Growing roses on arches

From Gardening Wiki

How to Grow Roses on an Arch

A pleasing way of growing the many beautiful forms of climbing roses or rambling roses in large or small gardens is on arches of wire, iron, or rustic wood. Wire arches are popular in small gardens, mainly because they are less costly than wood and less difficult to procure. We, however, cannot so strongly recommend them for general use, because of the fact that they become very hot in summer and exces- sively cold in winter, these variations of temperature not suiting the growth of roses so well as in the case of wooden ones, which are unaffected by changes of heat and cold.

The 4 most interesting photos from Flickr for the tag 'climbing roses'

There is no doubt that the ideal arch for growing roses, as well as for its artistic and picturesque appearance in the garden, is that constructed of bamboo, or of peeled oak, larch, or chestnut wood. The growth of the plants takes kindly to them, and they are certainly more in harmony with the surroundings of the garden than are the formal, rigid arches of wire or iron. Arches of wood and bamboo are sold by all rustic furniture makers; but anyone having access to suitable wood, and the needful leisure, may easily construct one for themselves.

Arches are appropriate features in the garden when fixed at the junction of paths, or at points leading from one portion of a garden to another. The portions that are to be fixed in the soil should be first treated, with a preservative, such as carbolineum, to a distance of quite a foot above the ground level. It is just at the ground level, in fact, that decay sets in, the point where the air and moisture alternately acts upon the wood.

As a rule, one rose is sufficient on each side of the arch. Where arches are 2ft. or more in width then plant two roses on each side. Sometimes it may happen that one side of an arch may get more sun than another. In that case plant sorts that will do with less sun, such as Bennett's Seedling,

Felicite et Perpetue, Ards Rover, Bouquet d'Or, Zephirin Drouhin, or W. A. Richardson, and place on the sunny side varieties like Dorothy perkins, American pillar, Crimson rambler, Blush rambler, Climbing aimee vibert, Paul's Carmine Pillar, and Conrad F. Meyer.

In this way a successful growth and a brilliant display of flowers may be more readily assured, thus adding materially to the general at- tractiveness of the garden. In the event of wire or iron arches being used, give them one or two coats of green paint, to act as a preservative and render them less unsightly to the eye. This will also prevent the free acid in the galvanized covering injuring growth.