Gorgeous picture, Daisy. I have no doubt you'll be making your gardens all the more beautiful.

jannike

Gordeous!

Since summers are long in your area, Daisy, I'd be annoyed too if a rose didn't perform up to snuff for months at a time. I assume the roses you replaced it with are favorites of yours and, if that's the case, they're worth trying. You seem to be able to grow almost anything to perfection. Please keep us posted on how the new roses are faring. Since I'm a lover of cool pinks and mauves, I look forward to seeing your new acquisitions.

Daisy, your garden is so amazingly gorgeous and perfect, I would not argue with any decision you every make about it.

Jackie

No apologies necessary, Daisy. It's your garden and life is short. Do what makes you happy!

Well I'd say that if it wasn't blooming well in summer and resented being pruned out of the path, then it wasn't exactly thriving. You did the right thing, I think. Seil's right - life's too short and there are too few gardening seasons to waste garden space on the wrong plant. The Archduc had his chance; now it's on with the ladies. We'll look forward to photos of your gorgeous gardens as the two Reine's settle in.
Change can be very, very good.
Anne

It's your garden and your rose. You get to decide! Having seen your pictures, I'd be inclined to trust your instincts.

Rosefolly

Beautiful photo, I'd love to know what the pink and white roses are in it. Lux

What a gorgeous photo!

However, it did the same thing in my yard -- the blooms are the size of a quarter in the summer. I moved it over to my next door neighbor's yard and they don't mind ... :-)

Daisy, I don't have AJ but Monsieur Tillier did the same thing for me. Abundant tiny blooms. Very frustrating but the kicker was all the dieback. He grew tall ultra fast, but I seemed to cut more off than he added. And what a glorious garden you have! Be sure to show us how the reines do. Hope you feel better about your decision now. :)

Sherry, I believe that Archduc Joseph and Mons Tiller are the same rose.

Luxrose, The pink rose in my photo, is Archduc Joseph. The other roses are...near left, Sombreuil...

....behind the pot at the back, Blush Noisette.

....and nearest on the right is Gruss an Aachen.

Daisy

I don't blame you one bit for removing AJ. My Monsieur is too old and large to transplant, but it is in a very hot, dry, location and the blooms are only pretty in early spring, so I experience the same frustration with my perfectly healthy rose.

Molly

Planting the Monsieur in a few hours. I hope he behaves in my garden. Your garden is just beautiful Daisy. One day hopefully my garden will be as gorgeous as yours. Please keep sharing!

Beautiful garden....would love more pictures! Lesley

Lovely garden, Daisy. Wish I had your touch. I had a Ms T growing in a spot where it got a lot of run off from my neighbour's driveway. The blooms were always large. I removed that one as it grew huge and didn't go with Marie van Houtte, and planted another in a spot which dries out quickly. Sure enough, in Summer the blooms are small, and not attractive. According to the "Teabags", AJ and Ms T are not the same rose.

Well, what goes around comes around. I am having to rethink the area where Archduke Joseph was. I replanted it with Reine des Violettes, La Reine Victoria, Penelope and Alstroemerias. They are all doing extremely well apart from RdV who popped his clogs after his first flowering. The problem is that I am getting older and just climbing up the steps to that area of the garden is becoming a pain. When Archduke Joseph was there, he took up a lot of space that I didn't have to worry about, because he looked after himself. I don't need to worry about tiny blooms in the heat of the summer any more, as I won't be climbing up there so often to see them.

So. I am thinking of moving the roses and plants that are currently there and replacing them with a big tea rose that will fill the area. That is roughly 15 feet x 15 feet. It can be less. I am attracted to Papa Gontier.

What are your thoughts?

Daisy

Your post made me laugh! Here, I have to be happy with roses that bloom in the Spring and Fall but have small or distorted flowers in the summer. They are all like that. Well, except for the ones that never have nice flowers or don't bloom. And no-care garden roses don't exist here. They all need serious pampering to look decent. So I'm a bit jealous of you.

Since yours is still a fairly young rose, Sheila, I would imagine it's going to be a big, lusty bush. It's a handsome rose.

Your dilemma made me laugh as well as I welcome just a few roses and other plants that just take care of themselves, especially those further away from hoses! Papa Gontier would look gorgeous in that space, but I really loved AJ from your original pic and found the difference in bloom size charming. Do you just want to try something new?

I agree vapor, I'd probably plant another AJ (MT), if I were Daisy. Here's hoping Ingrid is right that my Papa Gontier fills out. My MT has a naturally beautiful bush shape.

Can't help but TOTALLY relate to noseometer and vaporvac's comments, lol!!!

So, I am guessing that 'La Reine Victoria' is 'Heresy' and 'Reine des Violettes' is 'Blasphemy'? Nice to see their antiquated names have been updated with a 21st Century attitude!

I am sorry. The fact that some roses produce tiny flowers in the heat of the summer, came as a surprise to me when I first saw it. Coming to the Mediterranean from England, lots of things are different and after 11 years I am still learning. I suppose it seems daft to you all that I didn't know.

The thing is that apart from Archduke Joseph and to a lesser extent, Archduc Charles, not one of my other roses do it. Lady Emma Hamilton does tend to produce more semi- double blooms in the heat, but Firefighter, Perdita, Marechal Niel, Jude the Obscure, Blush Noisette, Sombrieul, Teasing Georgia, Pretty Jessica, The New Dawn, William Shakespeare 2000, Colombian Climbing, Munstead Wood, Annie Laurie McDowell, Aimee Vibert, Mme Alfred Carriere, Pat Austin, Jubilee Celebration, Papa Meilland, Oklahoma and Augusta Louise all continue to produce full sized, fully petalled, blooms throughout the summer. The rest of the roses, (with the exception of some new ones, of which it's too soon to say,) simply stop flowering during the summer.

The thing is that 3 years ago , when I started this thread, I was still able to run up and down those steps to Archduke Joseph all the time. Now, things have changed, it is not so easy. It still surprises me that my body is no longer obeying my head, but there you go. I need to bring down to the lower level, La Reine Victoria and Penelope and replace them with a large growing rose that I can see from below.

Sheila, your garden and your roses are more than gorgeous. Thank-you for those photos.

Sorry, I hadn't finished. Comtesse, I thought that Papa Gontier had more colour shading in his petals. Perhaps I am thinking of the wrong rose.

Sheila, I agree Archduke Joseph is very shapely, even when young, as your's is.

I am in a dilemma.

Daisy

It's your garden, do whatever you want. If you can replace it with something else that doesn't disappoint you, why not? I would, if I had that option, unless it is too much work to do so and you don't see it very much anyway, then it might not be worth it. BTW that picture of your garden is gorgeous.

I did read Papa Gontier could be a shapely well foliaged bush with pruning, but AJ (MT) does it on it's own. I agree with Comtesse that the blooms on Papa are more one color, without the complexity of colors. General Schablikine is a winner too.

You read my mind comtesse. Yes I am thinking of Mrs B R Cant for that spot.

I must say however, I love the colours of General Gallieni. On one of the blogs you gave, he has well shaped blooms. On the other though, he doesn't have such well shaped blooms. I know I am probably being finicky, but I do like a well shaped bloom on the whole. Lovely blogs both of them. Thank-you for that.

My decision may come down to practical matters such as availability and carriage costs.

I still don't know what to choose.

Daisy