Recent Activity
Jude the Obscure
Thanks, Caroline. :) :)
RoseParis - I love glossy foliage!! Thanks for the info on Hot Chocolate. :)
OH, Diane!! You know I swoon over your Jude the Obscure!!! There's nothing like your Jude blooms!!! SWOOOON!! Your first picture blew me away!
Straw - I lost my multiflora grafted Pink Peace to Downy Mildew, but I adored my PP. The fragrance, to me, is Fruit Loops. :) I bought one that was own root this year, and it has PM and looks unhealthy. I don't think I'll keep it as there are better roses I can get. But if I find one that's grafted on multiflora, I'd get it in a heartbeat. Mine was about 8 years old, and I loved it. Mine was bulletproof, but due to problems, most of my roses got DM. Was your PP grafted on multiflora? Oh, I love the close-up of your WS2000!! The color is glorious!! I love your last picture...Evelyn!!! So dreamy!!
@Rose Paris thanks for the tip on St Cecelia placement. Now I know I'm on the right track.
@Diane Brakefield I've never seen a more perfect Jude than yours
@strawchicago z5 my Eglantyne has nice fragrance but it doesn't knock my socks off, although I don't have anything to compare it to. I'd love to smell an older plant for comparison. Also, I believe that my Eglantynes are own root.
I have it, but it is young. I ordered her from Spring Hill Nursery, believe it or not, and I received a wonderful Grade 1 Weeks plant from them. This is her first growing season. Absolutely love the fragrance. Colour tends to a rich, saturated pink with lavender and blueing pink around the edges. Seems vigorous if short so far, but winter hardiness and rebound will be key. Some black spot, but not nearly as bad as expected.
It's odd; I've taken no pictures of the blooms or plant!
Steven
I finally have some (very late) end of season pictures of Sweet Madame Blue.
I find her colour might tend more purple if cut ahead and brought indoors (at least in autumn here) and is more of that rose madder, magenta crimson intensity outdoors, even in autumn. The second image I had to tweak to make it look accurate as to the eye seeing it, but the other photo is also eye-accurate (at least to my eyes/device combination). The indoor, edited photo was of a bloom cut just as the guard petals began to unfurl.
Steven
We just had a few days of 90 degree heat, and Sweet Madame Blue burnt to a crisp again—even though I moved her to a cooler spot this season. Her nextdoor neighbors, Life of the Party and Quicksilver, took the heat much better. Violet’s Pride enjoys slightly more shade, but also performed better. Here’s the photographic evidence. First photo is SMB, then VP, then LOTP, then Quicksilver.
OK i just looked up the 2 gallon Peach Swirls. They were $32.98. What a bargain, especially nowdays. If you search on HD's website for Vigro Roses, you will find them. They have added a few new varieties since I ordered these. So they may end up with a good selection.
I also ordered a few roses from Home depot : Pacific blue and reminiscent Coral .
'Mrs. Dudley Cross' is a beautiful ivory-yellow Tea rose that shows all the 'exquisite delicacy" of bloom shape, that its' class is famous for, ,for those of you who live in warm climates, which Old Garden Tea roses must have. My plant has not a single prickle. It is in full bloom today, on February 8th.
I greatly desire Kims' rose, 'Annie Laurie McDowell, a rose that I've heard from several folks that is evergreen and has smooth canes.
Lux.
Robert Neil Rippetoe bred Sandy Hook rose in his hot & dry & sandy CA and it's 100% thornless, drought tolerant & compact at 1.5' x 1'. It has an amazing scent of intense wild rose, honeysuckle, and grape scent. Its parents are Yves Piaget and thornless Bohemian Rhapsody.
100% thornless Sandy Hook rose is zone 5 winter hardy in my garden since 2013. Below pics. are taken in hot & dry July and August:
Below red bloom is Sandy Hook rose. Light pinks are Evelyn.
Below bouquet has red Sandy Hook, orangish yellow is Well Being. The pink buds are Evelyn.
Sandy Hook is mildew resistant with its glossy foliage, blooms best with my alkaline tap water at pH 9 and in hot & dry weather.
Thanks, Jim :)
Straw - I'm not really good at describing scents. My Mary Pattison has a strong fragrance of perfume like you'd buy in a store. Other than that, I just know rosy, lemony, spicy (Purple Aura), and licorice. I'm not sure what a fruity fragrance is besides lemon. I might get rosy and fruity mixed up.
