I've seen "Susan Louise" a R. gigantea hybrid that was not quite cascading but it was trailing off and down a sloping ground, trailing off the low wall that it was meant to grow upon. It is a lovely rose, with large Tea shaped blooms of pink and cream. Re-bloom is very good, and here it blooms through every season in the S.F. Bay area, where c. 95% of Evergreen roses bloom fully only through 3 seasons. I've seen several "Alberic Barbier" growing down a hill slope and the lowest canes on the slope were blooming as well as the canes that had a higher elevation. In San Francisco during the 1900's a man trained several Rambler plants of one cultivar, to form the numbers of each year, 1928 etc... and that would require some cascading. I too love "Lamarque" and especially the California form that has larger blooms. However the "Lamarque" that I was training a couple of weeks ago had thicker basal canes that are not as flexible as the basal canes of "Crepescule", that I'm in the process of espaliering against a wooden fence. Theory: I read an article a few years ago that mentioned that rosebushes naturally produce a hormone at the top of each blooming cane-tip (I wish I had written down the name of that hormone) which has the trait of preventing (or trying to prevent) roses further below that height to bloom. It sounds like a Darwinian trait of survival of a dominant ...thingie, to me. This is why pegging a rose cane works so well and increases bloom upon a cane that was drawn so its tip is below its normal height. This gives me hope that it might be possible to cascade a rosebush. I get very excited about doing uncommonly done things with rosebushes. I'd give it a try with 1-3 different types of rosebushes and see how each perform. I would try and cascade these roses: - a remontant purple rambler-bred rose that roguevalleyroses.com is selling, that re-blooms called "Perrenial Blue". or "Crepescule" a lovely apricot Tea-Noisette rose with pretty foliage, that I've found easy to train. or - "Susan Louise" will grow to be c. 25 feet long, but you try draping it and the other two, in festoons, I think that is the word. I've seen photographs of this being done, but from the top of a pillar to another pillar. 3 festoons are below, on their sides, I couldn't print them as they should be. The lowest part is towards the ground. ( ( ( Festooning, might work better because each rosebush would not extend so low, which might aid growth. How long is the wall? I'd let the rosebushes grow upwards 5-6 feet, the direction they are used to, before training them downwards. I'd train them in winter when they are less "awake". Please post when you decide on a rose or two. Luxrosa

Never heard of it, so I looked it up on HMF - what a gorgeous rose! Hope someone who grows it can advise. Jackie

Thanks Connie, It does make sense. Unfortunately as you can see from the pictures they are planted a bit too close together to truly take advantage of long horizontal tied vines, but I'm trying to fan them the best I can. I guess if they won't cascade making them bushy will be the better way to go. Since I'm now finding this rose bush was originally a shrub rose instead of a true climber perhaps it will bloom nicely even if I don't get the true horizontal vines. I think I'll see what happens the rest of the year, and decide in the spring if I should take some of the height off.

Has anyone had this red climber? Im debating between Don Juan and Crimson Cascade.. Hoping for more disease resistance between the two and blooms