Your pictures of DD are absolutely gorgeous.I love that first one with the side shot !!!

My son has this rose at his Perennial Farm so I do get to see it.
It is truly a lovely rose.

I just don't have a sunny spot that would be good for it.

Florence

Pappu, it really is pretty. Mine has never looked that good. I think you gots da touch.

I just bought that rose, Im so excited! I have a sunny couch in wait for that beautiful damsel!
Angela

Florence, DD should actually do well in an area with some shade...The subtle coloration and the contrast with the lavender and apricot stays longest when they are in afternoon shade. I have these on the north side and they get morning and evening sun and in mid afternoon are shaded by the shadow from the house and so far they seem to like it...I am so happy I finally have this rose and that all three are doing so well.

Oh this rose has been on my want list now for a couple of years, I have no idea where I will plant it to show it off to its best advantage but trust me, after seeing your pictures I am going to look even harder, beautiful.

Valerie

Pappu, I think that magic tea you made worked out well. Very pretty photos. I never gave this rose much thought but seeing yours makes me want one.

Carla

One of my favorites. I love the way you plant en masse - it really creates an impact.

Pappu,

Every time I see photos of your ALL your roses, I WANT EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM. This year I ordered roses from Pickering and what a big disappointment. So I ask you, where do you purchase your beautiful roses?

These are wonderful photos of a unique rose.
Kathy in the Napa Valley

Thank you...
Cameragirl, the bareroots are from Edmunds roses, grafted on Dr. Huey. They were big and healthy and are growing gangbusters right now. I thought this was going to be one of those slow growing weak roses, but so far they are very vigorous and floriferous. I hope they are reasonably hardy in zone 5.

Thanks for the info. Besides Edmunds (since they are no longer around), where else is a good online source? I'm in zone 5 too. What are good roses for my zone? I believe you also have Chicago Peace but I heard that one is not hardy in zone 5.

Perfect in every way. What a great looking rose.

Randy

I could now shoot myself in the foot for not buying this rose this season. Gorgeous Pappu! Are you still whipping up that nuclear alfalfa brew up there? It's working SO well!
-Nan

Cameragirl, ask if your local nursery can order for you from Weeks(grafted) or Bailey(ownroot). You need to place the order now, because most of the nurseries are placing orders for next spring now. You will get potted, leafed out roses next spring that are easy to plant and take care of...Once you get more experienced, then you will be able to coax those babies from Pickering and other online nurseries to full growth after they are planted...
The superstars of my yard(no need to winter protect these)

Knockout
Livin' easy
Carefree wonder
Purple pavement
Champlain
Morden blush
Ramblin red(climber)
Rose de rescht
Day breaker

Good luck!

Thanks Pappu!

What an inspiration! I am sooooo happy that I got this rose when Wayside had their sale. I am going to place it where it gets some relief from the afternoon sun in my hot climate.

Absolutely gorgeous pictures!

That is so beautiful, I wanted to plant a whole rose bed of "Distant Drums" mixed wiht Echinacea and daisies past spring but ran out of time and money. This will be surely my first project for Spring of 2007.

Tatiana, Distant Drums and coneflowers would be an excellent combo. I was thinking of these together as well..The purple shades of DD and Echinacea would play off each other so well..

I just bought one of these and it smells great! It actually smells like hyacinth.

I'm in zone 5 in Indiana and I'm thinking about planting some but I want to know if Distant Drums reblooms throughout the season. I am looking for color all season.

Yes, DD will rebloom in flushes through the season. It will not have constant/continuous bloom however.

I didn't realize Distant Drums is such a beautiful rose, love those pictures!

Stunning roses!!! What wonderful pictures!!

Unfortunately I will never again grow this rose, because to my nose they stink really, really badly and the smell permeated my whole yard. It was disgusting. So it's really interesting that other people really like the smell. :)

Carol

Looks like we won't be able to enjoy the photos anymore. Photobucket started charging for 3rd party hosting :(

These. Are. Stunning!! Thank you for sharing!!!

Wow... They look amazing! And clean! I plan to get this rose next season.

Hey Ken, since you're in the same zone as I am, what do you do to take care of yours (spray/fertilize)? What type of soil do you have? Is your DD grafted or own-root?

Sorry for all the questions. I just want all my roses to look full and lush like that one!

Fabulous DDs!!!! Amazing!!

Carol

DLEverette----Growing good roses doesn't need to be hard. It all starts with the soil. If the roots of your rose are big, healthy and happy, most of the battle is won. I use strictly Sta-Green Flower and Veggy soil. Trust me, the roses love it. Most (99%) of my large roses are on an under stock (multiflora, Dr Huey and Fortuniana). All three under stocks do great in my location. My Distant Drums is on Dr Huey. Over the years I have tried every type of feeding you could think of. I've settled for simplicity with great results.

Once a month, starting April 1st, I apply about 3/4 of a cup of 10-10-10 around each bush until Labor Day. The first of March I throw down a shovel full of Black Kow on each bush and apply Beaty's Liquid Seaweed on each bush and water it in. The 3rd week of September I apply Fish Emulsion. I spray my roses every two weeks with Bayers Rose and Shrub Disease Control. During July I switch over to Honor Guard for two applications, then back to Bayers. Everything stays clean and my roses are happy all growing season.