Jacqueline du Pre

I have a Jacqueline du Pre rose, which I bought last spring and it flowered very well and now has some pretty, large orange hips. I am just wondering what its habit is supposed to be, as its branches seem floppy, rather than growing to any height they just flop over, and I have used some smallish trellises to support them.

Is it supposed to be a climber? Can it be trained like a climber so its branches are supported?

It is very similar in both flowers and hips to another rose that I bought called Starlight Symphony, which is sold as a climber. Both Jacqueline du Pre and Starlight Symphony are from the same breeder. I am guessing they have some similar ancestry and maybe both have as an ancestor Rosa pimpinellifolia, the burnet rose, otherwise known as Rosa spinosissima?

Another rose variety I have had for a few years is beautifully self-supporting, doesn't need any staking or tying and grows to a good four feet tall.

Jacqueline du Pre is a nice rose and I don't regret buying it, but I am wondering if it is being discontinued due to its poor posture and floppiness? Otherwise, I am wondering how to deal with it regarding supports, and do I treat it like a climber?

 

@wiseowl, thanks for this information, so it isn't just me. The flowers are beautiful and I got a huge flush of them in summer, followed by a lot of bright orange hips. The hips aren't as good as those on Starlight Symphony, which are much cleaner, bigger and brighter.

At the moment I am using two of those two pound Poundland smallish black metal trellises to prop it up so it doesn't flop around everywhere, but no way does it stand up height-wise, it just flops. The flowers themselves don't droop, it is more the whole branches rather than the flower necks that are weak. I don't think the branches are long enough to train as a climber though.

I don't think I will bother trying to grow its seeds. I will grow the seeds of Starlight Symphony though, as it is a pretty rose with healthy glossy dark green foliage and healthy large orange hips that look very decorative in autumn, and I need more climbers. Space is very limited and not enough to grow something that is likely to disappoint, as well as the time, patience and energy it takes.

 

The Jacqueline du Pre rose is still almost the earliest rose to flower, after the magenta single Rosa rugosa. Beautiful very pale pink, with nice perfume. And the ladybird larvae like it, they have been cleaning it for weeks.

This morning I saw the first flower of the year on the Jacqueline du Pre.