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Roses are our favorite flowers and can decorate our garden from spring to autumn. But when buying from their variety, it’s easy to get confused. This is not surprising, because even experts do not know exactly how many varieties exist today. Some claim that there are 25,000 of them, others put the figure at 50,000. In any case, there are a lot of varieties of roses, they are all beautiful, they can bloom once a season or all summer, some are resistant to diseases, and there are those that need to be tinkered with.
Climbing roses are always popular, because they can be grown in the form of a vine, covering the wall of a house, arch or pergola, or they can be formed in the form of a spreading huge bush. Today our heroine will be the “Don Juan” rose.
Description of the rose “Don Juan”
Of course, all roses are good, and saying which one is better is a thankless task. But the “Don Juan” variety, in addition to its beauty and all its other positive qualities, grows well in our conditions, even in a harsh climate, which is why it deserves our close attention.
Appearance and characteristics of the variety
Rose "Don Juan" was registered in 1958 by the Italian company "Malandrone". It belongs to large-flowered climbing roses or climbers that bloom on this year's shoots.
The plant forms a powerful bush with erect shoots up to 2-2.5 meters long. In some cases, under particularly favorable conditions, branches can reach 3 meters or more. If they are not planted on a vertical support, after a couple of years a spreading tall bush about 2 meters wide will form. A special feature of the variety is that the old shoots have a two-color color - they are painted red and brown, which only adds decorativeness.
The flowers of the climbing rose “Don Juan” are cup-shaped, medium double, with 35 petals. They have a delicate aroma, are colored dark purple or red, reach a size of 10-12 cm. The inflorescences consist of 3-5 flowers and cover the bush throughout the season.
It is noteworthy that the “Don Juan” variety blooms profusely, continuously throughout the season, and not repeatedly, when one wave of flowering is replaced by another after a short time, and then only rare buds appear before frost. Although repeated flowering is the rule for climbers, such a long and lasting bloom is rare even for them.
The description of the variety is completed by matte dark green leathery leaves.
Variety resistance
No matter how beautiful roses are, they often get sick, which causes a lot of trouble for their owners. All the shortcomings are especially noticeable on climbing roses - a bush formed on a trellis or around a support cannot hide anywhere either leaves touched by disease or petals blackened after rain. In addition, we can only not worry about wintering in the southern regions.
It’s a completely different story with the Don Juan variety. This rose has proven itself to be exceptionally resilient for almost six decades.
The Don Juan variety is distinguished by exceptional resistance to black spot and powdery mildew. This rose is also not prone to getting wet - its flowers do not deteriorate in the rain, the buds open, the petals do not turn black or rot. But for many beautiful varieties, prolonged inclement weather is a real disaster.
We have already talked about winter hardiness - it is beyond praise. And although the rose still needs to be covered for the winter and it may freeze, the variety recovers very quickly. An old bush, even if it is thoroughly frozen in a particularly harsh winter, and has a few living buds left, can grow about one and a half meters in a year and bloom.
Agricultural technology
We have already written in detail about planting, pruning, care, and tying climbing roses to supports. We will repeat only the main points, and will focus on the peculiarities of cultivating the “Don Juan” variety.
Placement and boarding
The rose will grow most comfortably in a sunny place protected from the wind. But it grows well in partial shade without losing its decorative qualities. In fact, the sun that it can receive in the first half of the day is quite enough for this variety - you can place it so that in the afternoon it is deprived of direct sunlight.
The best time to plant roses is spring and autumn. Moreover, in regions with a cool climate and harsh winters, it is best to plant them in April-May, so that the plant can take root during the warm season, and in the southern regions - in the fall.
If you are planting the “Don Juan” variety near the wall of a house, dig a planting hole no closer than 40 cm from the support. It should be 60 cm in diameter and 30 cm deep. Pour a little planting mixture into the bottom of the hole and place the seedling in it so that its roots are directed in the opposite direction from the wall. Sprinkle them with the prepared substrate, tamp them down carefully, add soil and water generously. For this you will need at least 15 liters of water. Hill up the rose, no matter what time of year you plant it.
If your soil is poor, add a bucket of well-rotted compost or humus.
If you are planting several climbing roses, the distance between the bushes should be at least 3 meters.
Seasonal care
In the first months after planting, especially if it was done in the spring, the rose must be watered abundantly, spending at least 15 liters of water per bush. In the future, water the plant as the soil dries, since climbing varieties require more frequent watering than other varieties. Watering should be plentiful.
Feed this variety of rose regularly - it grows quickly and blooms profusely throughout the season, therefore, it requires increased nutrition. Foliar feeding gives very good results. The rose also needs loosening of the tree trunk circle, especially if you have not mulched it.
Formation of a bush
Rose “Don Juan” can be formed on a trellis - against the wall of the house, on a pergola, trellis or trellis, placing the main branches horizontally or in a fan and tying them with strong twine or thick wire in a plastic braid.
A plant formed around a pole, on an arch or next to a large tree will look very good. In this case, the main shoots are directed vertically and tied to a support.
Rose "Don Juan" has powerful thick stems. It can not be tied to a support, but formed in the form of a tapeworm (single focal plant) or a hedge (in this case, the distance between the bushes when planting is reduced to 2 meters).
Trimming
From a young rose, cut out only weak and immature shoots. If you grow the Don Juan rose on a trellis, then every spring, immediately after removing the winter shelter, cut out all frozen and weak shoots, shorten the main and skeletal branches by a third. All young branches from last year that are not needed for the further formation of the bush, cut by a third or remove completely - the “Don Juan” rose blooms on the young growth of this year.
When growing a plant without support, only sanitary pruning and trimming of excessively long vines will be mandatory if they suddenly go “in the wrong direction.”
Shelter for the winter
The “Don Juan” variety has high frost resistance, but this does not mean that it is able to winter without shelter and does not freeze. The more severe your climate, the more severe the shelter.
With the onset of the first frost, the rose is removed from its support, all weak or immature shoots are cut out, spud up and laid on spruce branches, covering the lashes on top.If a harsh winter is expected, the spruce branches are covered with agrofibre or spunbond.
It is very important to remove it on time - the roses are more likely to be destroyed by damping off than by freezing.
We offer you to watch a video dedicated to growing and caring for the climbing rose “Don Juan”. There you will also hear reviews from flower growers about its winter hardiness and decorative properties:
Conclusion
Rose "Don Juan" is a recognized favorite among climbing varieties with red flowers. We hope that you will like it too.
