I'm looking for a fragrant variety of old rose to grow. I would like one with color and hopefully a variety that grows well in Oklahoma.

-- Vickie Allen in OK (ouvickie@hotmail.com), July 02, 2001

Answers

Zephirine Drouhin is an old Bourbon rose climber that is very fragrant; it has deep pink flowers and flowers all summer. It's also thornless. Blanc Double de Coubert is a rugosa rose that forms a large shrub. It has clusters of white, very fragrant flowers all summer and makes huge rose hips if you don't deadhead the flowers in the fall. I got my Zephirine Drouhin from Jung Seeds, but a lot of other catalogs sell it. The rugosa came from Wayside Gardens I think.

-- Katherine (KyKatherine@Yahoo.com), July 02, 2001.

Hi Vickie,

I'm in OK also, but haven't planted any heirlooms yet. There is a nursery in TX that has a huge selection of them and VERY reasonably priced. Go to www.chambleeroses.com. Most of their listings show how much disease resistence. I hear black spot is a problem in OK, but my Joseph's Coat (small climber INCREDIBLE colors) is going gang busters. I have very heavy red clay.

Also, gardenweb.com has a great rose forum.

-- Stacia In Ok (OneClassyCowgirl@aol.com), July 03, 2001.

I grow Seven Sisters, and one that I truly love for it's foliage. It's called Eglantine-Sweet Briar. Shakespear talked about it. The leave (actually tiny hairs on the stems) smell like sweet apples, especially in the humidity here in MO. It has simple (5 petal) blossoms, tons of hips in the fall but the calling card is the fragrance after a rain, in the morning and late evening. I have one by my front door and one by my back.

-- Mary Johnson (sageladyone@yahoo.com), July 03, 2001.

Thanks so much. These all sound great. Since I'm planning a large variety in my yard I hope I can use all of these. I read an article in a magazine about a lady that uses bananas (peels or whole ones if they are to ripe to eat) as a fertalizer for her roses. I've been putting these in my compost to boost the potassium level. Between the compost and the worms I'm hoping to have a healthy garden once I get it established. I really enjoy all the great advice. Thanks again!!

-- Vickie in OK (ouvickie@hotmail.com), July 03, 2001.

Vicki, As kind of a side note. I went to the cemetary and pruned a branch off of a heirloom rose and cut it into 2 inch segments and put it in a pot of soil, watered it with miracle grow and covered it with saran wrap it is budding out, so I assume that it will produce roots on each of the pieces. I havent gotten that far in the experiment yet.

Tami

-- tami in wi (windridg@chorus.net), July 05, 2001.