Sunday, January 30, 2011

Rose of the Month: 'Iceberg'

(you can click on the photos to enlarge)

'Iceberg', was the first rose that I ever bought in my life and my passion for growing roses started with this variety. So I would like to begin my series of monthly rose portraits with this rose. 


The moment I rented my first small apartment with a balcony, I bought two 'Iceberg' standard roses or also commonly called "tree roses" and planted them in large terracotta containers. I still remember that some people doubted that roses would grow in pots on a balcony, but my two specimen did and flowered prolifically. Ever since then I have been growing Iceberg roses on balconies, a roof top terrace, in my first garden in the Bay Area in the Sillicon Valley in California and last but not least in my current garden in San Diego, CA.


General Information 

'Iceberg', classified as a Floribunda, was bred by the famous German rose breeder Reimer Kordes in 1958, Germany. It is a cross between a Hybrid Musk (Robin Hood, Pemperton, 1927) and a Hybrid Tea (Virgo, Charles Mallerin, 1947) rose. Synonyms are 'Schneewitchen', 'Fee de Neige'. It is a very popular rose world wide, most likely because it grows well almost everywhere.



One of its best virtues is its floriferousness. In warm climates 'Iceberg' is almost constantly in bloom. The rose is supposed to be very hardy, too. It is said to have a good disease resistance, especially in warm climates, although black spot can be a problem in wet weather. 'Iceberg' is growing vigorously and builds up a nice full bush up to a height of approximately 6 feet in hot climates, but of course stays considerably smaller in cold climate zones. The blooms have a semi-double form and come in clusters of 3 to 15 flowers. Usually they are pure white or near white (except when the weather gets cold, then they first have a pinkish tint) and when they are fully open, they show beautiful yellow stamens. Bloom size is around 3 inch. The flowers have a moderate fragrance and last a long time on the bush and in the vase.


There is also a 'Climbing Iceberg' in existence, which is basically a climbing version of the 'Iceberg' shrub rose. There are two more sports out there of this rose: 'Brilliant Pink Iceberg' (bold pink color) and 'Burgundy Iceberg' (obviously burgundy colored flowers).


Personal experience

I love this rose! First of all probably because I feel a special affinity for the color white and good white roses are rare. In my opinion Iceberg is one of the best white roses ever bred. If I want an impressive splash of white color in my garden I just have to plant an Iceberg rose and I don't have to worry anymore. The rose repeats very fast and generous here in Southern California. Right now I am growing 4 'Iceberg' shrubs and 3 'Climbing Icebergs' and altogether I am very happy with them. I also like the fragrance of Iceberg, which I would best describe as an apple scent, with a hint of honey. 

 
I have to admit sometimes my Iceberg roses get diseased in my organic, no-spray garden even though they are usually supposed to be very disease resistant, especially in a warm climate. Two years ago in autumn they got powdery mildew pretty badly for a limited period of time. This year in January I had plenty of rust on them, but through de-leaving and pruning this is all gone now. Despite the occasional problems with fungal diseases, this rose grows very well for me. It makes me always happy to see an Iceberg rose in full bloom.

One thing I was not aware of when I planted my Icebergs is the size, that this rose is able to reach in Southern California. Some of my shrubs have gained a size of  6 x 6 feet (height and width) and I assume, if I would not prune them hard in winter and also do some summer pruning they could get even taller. Since I was expecting them to stay smaller I planted some of them to close to other plants and sooner or later they need to be moved. If you have ever transplanted a rose of this size you know that this is not a piece of cake! So I am trying to learn from this experience. I am now aiming to give my Icebergs and in fact all of my other roses enough space, so that they can grow to their mature size, without encroaching other plants territory.


With Icebergs as well as with all other roses here in Southern California, they need to get plenty of water and food. Therefore if I want top performance from them, I need to water and fertilize them very regularly. If I would not do that, of course, they would still bloom but not that profusely. Iceberg roses also provide good and plenty of cut flowers for me. If I like to, I can always have white roses in the house and they go well together in bouquets with roses of almost any other color. As said above currently I am growing seven Icebergs roses (shrubs and climbers). If I would have more room, I would grow for sure even more Icebergs, but in my small garden they claim already a lot of real estate, so I keep it down to seven of them altogether. I am very sure as long as I have the possibility to grow roses, I will not be without an Iceberg rose! You might want to give this variety a try, too! I believe, you will not regret it!


See you in the garden!

