Red Pierre

My Red Pierre is full of buds now, and the foliage is excellent.
I did find last year that not all the buds managed to open fully, but the ones that did were superb.
I must try to strike a cutting of it.

Abbi, Simon is right, choose roses to suit your climate. Souv de la Malmaison here had all balled blooms last autumn when it was very wet but this spring all blooms opened nicely.
One of my best performing climbers is Lorraine Lee bred by Alister Clark.
Would suggest you have a good look at some of his very healthy carefree roses.
Mrs B R Cant and Crepuscle would be well worth a try down your way as they are very good here as winter bloomers.

thanks for the tips ozeboy.

I have planted crepuscule, and I'm hoping it will cover part of a pergola frame.

Mine has buds to Val, not as many as last year, also got the big chop

From our experience PdR does not grow well in Qld. We tried grafted and own roots. Its great if you want to start a fungi farm as it gets covered in black spot

PdR gets next to no fungi down here and is one of the better ones. Red Pierre was not in the same league and requires a warmer climate than we can give it I think. It is more prone to fungal infections too... a rose for drier, warmer climates maybe. I still do have some cuttings of it somewhere I think and think I will try it own root on one of Gary's tripods... It's stems, like PdR, get canker very easily and need to be well supported. If its canes can wave around and bend in the breeze it develops splits in the canes in which cankers develop. I grow PdR on a fan tightly trussed to try and keep its stems from moving around. It makes so much new growth, especially at this time of year, that I can't keep up with it.

It's enlightening to look at the parentage of Pierre de Ronsard and Red Pierre - these roses are connected only by marketing. The parents of Red Pierre aren't even Meilland roses. No wonder they behave differently.

Yep... not even remotely related to PdR.

Disappointments are everywhere, all you have to do is grow some of the latest PBR HT roses as shown front page on the big nursery catalogues.
No, they never seem to be half as good as claimed. These roses seem to do well when sprayed for fungus and bugs weekly and anti root rot chemicals frequently. I sometimes check these latest releases and while wandering through their rose gardens can't see anything living except the roses.

I have been very impressed with a recent release called 'Firefighter ', however it doesn't like heat and is slow to mature. Every thing else about this rose is exceptional so in an exhibition rose growers garden it could be
a real winner. Haven't seen any hips as yet but will check it out for pollen.