The Iceberg Rose: A White Wimp
Written: Jul 12 '09
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Disease resistant, repeat bloom
Cons: Weak canes unable to support the flowers
The Bottom Line: There are better choices for a rose garden than Iceberg.
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| cmaw63's Full Review: Iceberg Rose Bush |
A few years ago when I started researching roses that would be appropriate for my zone 5 garden I kept seeing Iceberg's name. It seemed almost too good to be true. Yet, I bought one.
The pure white, double bloom flowers are reported to be mildly fragrant. And, it produces those flowers throughout the growing season. The canes are nearly thornless and the foliage disease resistant. Iceberg is a floribunda that supposedly gets to a height of 30" to 5' and a width of 2 feet. It is one of the few roses I've found that is shade tolerant. What really caught my attention, besides the disease resistance, is that it would survive zone 4 winters.
Whenever I think something is too good to be true, it usually is. The flowers on my first Iceberg plant are pretty and hold true to the product claims. The white really stands out against the tan/brown of the mulch they lay on. It is sort of sad, the thornless canes can barely hold themselves up. Let a flower bloom and the canes fold over unable to support the weight. I thought (there I go thinking again) that I had received a sickly/weak plant. So, I bought another.
The second verse the same as the first... Yes, the second Iceberg plant has the same problem. Either I'm really unlucky at buying this rose bush or Iceberg needs more support than I want to give it. I have several rose bushes in the 2 to 4 feet range and none of them need a trellis to keep them up, except this one. Even with support the canes on both plants don't reach the lower estimate of 30 inches. The puny canes surprised me as my mother owns a climbing Iceberg that has monster canes. I was really expecting something more from the floribunda Iceberg.
I planted the first in full sun, the second in part shade/sun. I wanted to see if it would make a difference in the plant growth. It didn't. But, the foliage is very healthy on both plants. The leaves are medium green and free of blackspot. That is something worth noting as my garden seems to get hit with a major outbreak of the disease every year. My Iceberg plants are two of the few I do not have to spray with chemicals.
Another characteristic worth noting is that both plants survive a zone 5 winter without any cover. They are not the first to come back, but not the last either.
If Iceberg wasn't such a wimp I would really enjoy this floribunda rose bush. My plants, for the most part, follow the claims that are advertised. What the advertisements don't say is that Iceberg can't support the blooms without help. I just can't recommend this rose plant when there are sturdier, just as healthy, just as pretty (if not prettier) plants to choose from.
For more rose reviews check out my profile page.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
cmaw63
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 in Pets, Home and Garden, Books |
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Member: Julie
Location: Illinois, USA
Reviews written: 307
Trusted by: 73 members
About Me:
I'm a grandma! Hayden Elizabeth was born Nov. 15, 2009.
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