Christina

12 comments:

  1. A great post on California's quintessential rose! Your Icebergs look spectacular. I wish I could see the climbers (unless some of those shrubs are actually climbers?).

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  2. Thanks, Masha! You are right, one of the shrubs in the photo is actually a climber (4th photo from the top of the post, the one to the very right in the row of the three Icebergs). I have two more climbers in front of the garage (not shown on the photos), but I prune them hard so they also look like shrubs.

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  3. No wonder Icebergs are so popular, Christina. They're beautiful around your pool. I had one a couple of years ago. Even though I knew I was taking it out because here it gets blackspot and defoliates, I waited until after its spring flush to do the deed. It was such a lovely thing.

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  4. How do you get your iceberg roses to be so full on the bottom??? Is it a special variety?... Mine are so leggy... :-(

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  5. Ann Yonce, these are "regular" 'Iceberg' roses. As far as I know there is only one variety of 'Iceberg' rose in commerce. The roses on the photo are just a few years old and they might become more leggy in the future. I prune mine back quite a bit each winter and that also may help to keep them bushy at the bottom. Sometimes roses become leggy when they are grown in too much shade. Hope you find a way to get your Iceberg roses to grow into a nice bushy form as well.

    Christina

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  6. May I ask how often you fertilize your icebergs (what brand, how much, etc.)? I moved into a home and just planted them this past summer, so would love to know if what I'm doing so far to it is correct. Thanks in advance!

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  7. A Cozy Cottage in the City, I fertilize my roses right after I have pruned them usually in January, then a second time after the spring flush has finished and is deadheaded normally sometimes in April and then ideally one more time after the summer flush and after the forth flush. Sometimes I only get around to fertilize twice a year and the Icebergs do just fine simply bloom a little less prolific. I use 'Bio Start' produced by the GrowMore company and put 4 cups under a mature rose bush plus 2 more cups of alfalfa meal. I also like the rose fertilizer from Dr. Earth quite a bit, it is just more expensive. The fertilizers that I am using are all organic and usually not as concentrated as the chemical fertilizers. My soil is also very low in nutrients and is not able to hold them well. In addition to that here in San Diego we have a very mild climate. Taken all theses things into consideration I need to fertilize a lot, which might be overkill in a different climate or soil type. But I hope that at least I could give you an idea what I do in my garden. Now you need to find out what may work best in your garden. Good luck!

    Christina

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  8. Hi Christina,

    Thank you so much for all the info, I truly appreciate it. I will look for those products in our local garden center. Also, this may be a silly question (I'm fairly new to gardening), but what is Alfalfa Meal and where would you get it? Also, do you use any particular sprays for your plants (pesticides and/or fungicides)? If so, what brands? Thank you kindly in advance! I hope my roses make it through their first winter in the ground! If they do, I will be sooo happy! I live in SoCalifornia (Los Angeles Area), so the weather is quite mild here as well. Thanks again!

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  9. Jessie, alfalfa meal is an organic fertilizer made from the alfalfa plant. Besides other components it is very high in vitamins and valuable minerals. It seems to do wonders for the roses, especially in my poor soil. I get mine in the local nursery (brand: E.B. Stone organics). I use it as an additional fertilizer to the regular rose fertilizer. Just want to add to my previous comment that nowadays besides Bio Start I mainly use E. B. Stones organics rose fertilizer, not Dr. Earth anymore, but that is good one as well.
    I am not only gardening organically but I don't use any pesticides or fungicides. I am trying to find rose varieties that are healthy in my climate and I tolerate a little bit of mildew at times, but if a rose is a sickly plant in general it has to leave my garden.
    I am sure your 'Iceberg' roses will make it through the winter, they are very beautiful but also very tough roses in our climate. Since you live relatively close it is very likely that roses that do well in my garden will do well for you as too, even though I assume that your climate is a little bit more humid than mine. If you read my blog I often make comments about the health of the rose variety in my garden. Maybe you find some varieties that you like. Hope this helps!
    Christina

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  10. Hi Christina,

    Thank you very much for all of your info, it is greatly appreciated! I very much enjoy your informative blog and will be following along for more inspiration!

    Thanks again,
    Jessie

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  11. Jessie, you are welcome! I am pleased if you think the info on my blog is helpful. Looking forward to you next visits!

    Christina

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  12. Hi Christina,

    Thank you so much for the information on the other posts! I tried to reply, but couldn't remember the URL links to your response. ;) Anyway, thank you so much for your help on everything, I really appreciate it very much! :)

    ~Jessie

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