are smaller than a pencil in diameter.
- If roses are grafted and there is sucker growth, remove it. The best way is to dig down to the root where the sucker is originating and tear it off where it emerges.
Top Five Roses For Beginners
Carefree Sunshine
Here are my recommended “Top Five Roses for Beginners”:
1. ‘Knock Out’ Roses - These hardy and prolific shrub roses are show-stoppers all season long. They now come in seven different colors ranging from red-pinks to coral-yellows. Developed to withstand the hot, humid summers and cold, blustery winters of the Midwest. The best-selling roses of all time.
2. ‘Flower Carpet’ Roses - Compact and ever-blooming this series was started in Germany in the 1990′s. These are considered groundcover roses and are very popular with landscapers due to their easy to maintain attributes. Available in many different color variations.
3. ‘Carefree’ Roses - These beloved shrub roses are very disease resistant. They grow 3 – 5 ft. high and are easy to please. I have ‘Carefree Beauty’ (rosy pink) and ‘Carefree Sunshine’ (sunny yellow) thriving in my rose garden.
4. Rugosa Shrub Roses - Known for their extreme hardiness, their alluring spicy scent and attractive foliage. They are grown on their own roots and do not need winter protection. One of my favorites is ‘Blanc Double de Coubert’ with her pure white blooms that absolutely glow. Elegant and easy to grow!
5. ‘Oso Easy’ Shrub Roses - These gorgeous charmers are new to the landscape rose scene. They are tested to be very resistant to black spot and powdery mildew – the most common rose diseases. They are also self-cleaning and ever-blooming. Winning rave reviews! I just purchased ‘Oso Easy Peachy Cream’. I love some of the other names too: ‘Cherry Pie’, ‘Honey Bun’, & ‘Strawberry Crush’ among them. I’m getting hungry just typing them! ; )
