It’s about time I write an article about my Peggy Martin rose! After all, she’s by far the most show-stopping plant in my garden. She’s the rose that makes jaws drops when people walk in the backyard. She’s the rose that makes me feel like I’m in an English garden and she’s the one I think everyone needs to own!
This gorgeous pink climbing rose was gifted to me by my friend and avid gardener Katie and her mom, Cheryl. Their family is from New Orleans, which is where this rose originated. Katie’s uncle propagated Cheryl’s Peggy Martin rose from his rose, which is over a hundred years old, and she propagated mine from hers. How cool is that!?
Traits
This rose is exceptionally disease resistance, cold hardy, and thornless. You heard me, THORNLESS! How hardy is it, you ask? It famously survived under salt water for two weeks in New Orleans after hurricane Katrina. Now THAT’S a badass rose. It’s a strong climber but can also be left to “fountain” if you have a large spot to fill in the garden. I have mine growing along my fence behind my vegetable garden and it’s like having a living photo wall!
Size
The reason it’s taken me so long to write about this rose is because mistakes were made. I really didn’t know what I was doing with a climbing rose when it was gifted to me six years ago. I let it grow on my fence (don’t do that!) and finally last year, I hacked it to train it along my fence with chicken wire. I’m so glad that I did because it has gone absolutely nuts. (Proof that you should never be afraid to cut your roses!)
Peggy Martin is a vigorous climber, easily reaching 15′ tall (or in my case, sideways) and 6′ wide so if you’re looking for an epic show piece, this is the rose for you!
Blooms
Peggy Martin is covered in hundreds of teeny tiny pink blooms, each about 2″ wide. This rose primarily blooms spring-early summer but mine also blooms in the fall here in warm zone 8 so if you’re in the south, it may bloom more than once! It’s already been awash with color for a month and should go strong for likely another 4-6 weeks.
Light Requirements
Like most roses, Peggy Martin needs full sun and well drained soil.
Fertilizer
Like all of my other roses, I do help it out with a simple feed program. When the first blooms arrive in the spring, I give it a boost by sprinkling a cap full of Jackson & Perkins Dynamite rose fertilizer at the base. Every six weeks throughout the growing season, I give my roses a Sea Magic seaweed treatment. It’s very easy. Just dilute the packet in water according to directions and then add a splash of that solution to a watering can every week weeks and just water your roses. So simple! At the end of the season, I give my roses a healthy dose of Espoma Organic Rose-Tone. All of these fertilizer help keep my roses strong and healthy!
If you want a resilient pink climbing rose that’s easy keeper, Peggy Martin is the rose for you!