So
Sweet Madame Blue smells rosy and not perfumy. It's not a knock your socks off fragrance, but a mmmmmm, wow, that's nice!! fragrance. :) Hmf says it has a moderate citrus, spice, and sweet fragrance. I'd say it's stronger than medium, and the 2 reviewers on hmf give it excellent for fragrance.
Eisvogel smells rosy in a mmmmm, oh yeah!! way. :) :) lol
Heavenly Scented has a very good, oh yeah, rosy fragrance. It's a tall bush, and the flowers last for almost a month!!
I don't think I'll try another Austin rose as I've killed too many of them, otherwise, I'd try Evelyn again. You really do a great job at describing fragrance.
Have you ever tried Life of the Party? It has a VERY strong, wonderful, sharp fragrance. The sharp fragrance could be fruity?? It's not a cutting rose though.
Oh, your Evelyn blooms are so beautiful!! Mmmmmm :)
Let's hear it for Life of the Party! An absolute winner here, blooms in triple digits, and yes, the fragrance is fabulous. very easy to grow. Chili thrips leave it alone.
Sylvia - oh, yes!!! I love your Life of the Party!!! As you said, it's such an easy rose to grow, and its so rewarding.
Straw - lovely!! Your Eisvogel is my favorite...what a wonderful bloom!! I wish I could smell your Austins. :)
I have been deep in the chilli thrip fight and am finally winning.
This is what has worked for me:
First, I trimmed off all thrip affected growth, which nearly killed me to do. Lost so many buds and new growth. I bagged it all and tossed it.
Next, spinosad, I apply at night because of the heat and to protect the bees. Skip the stuff in a spray bottle and get the Conserve which is much stronger. It’s expensive but you don’t need much.
I sprayed, then the following week sprayed insecticidal soap on all the new growth. The week after that sprayed Conserve again.
Sticky blue traps
Beneficial insects, especially nematodes
But what I think has made the most difference is overhead watering. Every day I go out and hose them down with a pretty strong stream of water—I use a hose wand. I make sure I wet the soil throughly and spray down the entire plant and underneath the leaves. I do that during the day so it doesn’t sit for toooo long. It is causing more black spot than I’d see in the heat and dry but I’d rather have blackspot than the thrips.
My plants are finally rebounding with this routine. They truly are nasty buggers.
Next year I will be planting more companions for the roses to harbor other beneficial bug friends.
Thanks, Jim :)
I think that's the best WS 2000 I've ever seen.
Straw - thanks about the pH advice. :) I'm going to see how my Pink Peace does next year. It's improved a bit. :) So my Dr. Huey A&A roses like tap water better. Thanks! I have stored rainwater which is hooked to a hose, so I can water my own root roses with rainwater. I tried WS2000 years ago (8?) and it died on me. Austins don't do well for me. Only one that did well was Bishop's Castle. My Emily Bronte is doing okay...healthy, and I'm going to keep it. But I don't want to try the beautiful WS2000 again. :) I adore your WS2000!!! That bouquet is totally brilliant in its understatement. The best bouquet you've ever done IMO. :) :) I didn't get a single bloom with my WS2000...I wish I could smell its wonderful fragrance. The 2nd picture really shows the stuffed blooms well. Oh my!!!
Hmmm… I guess I’m the outlier because I quite like mine. It is a bit stingy about repeating, but it has good blackspot resistance even in part shade (I think the part shade is at least somewhat to blame for the stingy rebloom). In short, it is a tall rose thst is excellent in the back of my border, but I probably wouldn’t give it a prime spot.
Its hard to pick only 5. I will probably forget one and have to rearrange the order they go in lol. Here's a few, I know would make the list.
~ Teasing Georgia..constant bloomer here in NE FL zone 9a.
~ Spirit of Freedom..smells wonderful and is another good bloomer. Sometimes gets very lilac.
~ Abe Darby..does get some blackspot during our rainy season but keeps on blooming. Does best on fortuniana rootstock here.
Munstead Wood..one of the best reds here. With our heat most reds turn magenta. MW does do that a little in the summer but the winter brings those deep dark reds I love. Plus it has an old rose fragrance that wafts.
