I got Mutabilis. And it has done exactly what I wanted - it completely fills up this corner.
Actually, it's outgrown it's allotted space!
I want to eventually limb up Mutabilis like a tree. I think I'll get that, too, in a few years.
 |
| Mutabilis |
I saw a Mutabilis limbed up like a tree years ago on a trip. It was unforgettable. I had my husband stop the car and back up just to get a closer look. I wish I would have had my camera. That tree has been in my imagination all these years. One day I'll have a Mutabilis tree of my own. I can hardly wait!
 |
| Mutabilis in April, 2010 |
I'm already planning what to plant under the shade of the mutabilis tree. Doesn't that just sound melodic, romantic, and exciting?
 |
| Mutabilis now |
Wow! Thats a beautiful rose Holley and although I'm having a wee bit difficulty in imagining it looking like a tree - I kind of get the idea by looking at the bottom picture and seeing the space around the base. I hope it doesn't take too long
ReplyDeleteI think in another year or two, it will look just like a tree - albeit a small tree. Maybe my photo didn't do it justice. It was hard for me to get it in the photo right. But right now, it's about 10 ft tall - about as large as a small tree, I just need to do a little more limbing! (I'm actually chicken when it comes to that!)
DeleteI think this would look smashing as a tree! I love it's contained wildness. I shall continue to live through your lovely roses posts as my Northern garden has now succumbed to the frosts! :D
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear that, Sarah. I always dread the first freeze of the year. Almost as much as I dread the first 100 degree day in summer! :O
DeleteYou made a good choice. Obviously that rose loves your yard! I don't normally like standard roses, but
ReplyDeleteI can picture that one trained as a tree, and I think it will be beautiful. I will be looking forward to seeing photos of its progress!
I think in another year or two, it will be just as I imagine it. It has been remarkable how fast it has grown! I knew it would get big, but it's always surprising to see how fast some plants can grow!
DeleteA Lovely rose ! Trying to visualise it as a tree but I am a bit rubbish and my visualisation looks a bit like a standard rose.I'm sure yours will be much more spectacular than that !
ReplyDeleteLimbing it up into a tree was the only way I could get this rose to stay within the bounds of this bed! I got worried when it outgrew its space, and since I'm not one to prune hard (and I couldn't reach that high anyway), I thought this might be the best solution. In the end, I think I'm going to really like it.
DeleteI love this rose, but lost it in our drought. Yours is fantastic and will definitely make a lovely tree.
ReplyDeleteHappy Autumn ~ FlowerLady
So sorry to hear yours died during the drought. I always worry about mine in the winter. I've heard they don't like to freeze, so I'm always concerned that one day it'll have some permanent damage done to it.
DeleteWow, what a generous rose and how good to shape it into tree form in future. I have a statue of Mary standing under my large pink floribunda rose tree/shrub. Mary is associated closely with roses.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I should put some kind of statue under this rose! That's a great idea, Terra!
DeleteSo beautiful! I didn't realize it was evergreen. I might have a place where it can get tall and treelike.
ReplyDeleteI've always thought that having a Mutabilis hedge would be beautiful, too. And it would grow fast!
DeleteIt is already lovely cascading over the fence, but I am sure it will be gorgeous limbed up into a tree.
ReplyDeleteI am hoping that by limbing it up, I can control the width of it on the ground. I can't get walk by it on the sidewalk now, and hopefully, limbed up I'll be able to walk underneath it!
DeleteHmm. Could I do that to my knock out rose? I think it's called pleaching - when you limb up a bush to make it a tree.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that a Knock Out would get quite that large, but if you wanted the look more of a rose standard, I think you could do that very easily. Thanks, Marcia, I didn't realize that's what pleaching was - even though I've heard the term used a lot!
DeleteI was thinking of moving my Mutabilis. This cinches it! I'm sure I won't let mine get that big but it has grown to a 4x4 shrub already since I planted it as a 2-gallon this spring.
ReplyDeleteAnd spring isn't suppose to be the best time to plant stuff in Texas, but Mutabilis doesn't know that!
I've seen photos of a Mutabilis rose that was 20 ft wide! Of course, it had suckered, but still, if your rose doesn't have enough room to grow, I would move it now! I have heard that you can keep this rose pruned to 3 x 3, but I can't imagine how - it would have to be pruned weekly!
DeleteWow, I think ‘Mutabilis’ belongs in the category of what I call ‘monster plants’ !! But what a lovely rose, I don’t mind monsters in my garden as long as they can be tamed to some extent (after all, I did allow a passionflower into mine!), are you going to tie it up in any way or just prune it into shape?
ReplyDeleteI agree - it's a monster plant! I don't think I'm going to have to tie it up. It doesn't have just one main trunk, it has several, so it will be multi-stemmed. I'm hoping it won't be too top heavy in the wind!
DeleteI have never seen mutabilis ~ the before and and now photos are amazing. That would make such a lovely screening plant, especially since it is an evergreen. It is beautiful.
ReplyDeleteIt would make an excellent screening plant, as long as you have the room to spare. If I ever needed a hedge, this is what I would use!
DeleteOkay, now I am waiting excitedly to see that big rose trimmed up. I want to see what a large rose grown as a looks like!
ReplyDeleteI think in a few years, it will be magnificent! I just hope I can do a good limbing-up job!
DeleteIt fills your space quite perfectly. And I love the iron fence.
ReplyDeleteIt has actually outgrown the space, and I hate to keep pruning it back. I hope this solution works out for both of us!
DeleteYou have make beautiful photos!
ReplyDeleteGreetings, RW & SK
Thank you very much! :)
DeleteQuite a vigorous well performing rose Holley! Looking forward to seeing what you'll be planting underneath it, I'm sure it will be a fine complemental choice :)
ReplyDeleteA new place to plant! Just what we gardeners love to have! :)
DeleteI've seen some roses as standards but usually in pots. I love the idea of a tree rose. Many of my shrubs could benefit from limbing up but like you I'm kind of chicken when it comes to chopping off branches. So they all have that slightly unkempt look.
ReplyDelete"slightly unkempt" - yes, a lot of my roses look like that, too! :O)
DeleteLimbing up is certainly easier and prettier than trying to contain a vigorous rose in bounds and low. I need to give Carefree Delight a few more whacks before spring. Always wanted a Mutabilis.
ReplyDeleteYes, it has already started suckering, and I'm afraid it would eventually just take over uncontrollably!
DeleteBeautiful rose, Holley - people even try it here, although we can go down to -15. A friend in Basel just keeps replanting when it dies on her (as it did last winter). I'm wondering about taking a gamble as well!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if it would come back from the roots. Or maybe you could put one in a (large) pot and drag it into the garage during winter? Of course, if you don't mind treating it like an annual, it really is a pretty little rose.
DeleteThis rose needs a pole to grow up....it is not going to stand tall on its own. If you are in Dallas you can see one - an old one - think big - at Redenta's nursery The Dallas location is at 2001 Skillman which is at the corner of Oram. The shop is on the lower section of Skillman just before it turns into Live Oak.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info! I didn't realize it would need a pole. I'll have to go look at the one there.
DeleteThat's a lovely rose - I'll look forward to seeing your rose tree in due course! I love that you are already daydreaming about how to plant around it...
ReplyDeleteThe best part of gardening sometimes is the daydreaming! :)
DeleteSuch a beautiful tree!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Donna. I'm going to limb it up a little bit more (hopefully it won't fall down) and I think it will be very striking, and unusual.
Delete