By David Wall
You all know of the arch at St Louis, Missouri. Have you ever considered such an arch or arbor, albeit, just a teensy bit smaller, for the entrance to your flower or vegetable garden? Well, a simple or fancy plant you can use is the climbing rose, which is actually any rose with extra long canes (stems). The only question is how big of an arbor one has and how many plants it’ll take to fill the arbor.
Depending on your color desires, fullness requirement and type of arch or arbor available, there are five cultivars that will work. There are probably several more, but these five can provide an attractive entrance. First is the Starlet Beauty Pink climbing rose which grows anywhere from 5’–10’ tall. The color is obvious and the fragrance is really top of the line.
The Lillian Gibson contains “barely pink flowers, grows 8’-10’ tall and has an abundance of additional stems. Iceberg rose has double blooms with one being dominant over the other (one full size & one half-size.
Golden gate climbing rose has aromas that are citrus flavored petals that are nearly 4” across. The flowers begin as golden-yellow and mature to creamy yellow. This rose can grow to 8’ tall.
Finally, there’s the Winifred Coulter climbing rose. With its silvery pink blossoms on the outside and crimson on the inside, the full plant looks great with a white trellis, and will grow 12’-15’ tall.
As the roses grow, gently bend them to the shape of the arbor and attach with twine as necessary. Give them good soil, regular watering and six hours or more of sun. When flowers wither, snip them off roughly from 1-4” from the petal base. Snip off any stems that wither and die, which will encourage new growth.
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