Question
Hi Long Island Gardener,
I would like to plant some roses on the side of my garage where the sun shines bright!  I have been trying to research different types of roses and what might work best for me but there are so many differet varieties to choose from that I decided I would make a "wish list" and see if I could find a rose that encompassed most of my "wishes".  I would love for your opinion as to what rose or roses would be best. I realize that there is probably no rose out there that covers everything but I would be grateful for whatever advise you can give me.  My first wish is for a highly fragrant rose, 2nd would be a climbing or creeping rose, I am also looking for something that would be minimal upkeep other than light pruning and occasionally spraying for bugs/mold, etc., I live in Virginia which I believe is zone 7, so a rose that wouldn't require a winter prep would be great, my last wish would be cluster blooms.
As a little back ground into my wish list, several years ago we lived in a neighborhood that had a lot of old homes, most built in the 50's.  I say this because there was no homeowners association so some of the homes were run down and not very well taken care of.  Anyway, there was one home in particular that had an old rusted shed in the back and every year the most beautiful roses would grow up the side.  As far as I could tell, the homeowners never did anything to take care of the roses - never pruned or "winterized" and yet every spring and summer those roses flourished.  This particular bush is where I get most of my "wishes" from.  The roses grew up the side of the shed with no visible arbor or twine to hold them up.  As they got taller and too heavy to stand up straight, they would arch over and literally hang from the weight of the clusters.  If I had to guess at the height of the tallest branch, I would guess approx. 8-9 feet.  The roses were a deep fuschia color and seemed to have lots of petals.  I never got close enough to smell them, so I don't know how fragrant they were.  They seemed to bloom throughout spring and summer.  My husband said he thought they bloomed about 3 times a year.  Anyway, I think these type of roses would be perfect for me mostly because of the easy upkeep.  Sorry this email is so long.  Do you have any suggestions for me?
Thanks so much for your time.
Lisa

Answer
Just a warning here, Lisa: Roses are RARELY low-maintenance.  Still, there is no other word to describe the blithely blooming abandoned Climber you noticed.

No spraying, no pruning, no fertilizing.  Yet this Rose bloomed on and on for years.

I remember when Sally Quinn described her discovery of abandoned climbing Roses -- Ramblers -- at Grey Gardens, East Hampton, in an interview published the spring after she and her husband purchased it from 'Little Edie' Beale.  Some Roses have nerves of steel.  Not many, but some.  You want that short list.

There would be few.  They would not be Hybrid Teas or Floribundas.

With regard to the speciment that 'grew up the side of the shed', you should understand that Climbing Roses -- also referred to as 'Ramblers' -- do not really do any 'climbing' 30 feet up, sprawling over trellises, pergolas, walls and trees.  But their long, arching canes reach out and effectively attach themselves to supports.  Especially if grown horizontally, these produce flushes of blooms frequently all summer long.

Own-root Roses grown by 19th-century gardeners, long before the word 'Fungicide' was invented, valued Roses most of all for their Fragrance.  Those days are over, mostly.  So although Rose research has led to THOUSANDS of newer, 'improved' Roses, the ones you want will be the kinds your Grandmother could have grown.

There are lots of Rambler/Climbing Roses that qualify as 'Old Roses' or 'Antique Roses', bred before the discovery of the disease-prone, demanding Hybrid Tea.  Look for 'Bourbon', 'Centifolia', 'Damask', 'Gallica' and 'Alba' Roses.  A short list of possibilities:

1.  'HARRISON'S YELLOW' is famous as 'The Yellow Rose of Texas'.  It blooms just once each the summer and it's not fragrant.  But it is so tough and persistent I had to mention it.  Plus, yellow is not a common Color in Roses with the traits you want.

2.  'BARNSLEY PURPLE' is a richly colored Gallica Rose saved from a garden planted the Civil War.  It gets 6 ft tall and is moderately disease resistant.  And gorgeous.

3.  'BARON PREVOST' is a Hybrid Perpetual from 1842.  The small pink flowers bloom in clusters and are known for STRONG fragrance.  Individual State associations of the American Rose Society list this among the top ten Roses of all times.

4.  'BELLE D'CRECY' is an 1848 Gallica linked to Madame Pompador, who lived in the village of D'Crecy.  It is a Pink rose with many shades.

5.  'BLANC DOUBLE DE CORBERT' is a Rugosa from 1892.  This Rose is TOUGH; it is often planted at seaside homes because of its tolerance for salt and sand.  It is white, very fragrant, tolerates shade, reblooms, and has semi-double flowers.  Some Rosarians consider it THE best white money can buy.

6.  'BULLATA' is a large 1801 Centifolia rose from the 1500s with the look of the Cabbage Rose and tons of fragrant blooms.  This is the Rose the Rembrandt and his friends painted in their still lifes.

7.  'CAMAIEUX', an 1830 Gallica with stripes, is a small shrub, growing a maximum of 3 to 4 feet.  Flowers are double, petals are pale Pink with red strips.

8.  'CECILE BRUNNER', an 1894 Polyantha, comes as a shrub or as a climbing version.  This flower is known as the 'sweetheart rose' or the 'button hole rose'.  It can climb 20 feet a season.  The small blooms are about l 1/2 to 2 inches.

9.  'CELINE FORESTIER' is colored a 'creamy pale yellow with peach tones in the centre', according to Graham Thomas.  Ceilne Forestier is a vigorous, fragrant 1842 Climbing Noisette that grows up to 20 feet.

10.  'CENTIFOLIA' is one of the oldest Roses.  Called the 'Cabbage' Rose, it was painted by Dutch masters.  'Flowers are large, round, old-rose pink, and blossoms are one of the most fragrant.'

11.  'ROSE DE RECHT', an 1840 Portland rose, is a famous 2 ft x 2 ft shrub with cluster blooms. It is fragrant and vigorous.

I want to go on, but we don't have much space left here.  'CHAPEAU d'NAPOLEON' is ONE OF THE MOST FRAGRANT Moss roses.  'CHARLES DE MILLS' is 1790 Gallica, very fragrant, and very disease resistant with 200 or more petals on a bloom.  'FATIN-LATOUR' is a Centifolia with pink blooms. 'FRAU KARL DRUSCHKI' is a Hybrid Perpetual.  'LADY BANKS ROSE' is a Yellow Rose from 1825, also known as the yellow banksia. 'LOUISE ODIER', 1851 Bourbon rose, has pink camellia-like flowers and has a wonderful fragrance.  MME HARDY is a 1832 Damask, named for curator's wife at Luxembourg Garden in France and often considered one of the most beautiful Old Roses ever grown and the best white hybrid available.  MADAM ISAAC PEREIRE (1880 Bourbon) is called 'the most Fragrant Rose'. It has magenta flowers with a green eye that repeat blooms 6 to 8 weeks. It is thorny.

You can find many of these on the internet at Antique Rose Emporium, the Uncommon Rose, Almost Heaven Roses and other Old Rose specialists.  Better still, look over their catalogs on the internet and pick out the ones YOU like.  Remember, these are going to need some attention the first few years.  Pleased to meet you, Lisa.