GARDENING : GARDEN NEWS : Climbing ‘Iceberg’ Rose

‘Iceberg’ is a floribunda rose with snow-white flowers and lots of them. It blooms nearly all the time, loves the Southern California climate, and is a favorite of landscape designers, who often use it mixed with perennial or annual flowers.

Now, a climbing ‘Iceberg’ is available from Roger’s Gardens, 2301 San Joaquin Hills Road, Corona del Mar, (714) 640-5800. They found it in England and went to a great deal of trouble to import a hundred or so plants, plus enough to keep their own landscape designers well supplied.

A recent issue of “The Pasadena Rose,” the publication of the Pasadena Rose Society has some interesting tips on training climbing roses in general, the most important being that climbing roses bloom best when horizontal, not vertical.

Flowering side shoots appear mostly along horizontal whips (the extra long canes that make a rose a climbing kind) and only on whips that are at least a year old, so be sure you don’t prune these, only small side shoots. Another good tip: If you want a climber to flower on a post or pole, spiral the whips around the post so they are more horizontal.