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tanlinetracey

Campfire rose?

TanlineTracey
9 years ago

So I bought two campfire roses this year, not exactly sure on where I'm going to plant them yet. Wondering what luck others have had with these? One has a couple blooms now and is stunning!!! Hopeing it's going to repeat bloom for me. Emily Carr has never repeated in the past 4 years I've had her.

Comments (158)

  • Patty W. zone 5a Illinois
    6 years ago

    I'd be happy to share. I just love this rose. It is perfect in all but one way it is fragrant so the Jb's love her as much as myself.

    Rouge yours are beautiful with a great shape.

  • rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
    6 years ago

    Excellent Patty! How many do I see?

  • prairie_northrose (3b north of Calgary AB, Canada)
    6 years ago

    Absolutely stunning Rouge & Patty!

    Mines not blooming yet, but most of my modern roses are later this year, I probably won't see blooms until July.

  • Lucianne McKague
    6 years ago

    Isn't there a powder or something for the jb or is that a no no?

  • rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
    6 years ago

    Definitely a "no no" for me now. I have 'screwed' up the environment around me for the past almost 60 years.

  • Jan
    5 years ago
    Wayne, my Campfire rose looks just like that. It has spread instead of growing upright and I wonder if something is wrong with it.
  • rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
    5 years ago

    If you look up several posts you will see our group of CFires on June 13 2017.

    Here is a picture of the same grouping taken exactly one year later:

  • prairie_northrose (3b north of Calgary AB, Canada)
    5 years ago

    Wow that had become an incredible hedge of Campfire roses!!!

  • Jan
    5 years ago
    Rouge_gw, how many bushes are in that beautiful picture? I only have and it was planted last year. It's growing so close to the ground and am worried something is wrong with it. Will it gain any height?
  • HU-128149944
    5 years ago

    Has anyone tried to transplant these roses? The location my roses are in now are not getting enough sun light due to construction changes nearby. I am wondering specifically about the timing of transplanting - spring, summer or fall?

  • prairie_northrose (3b north of Calgary AB, Canada)
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    I’ve been moving a few different roses and discovered it’s much easier to move a less established rose, those roots go *very* deep after a few years! I moved my Campfire last month and its doing well.

    Often I cut back the flowers and some of the stems/leaves so the rose bush doesn’t have to transfer as much water upwards, I hope it can focus on root growth instead

    Spring is probably more ideal as it gives them time to recover before winter.

    Jan, if in ideal conditions most of my roses come grow back a bit stronger/faster each year and then eventually reach a maximum/mature height. I find this takes at least 3 years for the newer types like Campfire. I have some rugosas types which are still gaining height each year. I find conditions can vary a lot.

  • rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
    5 years ago

    those roots go *very* deep after a few years

    Roses are notable for their extensive root system. It isnt very satisfying digging them up as one will need to cut many roots...no nice ball with these plants.

  • prairie_northrose (3b north of Calgary AB, Canada)
    5 years ago

    I agree, lots of roots are cut in moving roses. It’s a workout - digging as wide as deep. Most of the soil and delicate feeder roots fall off.

    I’m lucky, Campfire was easier to move as it was only a year old.

    Lesson learned - plant roses where they intend to stay. If they need to be moved, do it sooner than later.

    I’ve moved three rose bushes this year so far. One left to move - hopefully that’s it!

  • marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
    5 years ago

    "Lesson learned - plant roses where they intend to stay. If they need to be moved, do it sooner than later."

    Totally agree. I've moved a few and it's no fun, for me or for them! Same with peonies - not easy at all!

  • prairie_northrose (3b north of Calgary AB, Canada)
    5 years ago

    For what its worth, here is a picture what I consider ‘doing well’ for my Campfire rose after moving - alive enough to survive lol!

    No leaves are yellow or wilted and there are signs of growth.

    The original site it was planted in was no good - shaded with poor soil, which is probably why my plant is small.

    I agree Marcia, moving established peonies is a feat! Plus the roots are so brittle, they always break on me.

  • marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
    5 years ago

    I have one more peony that needs moving. It's in a raised bed (railroad ties) that my husband wants to take apart and i'm hoping that since it's at the edge of the bed it will just fall out when he takes it apart! LOL

  • rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
    5 years ago

    Wow that had become an incredible hedge of Campfire roses!!!


    UPDATE (7.5 months later):





  • marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
    5 years ago

    How tall are your Campfires? Mine hasn't gotten more than about 14".

  • rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
    5 years ago

    Hello marcia, they are all 3 feet tall and I bet they could reach 4' if I didnt prune.


    After this hedge has bloomed this coming spring I will be removing all of them.. (Since the first year and continuing each year subsequent have been an infestation of the "Japanese Beetle".)

  • marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
    5 years ago

    Oh too bad about the beetles. Too cold for them here, thank goodness! I wonder why mine has stayed so small.

  • rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
    5 years ago

    Lucky you re the beetles ie lack there of. But I kind of doubt the temp as being the issue. I would bet every year that I have seen these beetles we have experienced temps as low as -20C (and specifically this winter as low as -24C). That has to be low enough to set back the #s (the larvae?) that reside in the soil?

  • FrozeBudd_z3/4
    5 years ago

    Marcia, I doubt winter temps are much influencing the height of your Camp Fire roses. Even if pruned within 4 inches of the ground, mine develop vigorously, though not to the impressive stature of Rouge's. Too bad about those darn Japanese beetles, we do not yet have them here out west, but wonder if it's just a matter of time?

  • marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
    5 years ago

    I'm just assuming it's too cold here for the beetles because we've never had them. And FrozeBudd, i don't think the winter has any effect on the height of my Campfire roses. I'm not sure what the problem might be.

  • prairie_northrose (3b north of Calgary AB, Canada)
    5 years ago

    Rouge, I hope there are not as many beetles for you this year with your colder temps. The photo of their growth is impressive. It’s unfortunate to hear of the need to remove beautiful plants because of pests. I too removed most of my asiatic lilies because of the red lily beetle, the hand picking of them on the short dense leaves was exhausting. Are Japanese beetle traps any effective for you?


    Sounds like the Japanese beetles do die after a certain temperature & but deep snow cover helps them survive:


    “A heavy snow and thick sod cover usually result in grubs being closer to the surface and surviving with only low mortality. They tend to move deeper in relatively barren soil. Lack of substantial snow cover on barren soil typically results in extremely high grub mortality. Japanese beetle grubs are killed at soil temperatures near 15F and die when soil temperatures are consistently around 32F for 2 months.”


    (15F is -9C, 32F is 0C)


    http://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/pastpest/200315f.html

  • marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
    5 years ago

    Lol I think the ground temps here are considerably below freezing for more than two months!

  • FrozeBudd_z3/4
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Marcia, do your other roses generally grow vigorously? My soil tends to be a bit on the lean side, perennials perform well, though roses require a good spring shot of fertilizer to really get them off and running.

    Lily beetles arrived here in 2017 and last summer were quite bothersome, I'll have to concoct some type of homemade brew to attempt to repel them. I think I'll give up gardening altogether if and when Japanese beetles show themselves! I don't know how much trouble others have with raccoons, but they're also making progress toward my direction.

  • marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
    5 years ago

    Most of them do quite well. The Hunter was stunted for a few years and that was my fault because i used some sawdust for mulch around it. Then i read that sawdust wasn't a good idea so i took it out, dug out some of the soil and added new. It came back much better after that. Campfire is in a sunny location with regular bark mulch around it. I used new soil when i planted it a few years ago, and fertilize fairly regularly.

  • FrozeBudd_z3/4
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Like many shrubs, they seem to lag for a year or so after being transplanted. I had needed to move some larger 'Campfire' specimens, boy they sure did have quite the wide spreading vigorous root system and were slow to settle back in afterwards.

    I think 'Hunter' should be renamed 'The Hunted' for the very nasty thorns it carries! I swore I'd never again grow this rose, though am tempted cause the blooms are so very nice, especially upon opening!

  • marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
    5 years ago

    Many of my roses bite! Henry Kelsey can be particularly vicious!

  • Karen F
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago


    I just got this one last month and look at it now. Ok since I live in Ontario, Canada what would I have to do with mine to protect it over the winter. Cover it with burlap?? Have to get more from the garden center as I don't have enough on me. Threw out any that was in rough shape so have to replace it. Seems to like it in this spot. So pretty. Has gotten more since I took this pix of it.


  • Karen F
    4 years ago

    Ok got it to behave itself. Here is a close up on one of the blooms these are so neat in how the buds show yellow then open up and go this color. So awesome. Fellow in our apartment that waters the gardens out the back was commenting how beautiful it was with all the blooms on it. Do they automatically shed all their petals?? When finished the bloom does one deadhead them??


  • Patty W. zone 5a Illinois
    4 years ago

    Karen, I deadhead mine because they set a lot seed for me anyway. So I remove them for half the season. Then let it go the rest of the year. I’m always worried that the blooming will slow down if I don’t.

    As far as winter protection is concerned what zone are you in? Here this past winters coldest temp was -28 degrees Fahrenheit With no snow cover. I also do no winter protection. There was like six inches of cane left on all of them. Most of the cane on Campfire had bores in them ( they like this rose ). More cane may have been left with out the bores.

    ‘The Far North forum is an excellent place to ask about winter protection. Very nice people on there.

  • mainegard3
    4 years ago

    I live in zone 5 and don’t winter protect mine. They die back a bit and I cut them back to about a foot; they come back in glory every year!

  • marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
    4 years ago

    What part of Ontario are you from, Karen? I heap leaves around some of my roses, the less hardy ones, and i do the same with Campfire because it usually has a lot of winter dieback. Even with protection, actually. This year i thought it was gone, but it has inched back to life and is blooming beautifully right now. It's still on the short side, though there's a tall cane at the back of it.



  • applemum
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    I bought a campfire rose last year, it made it through the winter fine and has bloomed well, the blooms seemed to last a long time. I thought it was done but yesterday, Sept 2 I saw three new buds, one nearly ready to open. It is small, only

    12-14", perhaps in its new spot, more protection, it will get bigger.

    (the picture is from July)



  • marciaz3 Tropical 3 Northwestern Ontario
    4 years ago

    Mine took off a bit this year. Some canes are close to 3 feet tall! Wow. And it has bloomed beautifully this summer. :)



    And one of its buds.



  • Jan
    2 years ago

    Are campfire rose bushes supposed to grow upright or spread a bit closer to the ground. Mine is spreading and not upright.

  • Marcia Pilipishen
    2 years ago

    Mine is a spreader, more or less. For a few years, the canes seemed to be weak and floppy but they're much stronger now.

  • Jan
    2 years ago

    Thank you Marcia. Mine seems to be spreading closer to the ground this year.
    I was wondering if I should put a short “fence” type thing around it to lift the canes up a bit to see the beautiful roses more.

  • mainegard3
    2 years ago

    Ditto what Marcia experienced. It’s a work horse once established

  • Jan
    2 years ago

    The canes seem to stand up much better last year but this year, they’re “laying low”

  • Karen F
    2 years ago

    I have had great luck with this one. Only got one but wow it is going like a house on fire in new growth and buds galore. I have planted in the main garden where it gets lots of sun. This one is going on 2 or 3 years and I am taken back by how it is progressing. Has one huge bud that is close to opening on it. Is way ahead of all my other roses in this phase of it. Even the shield rose. And it doesn't just have one rose on the stem but 3 or 4!!! I had to get a picture of it today. Watered them all this morning and made sure it was underneath.


  • Karen F
    2 years ago

    Last year they were awesome!!!! So many different colors on it. They also plunked 2 black rod iron bench type chairs on the sidewalk across from the drift rose, campfire rose and the shield rose. Soooooo anybody in our building will be able to admire them. Also too I am the ONLY one in our entire senior's building that is growing roses. Nobody else wants to try their luck at growing them. Hey in all the years I had lived with my parents at their house I never ever attempted to try and grow them. Dad didn't care for them due to the thorns. I tried hollyhocks when I moved from my parents house to the seniors building and got nada. Said ok I am going out on a limb here and try growing roses. My first lot were great but unfortunately due to having the eaves trough empty into the garden they were in became like a swamp and all of them ended up dying on me except for the double pink knockout whom I transferred to the main garden. Had a Lizzie rose but it too died as somebody cut it back too far without my knowing about it and it didn't like that so bye bye to it. Got a blaze rose and despite all the negative comments on it mine is growing great Bought the always tea rose and it is going on 5 years and is continuing to bloom. Bought a new drift rose, the strike it rich rose, an at last rose, a chinook sunrise rose and they are all going onto their 2-3rd year. The shield rose is tenacious and beautiful. Mass of red blooms every year. Coral dawn is being ravaged by caterpillars but I have been gaining the upper hand by picking them off it by hand. Might try the home remedy on them and spray it on them to deter them. Last year it got 20 huge pink blooms on it.


  • Marcia Pilipishen
    2 years ago

    Campfire is really an amazing rose. Mine is only a couple of feet tall, but it blooms its heart out from June until October.


    Jan, yes, go ahead and cage the rose for now. Maybe it will help strengthen the canes sooner than later.

  • Jan
    2 years ago

    There is 1or 2 canes that are standing straight up but the others are low laying close to the ground. Not sure why it’s doing that this year.

  • mainegard3
    2 years ago

    The new one I have growing in afternoon sun and right next to a small pond without competing plants is not floppy at all and stands at attention to bloom all day. I suspect campfire does better with more moisture but I can’t say for sure if this is the cause in zone 5. Either way, it will improve over time.

  • rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
    2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    Hi you lovers of CF roses,

    I too was in love, a love that I thought would last forever. Here is my mass planting from 2017:





    But alas love of a plant can be fleeting as I removed all of them two years later.

    The infestation of JBeetles I got over 3 consecutive years for me was intolerable.

  • ostrich
    2 years ago

    Oh my gosh, rouge21, this is INSANE! Totally amazing!!! Now, I know what to get next ..... LOL! Thanks for the great photos!


    P.S. So sorry about the JB.... I hated those things so much when I was in Zone 5 before! Sigh...

  • TIANYUAN LEE
    2 years ago

    anybody know where to buy campfire roses? I live in Waterloo, Ontario.

  • rouge21_gw (CDN Z5b/6a)
    2 years ago

    @TIANYUAN LEE try Canadale Garden Centre in St. Thomas.