Revisiting ‘Iceberg’ Floribunda Rose
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’?
Did Iceberg end up doing better for you? I too bought it based on great reports of disease resistance (mostly out of California, go figure) and it’s been just ok. But still young.
Hi Eve, no it never really did shake it’s problem with blackspot, but that didn’t stop it from producing flowers. It was still relatively small when we left. I doubt I’d plant it again, though. I put a ‘Gourmet Popcorn’ in our new garden and it bloomed non-stop with zero disease, all the while staying about 3′ in height. That’s a great white rose option if you’re looking for one! 🙂
Thanks! I actually went back and forth with a few small white roses and ended up choosing Lullaby (looks like mini version of Madame Hardy, which I wanted after seeing your photos but too hot here to do well) and Innocencia Vigorosa (Kordes). If these don’t work, I’ll definitely give Gormet Popcorn a try!
I love the look of both those roses! Let me know how you like Lullaby b/c a rose that’s like Mme Hardy only with rebloom is like, WOW. 😀 Thank you again for visiting!
PS–thanks for the great blog links! I found Floret and 66 Sq Ft through you 🙂
I have 6 Iceburgs in my WA garden. They are planted right by the house and bloom like mad. The one that gets a blast of warm air when we open the door was just covered in blossoms. I have had them for 3 years and while they get a little black spot it isn’t bad, perhaps because they are in such a warm spot. The one on the end in the coldest spot gets mildew which is more annoying than black spot so far. I don’t spray either. I got them for 7 bucks a piece when we first moved in and I just wanted something quick to fill the space but they bloom so much I can’t bring myself to pull them out. I dream sometimes about replacing them with Claire Austin, one of my favs, but they do pretty well so I have been focused on other areas. They are planted with catmint, rosemary and a lavender hedge.
I planted many iceberg roses because here in San Diego they bloom profusely 12 months a year. Mine were covered in mildew that I could not eradicate, so I pulled them out and also said I would never buy them again. Now many years later in a new location, I’m trying one and hoping for the best so I can have flowers in December-April as well as the rest of the year…
But no blackspot!