"The stems can reach to 8 ft (2.5 m), so the plant can be grown as a climber or a pillar rose. Subject to a little mildew. Hardy to -17°F (-27°C), in Zone 5."
Citation: Best rose guide: a comprehensive selection / Roger Phillips and Martyn Rix -- 1st ed. pg. 129
My plant isn't large but what there is seems easy to train, the new growth is very pliable... the whole plant seems to be... mine is against trellis and I can see it won't be a problem at all..
From Country Life magazine, November 19, 1981. "A Rose Prophesy Fulfilled"' by Humphrey Brooke. An article about hybrid-perpetuals. When I have time I will write out the whole article in the publications section.
What I regard as my most important HP recovery (via Peter Beales) is the dark red, climbing rose against the wall of Woolverstone Church in Suffolk. In 1971 the village's oldest inhabitant, then 87, remembered it as a large bush when she first went to church at the age of five. This means it is almost certainally over 100 years old and rules out the only other HP climber, Ards Rover (1898). The Woolverstone rose may well date back to one of several climbing HPs introduced by William Paul in his nursery at Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, in the late 1860s. It has the richest possible scent. There is no example at Sangerhausen, and I have named it Surpassing Beauty of Woolverstone.
A most interesting reference, Andrew. If the lady was 87 in 1971, my wobbly maths make her born in 1884. She would have been 5 in 1889. And 9 when 'Ards Rover' came out in 1898.
Sometimes elderly people do not recall things exactly. I am 75 and the finer details from my childhood are now very misty, however my husband at 87 can recall these things with some clarity. He says he first went to church when he was "about 4."
It is interesting to see that both 'Ards Rover' and "Surpassing Beauty of Woolverstone" are listed on HelpMeFind as growing at Humphrey Brooke's garden, Lime Kiln. Perhaps Mr. Brooke also thought the lady's memory might not have been correct and that he had better double check by growing 'Ards Rover' himself.
Also of interest that 'Ards Rover' grows at Mottisfont but I can't see it in The Graham Stuart Thomas Rose Book
I found the magazine two days ago in the shed of an old sea captain who is a border-line hoarder. I have almost finished writing the article out and will post in its entirety shortly. I can remember events from my infancy in the early 1970's with great clarity, the '90's however are rather sketchy...
A hardy, dependable rose. Seems to mildew easily. Not as vigorous as most climbers, but a survivor regardless of the weather, winter or summer. Always blooms several times a season. Seems to have a unique, intoxicating fragrance, quite unlike any other rose I have. I have not been able to match it with any other rose fragrance (maybe mine is unique in itself). It is a rose that seems to match its name in "surpassing beauty" even if it is mostly with the first bloom of the season. Even with its tendency to mildew, how can you not keep a such a romantic rose with its special history and that very special, haunting, seemingly unique fragrance.
My plant doesn't mildew here in No. California. The fragrance is very, very lovely - a strong red rose scent, deep and velvety. This is not a tall climber, but it likes room to spread. Mine is surrounded by Sombreuil and a clematis called "Dr. Ruppel". Magical!
