Graham Thomas

I need some advice so who bettter to ask?
I am thinking of planting a Graham Thomas at the end of a new bed, up against the fence. Next to it my new Barbra Streisand, (hope the yellow doesn't wash out the mauve of Babs), then Munstead Wood, then Ebb Tide. I'm hoping the muted golden tones of GT will harmonise with some yellow roses nearby, purple and white bearded irises, mauve clematis, yellow liliums. Nearby is my smallish jacaranda (which hasn't grown a lot in the last 10 years) but its dappled shade falls away from this bed. I think it might look OK but I'm not sure how much room I should allow for GT. From what I have read, it's supposed to range 1.5 -2m but reports of much larger too. How much space should I allow? I'm not very familiar with DA roses so would appreciate your advice. Thanks.

Hello Silkyfizz, i have a hedge of GT, so about 25 of them and they are 3 yrs old now. I have them separated by about 1.5 m and I am happy with that although they are not yet overlapping. My friends in town have a much older plant at about 12 years and it is a wonderful tall shrub and 1.5m would seem about right for a distance in this cold pace. I would say that i have been a bit miffed at how they are sprawling in my garden rather than upright. So i am thinking they might need a metal frame around them. The flowering has been fabulous and makes up for the sprawling-rather-than all stems upright issue. The plant in town is very much upright but in town they are 3-5 degrees warmer than me here, out of Armidale. Looking forward to seeing your photos of GT with Ebb tide.
Hariet~rose

Thanks Hariet-rose, that's about what I suspected and hoped for.

Hi Silky. I used to have G.T growing very successfully as a climber over an archway. Looked spectacular too as it is a flower machine. How ever you can chop it down to what ever size you like , it's a very tough rose. As you have mentioned growing it up against a fence , you could take advantage of it's growth habits and espalier it or train it along the fence.

Thanks Ozrose. That gives me a few options so I'll see how it looks as it grows. Good to know I can hack it back if I need to, as the fence is a bit rickety there, thanks to a banksia rose I lost control of and had to chop down.

Just as an aside, I love the arches I often see in photos and one day would love to have one. The only ones I have seen commercially have been very stingy in width. With roses growing you would only be able to pass sideways! Does anyone have any suggestions for where these can be purchased in the Melbourne area? Or have people somehow made their own?