When it comes to growing roses, the natural environment of my Hudson Valley home is both a blessing and a curse. The front yard’s southern exposure floods the lawn with sunlight that most roses would normally thrive in. Unfortunately, the front yard is also frequented by deer, whose appetite for roses forces me to grow my plants in the safety of the back yard.
The back yard's fenced-in border of arbor vita is an effective barrier against unwelcome visitors, and provides an evergreen background for colorful blooms. But the trees’ long shadows create a lot of shade. The yard’s limited number of sunlit patches have already been filled to the limit with a combination of floribundas, grandifloras, shrubs and minis; but like many rose lovers, I can’t seem to get enough! There are always one or two (or 19) more plants I’d like to introduce – but where?
As I pondered my dilemma during last fall’s pre-order season, I took notice of the occasional mention of “shade-tolerant” roses in various catalogs, and thought this might be the answer to my own ceaseless appetite for more rose blooms. So I made a project of researching the plants that the growers promote as needing less than six hours of sunlight per day. That’s not to say they can grow in the dark; they still need sunshine to thrive and bloom, but not as much as most other roses.
It turns out that the list I accumulated from various catalogs, garden guides, and databases was longer than expected. It includes 235 roses among 23 classifications. If you're interested in more information about these roses, feel free to email me at repeatbloomer@yahoo.com.
Happy planting!
Mike Stewart
Shade-tolerant roses
Hi, Mike--you might like this site "Woodland Rose Garden"--the owner has tried out a lot of different roses in shade and has a good deal of experience with their growing habits. (I also think the owner, Kent Krugh, is a member of DG).
http://w3.goodnews.net/~kkrugh/
Good luck. t.
Tabasco,
Thanks for the link. What a GREAT website this guy has. I found lots of roses that do well in shade.
For another website on shade tolerant roses, see http://users.bestweb.net/~volumes/Shade.htm
Mike
This message was edited Jan 8, 2005 12:35 PM
For some reason, Dave's Garden automatically abbreviated the above website address, and I can't get Dave's Garden to display what I actually type. So if you want, you can type in "http://" followed by "users.bestweb.net/~volumes/Shade.htm"
Mike
repeat--Loved your WONDERFUL Shady roses research list...especially the spead sheet--so easy to read and use. Thanks for posting it.
What have you decided to plant? There are so many choices!
I just copied your address and pasted it in the tool bar--that worked fine, but here is your link, in case it works from my computer --
http://users.bestweb.net/~volumes/Shade.htm
Thanks again. t.
Tabasco,
Thanks for the feedback. The link works fine, now. Thanks for looking.
From the shade tolerant varieties, I've planted New Dawn, Zephirine Drouhin, English Garden, Golden Celebration, The Prince, Amber Queen, Angel Face, Betty Boop, Blueberry Hill, Joseph’s Coat, Livin’ Easy, Marmalade Skies, Playboy, Bouquet Parfait, Buff Beauty, and Rose de Rescht. I love them all. Only Zephirine Drouhin and Rose de Rescht didn't bloom in their first year, but I planted them late in the season as seedlings, so their first blooms will probably occur this coming spring.
MIke
This message was edited Jan 8, 2005 12:47 PM
repeat,
I planted a Zephrine in a shady spot last year after I heard it would do well in shade. It did SO well in fact that I had to move it b/c it took over my porch-LOL!! This rose's growth rate is just incredible.
berrygirl,
That's good to know. Right now it has soooo many canes sprouting and reaching out in different directions, that I think my plant will turn out to be true to form.
Mike
a whole month later i just read this thread- the information is so useful, thanks to the contributors.....i have to whittle the lists down to a good zone 5- which in rose language seems to be zone 4 unless you want to turn summersaults with the winterizing...felilcite parmentier blooms her head off in a semi shady spot in my yard-ive decided its fine that its over early cause it beats the arrival of japanese beetles...anyway, its great to have a longer list.
Hi all,
This is the first time I have read this thread, I am so glad I found it. Thanks for ALL the great links & information. We have a woodland yard and I did not think that I could grow roses here, but I just might try this year!
Thanks,
Shady