When I picked up gardening again a few years ago, I wasn’t surprised to see that many of the Wichurana ramblers had survived in the garden even after a decade of abandonment. The Wichuranas, bred by the Barbier Company in France, generally have extraordinary vigor and supreme disease resistance. Because they also have tea rose heritage, however, some are marginally hardy, and I expect that is the main reason for the number of Wichurana roses that I lost, including the lovely house-eating rambler, ‘Francois Juranville.’
This plant of ‘Alberic Barbier’ was actually a layer (rooted stem) from my original plant, which grew out of control and toppled the cheap pillar on which it was trained. There is now a thicket of layers where the original plant stood that I’m dreading to clean up.
In just two years, this baby plant has completely covered the 6 foot pillar on which it is growing, and I think it’s going to put on an excellent show this summer.