The Award-Winning, Disease-Resistant Rose That Grows Happily As A Shrub Or Climber

When you learn about a new rose cultivar, if you hear an inner voice saying, "You don't have room for more plants," then you're ready to meet the Proven Winners 2026 Flowering Shrub of the Year. The Rise Up series from Proven Winners is a collection of roses bred as neat mini-climbers, and with their disease resistance, summer-to-fall blooms, and carefree-no-dead-heading style, it's going to be hard to say no to Rise Up 'Lilac Days' (Rosa 'ChewLilacdays'). This rose has an abundance of semi-double blooms in a cool blue-toned lilac color, so what's the harm in taking a closer look?

There are a lot of stunning roses you should grow in your garden, and you may already have a wish list a mile long. But once you meet 'Lilac Days', it has a way of jumping to the head of the line. This rose isn't your average old-fashioned climber, which can get a little unruly and isn't always bred with resistance to fungal diseases like black spot in mind. Developed in the U.K. by Chris Warner, the Rise Up series has been designed for disease resistance and for its low-maintenance growing habit. At about 2 to 4 feet wide and 5 to 8 feet tall, it's considerably smaller than a regular climbing rose. It's just as at home on an arbor or porch railing as it is on a trellis climbing the corner of your house, and it can also be grown as a shrub without any support at all.

Versatile roses like this, that can be grown as either a thick shrub or trained to climb structures, make it easier to say yes to just one more. The Proven Winners 'Lilac Days' is an easy-care variety of climbing roses that will make you feel like a professional gardener. Find a spot that gets at least six hours of full sun each day, and 'Lilac Days' will produce clusters of fragrant blooms that attract pollinators through summer and into fall.

With exceptional hardiness rated for zones 4 to 9 (just another reason to add this one to your list if you live in a cooler region), 'Lilac Days' prefers moist, well-drained soil. It won't tolerate sogginess and will have moderate water needs once it's established, but it needs to be kept moist during its first year. Plant it in average soil with a pH that's neutral to slightly acidic.

If you're giving it something to climb on, put it within about 18 inches of the structure or trellis so it can reach, then you can train the canes as they grow to provide support. For a shrub, just let it grow naturally. The Rise Up series has a tidy and compact growing habit, so a light spring pruning is usually all that's needed either way. Fortunately, as a self-cleaning rose, you don't have to deadhead this one. Just sit back, relax, and enjoy those beautiful, cool blue roses.