A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2007 trying to choose short red climbing rose

I"m planning to add a red climbing rose to my front yard, and I"m trying to decide which one. If possible, I need one that stays relatively short, because it will be against a fence that"s only 6 feet tall. I"m considering Dublin Bay, Cadenza, Courageous, and Dizzy Heights. I"m not sure what to expect with regard to height for these, because some sources say they"re shorter and some say they"re taller. My criteria (besides the short height) are disease resistance, continual or frequently recurring bloom, and continued blooming during hot weather (as I live in zone 9, with hot dry summers). I prefer a red that"s neither very orangey nor very blueish (as in deep pink), but in between. Can anyone tell me, from your own experience, how well any of these 4 roses fit my criteria? Or, do you have any other suggestions? Thanks.

i can't comment on those varieties or how they'll do in your zone (i'm in 6b).

i can say that you can trim back if it's getting too high, tho.

i don't know where you got the info about growth for those varieties...things like type of soil, plant location, amount of sun and amount of water all affect how they grow. so, you might have results that match one or the other review OR you might get something in between...

Thanks for your reply. I'm concerned about getting one that needs to be cut shorter to keep it in bounds, because I read that some climbing roses do most of their flowering at the top, so I'm afraid I'd be cutting off most of the flowers. (Although I hope to find a variety that flowers up and down the whole plant.) I check the "HelpMeFind.com/rose" website for information on roses I'm interested in, and I've only seen them say "can be pruned to a shorter height" about one climbing rose. So I wonder if that means it's usually not a good idea. Do people often prune their climbing roses shorter?

here are some sites that will be helpful: berkeley horticultural nursery

climbing roses

if you end up choosing a rose that doesn't rebloom, you can mix in a later-blooming clematis...then you'll have more continuous color. or you could put in some other type of annual flowering vine - which you could change each year to keep things different.