Summer
Winter
Evelyn is a Diva here so she shouldnt get 5th place, however when she is good, she is very very good plus, I am a sucker for a Button Eye!!
Then ~sigh~ There is Bathsheba and she blooms more than Evelyn. She doesn't smell half as nice though But! She is what Apricot Dreams are made of..
I could go on.. lol
Great thread right now when we're making decisions for spring 2022.
If I had Carding Mill, she would be on the list, but I don't, so here's my five.
Crown Princess Margareta
Munstead Wood in her summer attire.
St. Cecilia.
The Alnwick Rose
Eglantyne
The truth is, I love all my Austins equally. Jude is the only one I've had trouble with and he's leaving.
That will be a gorgeous rose Jim . The foliage looks perfect and the bloom color is a great pop of color
True Serenity just keeps pumping out blooms!
summersrhythm,
I got mine online from Amazon, Home Depot, and strangely, from Wal-Mart. The best time to order is not too early or dormant bushes are sent. This is OK, as long as they are truly dormant and not dead!
I suggest ordering in this window of opportunity: between mid-April to early June. The best, healthiest, least stressed roses came during this period. As the heat of summer increases through fall, the roses sent are dicey. They're often terribly stressed looking when unboxed, often continuing downhill until they die, even with the best of care.
I find Amazon the best source, although Home Depot has the greatest variety. Wal-Mart wins with the lowest prices and quickest delivery. Orders often received 3 days after being placed.
Amazon is the best when problems arise. Problems being: bad condition, damaged shipment, wrong rose variety/color, etc., Contact their customer service and explain your problem and refunds are made without having to return the rose. With Home Depot and Wal-Mart, a return to a local establishment is necessary before a refund is made.
So, my advice is to only order in spring, and from Amazon first, then try the others.
Another thing, summersrhythm, concerning being given a choice between: 1 gallon, 2 gallon, 3 gallon size roses, go with the 1 gallon size. Plant two roses of the same variety right next to each other. One is a gallon size, and the other is 2 or 3 gallon size. In two years, the one gallon size will be larger than the other, bigger (at planting time), rose.
Finally, you save quite a bit with Amazon if you are enrolled in Amazon Prime. Free shipping is a great deal. Now with Home Depot, shipping is free, even for just one rose bush. With Wal-Mart, shipping is free after the order totals $35.00.
Since I no longer drive and must get my roses/supplies delivered, I learned how to navigate the, "Treacherous Online Purchasing Seas."
Happy sailing, summersrhythm!
Moses.
Nice Roses Straw! Same here so many variables season to season! lol
Some roses do well know matter what's thrown at them other roses not so much...lol
Just enjoy... :-)
Year ago I bought a rose from HR and it did the same thing as yours but my other roses from HR did well... So? I'd have em planted before the UPS truck drove away...lol...
I had a rose plant sit there and fade to yellow and brown that I figured was too wet and slightly over potted and hence rotted I think. This was in cool weather. This had not happened before to me. I over watered it I guess.
I definitely agree we have very different climates, Dianela, and your plants should not need hand watering I see now.
Dianela,
ROOT ROT, due to root shock. No matter how carefully from a container a young rose bush is removed, the limited root system gets shocked, especially if the container sides that supported the growing medium are gone. In its place is a plastic bag which allows the roots to become disarranged. Then the jostling that occurs during shipping causes the entire root system to be further disturbed. The fine feeder roots are broken. What comes next is when planted, such a stressed root mass is destroyed by simple good old watering. It cannot take up moisture properly, root rot starts immediately, and the rose dies from its roots up.
Sorry for this happening to your roses, Dianela.
I just cannot figure Heirloom Roses out. The same thing happened to me last year with my Madame Anisette. The rose came in a bag with a zip tie loosely fastened, enough to be able to put two fingers through, and the poor thing was just about separated from its rooting medium. However, it did not die, fortunately, but lost a whole year recovering. It died to the ground over winter but a couple little shoots emerged at ground level in May. At this time it is about 20" tall, essentially the same size it was at the same time last year, although now growing nicely. It even bloomed with two adjacent small blooms earlier. I hope it takes off next year.
Contact Heirloom, and stand your ground. I'm with you!
Moses.