Friday, April 16, 2010

Tough & Hardy: Zephirine Drouhin

Did you ever plant a rose in the "wrong" place?

In 2002, I purchased three bare root rose bushes from Home Depot because they were supposed to grow in "partial shade."  They survived in the corner of my shade garden, but never bloomed. As a last resort, and I figured I had nothing to lose - I transplanted two of them to a sunny spot last year (2009). They both took off, but only a couple of blooms late in the season.  Well.....this year they have exploded. True to their description: they are romantic and fantastically fragrant; an old-fashioned Burbon Rose and one of the most popular climbing roses in Europe.