I love my Heritage too.

I don't think I've ever seen it, but I think I'd be less forgiving than you since I think there are other roses with that general shape and color which are a little easier. It is a very pretty flower and apparently fragrant, so maybe once you have it you learn to love it.

Ingrid, there is a story behind this. Around 20 years ago we were on holiday near Ottawa, parents and five kids in a big station wagon. On the way back we stopped at a nursery for a quick look. Up until that time I had only seen modern roses and some rugosas. At that place they had Heritage in a big container, with one bloom at its very best moment. I was absolutely smitten... The car was packed with seven people and all we had needed for two weeks, but somehow a spot was found for the rose. I then started reading about roses, and discovered English roses and old roses. I know there are better ones, and I have and have had them, but Heritage remains special.

What a lovely story and a lovely bloom to go with it.

Thank you for sharing that special story. That makes your feelings about this rose totally understandable. I had that same feeling of wonder about Mutabilis, a rose so utterly different from any I had previously encountered, and it began my wonderful journey with the old roses. Unfortunately, since it was about 7 feet tall and equally wide, and firmly rooted in the ground of the UC Berkeley Botanical Garden, I could not take it with me. Its baby sibling, however, was soon growing in my garden.

Just a little update, as the story of forgiveness continues. This is the second year this Heritage bush is in my garden, I bought it late season last year. It has grown well beyond expectations in that short time, not even a year. It is now a sizeable bush, just starting its third flush, with the new canes for the fourth round already coming up above the rest. Lots of basal breaks and other canes from low down. No mildew, no BS, two spots of rust on an old twig that was half broken off. I cut that off as soon as I saw it in May, nothing since. The blooms now are smaller, simpler and more yellowish than I find ideal, but with so many of them, lovely scent, and great colour and form in spring and fall, I am more than happy. Still forgiven ;-).

I will post this text now, and add pictures when I can in a comment. I don't want the page to reload while I am looking for the pics :-0.

Some years ago, at a rose society meeting, the woman who was judging the "Little Rose Show" called me over . . . Pointing to a bloom of 'Heritage' in a vase, she asked: "Is this what it's supposed to look like."

I looked, and said: "WOW!"

sHE ASKED: "Does 'WOW' mean it's really good, or really bad?"

I replied: "Oh, it's very nice. 'WOW' just means, I'm surprised it got here intact, because it shatters as soon as you pick it."

And with that, every petal fell to the table.

ROFL! That is so right! Still, a perfect Heritage bloom moves me more than many other pink roses, Austins or other.

@ jerijen LOL LOL LOL!!!!!!!!!!

Well, the dastardly deed is done: I cut my Heritage back to almost soil level, and as soon as I have the energy (it is hot and very humid here today), I will Spade Prune it. After a triumphant first year in 2016, things went downhill fast. Rust, rust, rust. It also often dies down pretty low in winter, and it doesn’t like that either. Despite everything I tried, this year there was rust already by the end of May, and even spraying sulphur every week doesn’t really do much. The bush is low, the canes thin, the flowers second rate. And did I mention the rust??? Even Belle Story, which grows just across the path from Heritage, had rust this year. And The Reeve, also fairly close by, had it on a single leaf. So, with regret, out Heritage goes :-( . Still my favourite rose, but some things are not meant to be.

Dinie, I'm so sorry. When a rose is this special to you it's a shame it has to go. I hope you find a wonderful rose to take its place.

I'm glad this thread was resurrected so that I could enjoy Jeri's story again. It's perfect!

Lol, I love Jeri's WOW!! Too funny :)
Made my day :)
jin

Yes, Jeri's story is one I always remembered when I was tempted to cut a few blooms for inside. It is so true, and so funny.

Ingrid, I waited (too) long because I like Heritage so much. For now I will plant a nice big annual, maybe a good Salvia, and then I will try to get a replacement in the fall. I also have Nahema, and the form of the bloom is very similar to Heritage, though it misses that ethereal quality Heritage has. The fragrance is also delicious, but again, different. But now the great dilemma: what to plant there???

To me Heritage is irreplaceable. So if you take a bite of something delicious, does it last long? Would you rather not eat it?

I guess if long lasting blooms is very important to you you wouldn't want Heritage. But in all the years I've had it, I don't think I've thought more than once about blooms blowing quickly. For people who exhibit, it could disappoint.

Some other things that don't last long:

a rainbow

a shooting star

puppyhood

an eclipse

rose fragrance...on many, it's here one minute, gone the next

I think the plant blooms as long in spring as any other so if bloom follows bloom, what's to miss? Also it repeats. I like a lot of once bloomers.... and things like tulips that are here only a little while. It makes the time they're here all the more special.

The scent! Easily balances out not lasting long. ( for me) But to see a Heritage bloom at it's best puts all dismay to rest.

I love my Heritage.

Erasmus, I wish you would read what I wrote, instead of firing off a knee jerk reaction. This was my third Heritage, and the quick blowing of the blooms has *never* been a problem for me, as is clear from what I wrote in the original post. The beauty and fragrance of Heritage more than offset the short duration of the individual bloom. If I could keep Heritage healthy, I would never be without it, for me it is the essence of a gorgeous rose.

However, as I made clear in my first post today, the *only* reason I got rid of Heritage, was the constant rust problem. I lost my first Heritage, bought in the early nineties, to rust: over several years the bush got smaller and weaker, and at a certain point it just died. I tried again with a new plant in another part of the garden, with the same result. I then gave up, but when I ran into another Heritage in 2015, I hoped I would be lucky this time. When the same problem started again, I did all I could, even using the first pesticide I have used in more than 20 years. I just cannot keep Heritage healthy. Below a picture of my bush today. A tiny, sorry thing with bare shanks, and at least half of the remaining leaves had rust on the underside.

Thank you for the beautiful pictures of your gorgeous Heritage. Count yourself blessed that you can grow her to such perfection.

I am sorry that your Heritage had to go. My Heritage was bought in my first Austen order seven years ago. Yes, the blooms last only for a day. But in our heat it is extremely vigorous and completely healthy (I do not spray ny roses). It is always full of blooms. In my garden is one of the roses I really like to admire because of the plant itself: lush green leaves and beautiful pink blooms.

Soncna, and that fragrance! My favourite. The leaves when you touch them a bit, add a peppery note to it. Enjoy yours!

It was my first rose too. Sentimental value. It is very shade tolerant.

I think I am moving it to a pot to make room for The ancient mariner.