This is the sixth review in what has been named my "rose series".  In the others I've mentioned that I love bright, bi-color roses.  But, even I know that there has to be a common denominator...something that ties them all together.  That is where my Climbing New Dawn comes in.

What the Professionals Say
Light pink flowers repeat on this 10' to 20' tall X 8' wide climbing rose.  The 4 inch blooms have a moderate fragrance and up to 35 petals.  The plant is very disease resistant.  Unlike most roses it will tolerate some shade.  Roses bloom on old wood so only light pruning is necessary.

My Zone 5 Garden Experience
Wow...this thing is a monster!  My past experience with roses showed that they barely made it, if at all, to the lower end of their growth claims.  The first year in the ground my New Dawn had canes over 8 feet tall.  The second year it grew even taller and wider.  It became so big and heavy it collapsed the wooden trellis that was supporting it. 

Now, I haven't mentioned thorns (prickles) in my other reviews because it is common knowledge that they are there (on most varieties) and they hurt if they snag you.  When I saw what I was going to have to go through to get the trellis out of New Dawn I bought leather, elbow length, welder gloves.  If you have seen a very large dog's claw you can imagine what these thorns look like.  On the more mature canes they are about a half to three-quarter inch long, wide at the base, curving into a wicked, little hook.  Even with the welder gloves I gave up.  I had blood coming from my arms, face and rear end (don't ask).  I cut the plant back to about two feet and hauled the canes and trellis away.  With approximately 2 months left in my growing season New Dawn was back over 6' tall when the first frost hit.

I decided to do something different last year.  Okay, so I was afraid to get close to it...anyway...  I let it grow with no support.  It grew about 4' tall before it started curving the canes back towards the ground.  By the end of the season I had a small hill in my yard covered with light pink blooms.  Think of a fat cousin It, from the Adams Family, covered with flowers.

My New Dawn did exactly what I wanted it to do.  It served as a back drop to my shorter, brighter, more colorful roses.  The light pink blooms gave a theme to the area, tying in the roses that had any type of pink in them.  In the heat of mid-summer the blooms are white.  But, white goes with everything so the color loss doesn't bother me too much. 

In the spring and fall my New Dawn has a full flush that covers the plant and lightly scents the air around it.  Throughout the rest of the growing season it has about a third of the flowers seen in a full flush.  I do remove the dead flowers to promote more blooms. About half way through my growing season I leave some flowers to evolve into rose hips.  I use the bright red/orange hips for their seeds to try my hand at growing my own roses.  Others I have used in bouquets/decorations.

The foliage is a darker green than most of my other plants and stays much healthier too.  Last year I had a major blackspot attack in my garden.  New Dawn did have a minor problem, but it was mainly the leaves at the base of the plant and was taken care of with a few applications of Immunox Plus.  Other than that my plant has been disease free.

Best Climber Ever?
I don't know.  I have limited experience with climbing roses, but that this one gets as big as it does in my zone 5 garden is impressive.  I like the dainty, 3 inch blooms and their moderate fragrance.  Adding the disease resistance and repeat bloom to the mix makes New Dawn a (very large) winner in my garden.

You can find links to my other rose reviews on my profile page.

Recommended: Yes