So I decided last spring to give ‘Iceberg’ a chance to redeem herself. I’ve grown her in a garden past and enjoyed the fresh white blossoms, but frustrated by her susceptibility to blackspot thought this was a rose that I would never grow again. That was until I saw these photos on 66 Square Feet of climbing Iceberg and lost all reason. So here she is again, a wee little thing, planted in a glazed terracotta pot in our container garden; I’m giving her another shot to prove to me why she is one of the most popular garden roses of the day. It’s still too early to give a final assessment, but I will say that my earlier problems with blackspot have made their return, not surprisingly, and the legginess I remember is also present. Fungal disease/leaf drop aside, the roses are beautiful, of course–fresh and pretty with prominent stamens nestled in the center like little golden crowns. I would classify the scent as being medium even though descriptions of this rose have it as strong (hey, they also say it’s highly disease resistant so go figure) but then again I am comparing scents in a garden which grows OGR’s and other very fragrant roses. We’ll see how she fares over the coming seasons in our no-spray rose garden. Do you grow ‘Iceberg’?
