JJ -- 'Snowbird' isn't one of the better-known roses these days, but for toughness, disease-resistance, and generosity of bloom, it really can't be beat.

This plant in the Sacramento City Cemetery is a cutting from a rose we found, lont-untended, un-watered, in the San Fernando Valley. Given just a little care and a bit of water, this beauty will put on a show for you. It was one of the top show roses in the 1940's, and I can sure see why.

Thank you very much for sharing those fantastic pics Jeri! Based on the vigorous growth despite being untended and reading some previous posts, this rose must have a good number of tea/China genes. Could you describe the fragrance and also how it should be pruned?

This rose certainly is beautiful! Lovely bush catspa! This is a newby question, but when you prune, do you strip all the leaves as well?

I sure don't. If you're in my zone, and it looks like you are, many roses actually look better in the winter. We don't ever really go dormant. Lisa ( SanDiego Co, CA)

jjkoc - one thing all newbies need to know. IGNORE all of the "rules" of rose tending you might read about, or hear about. That is because most of them were developed for cold winter climates. Or at least colder winters than where you garden! Unfortunately, the sources where you might read these rules usually do not admit that - they just state the rules as universal "things you MUST do".

It turns out that roses, like probably all plants, are climate dependent, and some roses do well in some climates, but not all roses do well in all climates. Also the care they need depends on what roses they are, and where they grow.

The best thing you can do is what you are doing - ask for information on here, always stressing WHERE you are gardening. You have already gotten great advice above for the rose you were asking about, from people who grow it in similar climates to yours. That is invaluable.

So, welcome to rose growing! I have found that this particular forum has people who come on here often who are very knowledgeable, and very generous answering questions. As a matter of fact, they/we get fun out of answering questions! So keep asking, and if someone tells you you MUST do this, or that, ask about the advice on here before you do anything.

Jackie

You'll find the website helpmefind.com/roses has information on zone, size, fragrance with lots of photos and posts about how the roses do in various climates. There's even a tab that lists nurseries which offer a specific rose.

I haven't grown Bolero but from all accounts it's also an excellent rose, so that at least in part it depends on which one you prefer. Snowbird of course is a vintage rose and one that is reportedly quite good in hot climates. catspa, what a glorious picture of Snowbird in your garden. I wouldn't be able to resist that rose!

As mentioned -- roses (and probably all garden plants) will "do" differently, in different conditions.

With an own-root rose (which you will likely have) I would do little or no pruning for the first several years. And I only remove leaves when they have disease problems (which is unlikely, with 'Snowbird'.) Even when plants are mature -- in MY climate (which is different by far from Catspa's) I prune ONLY to remove dead or damaged canes.

As for fragrance -- Several of us find a nice citrussy undernote. But I can't come closer than that, because fragrance is so subjective.

I don't have Snowbird but I do have Bolero. It doesn't seem a very likely plant to use as a hedge, since it barely clears 3' even in warm zones like yours. The blooms are nice, but I'd take Jeri's recommendations for Snowbird. She's in your zone and has better feedback for your conditions than I would have.

Cynthia

Wow, thank you everyone for all your recommendations and sharing your experience! This community is really amazing; for a newbie, it's such a great feeling to experience knowledge-transfer, like a lifetime's experience is being provided to me to build upon!

I will be sure to continue asking questions to this community and learning more about cultivars for my locale.

I wanted to share a couple of photos of MW roses. They pale in comparison to many I've seen on this forum, but I was so excited since these were the first roses I grew!

Thank you again for helping me on this rose growing adventure!

Munstead wood is on my wish list for next year

I can so relate, jj. MW is the first rose I've bought and planted just this past Spring and I can't get enough. I could spend all day tending them if I could. I am ecstatic over this rose and think it's a good one for a beginner as it loves to bloom and grow with very little help. JC is on my tentative wish list so feel free to post pics of yours when it blooms.

I agree, I think MW is very satisfying with such lush and beautifully colored flowers and lovely fragrance! I only wish the flowers lasted longer than 3 days. JC I think is also a good plant for a newbie, it took longer to start growing and flowering, but there are many more buds on it than MW. JC appears like it will have a smaller profile, with more dainty structure and appearance to the leaves. The petals have a very different shape, almost like they are etched to a point, not unlike a lotus flower. The fragrance is very interesting, a strong lemony scent with a touch of cedar wood; very strong when the flower just starts to open and not detectable after fully opened.

Here are my humble pics...

I agree with nippstress. Bolero might get tall enough, but it would take a number of years. I think Hoovb has reported that her plant after some years reached 4 feet, also in a mild climate like yours, but mine are less than 2 feet tall after 4 years in cold-winter climate.

Very nice! I keep meaning to take picture of Bolero for you, but I need to wait until the sun isn't glaring. I will add some to this post soon. I agree with all the above. I don't think its for a fence but, it is a great rose. It's compact, smells wonderful, makes LOTS of flowers that last about a week cut. I have heard it thrives in clay based soils, and that's what I've got here in S CA. It's thriving in the heat as well.

Your MW is lovely. What are the other two pics? They are looking fab, as well. Lisa

Ok I'm back with some photos. I blocked the sunlight as much as I could with my shadow. I keep missing that early and late photo opportunity.

I see that the other rose must be your JC. I really like it. I don't grow that one, but if I had more space I would. I'd grow em all:)

Thank you Lisa, the other photos are of Jubilee Celebration. Great info about Bolero, maybe this will be good for a small spot in the front of the house with Snowbird for the hedge.

I just took two evening shots of Bolero. I just wanted you to see what a bloom machine this rose is. These photos were taken about 2 weeks after my pictures in my above post. As you can see it is always blooming, even in this hot dry summer.It stays on the small side and it is one of my top 3 bloomers. It does great in our S CA climate, and smells wonderful too. Bolero is always blooming!!!! Lisa

I grow Snowbird ( great fragrance, healthy rose) and Bolero .

Bolero is confusing:

Regan lists their product as a floribunda/Romantica, which actually according to HMF should be the 1997 Meilland Bolero, because it is the Romantica, although they list "Hybrid Tea" not floribunda????

Roses Unlimited describes their Bolero as a 2004 floribunda Meilland, which according to HMF would be Bolero 2004.

I really am not sure, but have both. At my previous home I grew the R.U. 2004 Bolero, and it was stellar. I have the Regan product and the own-root R.U. product side by side in a bed, and the R.U. own root roses are out performing the Regan product ( 2 of which did not even break dormancy). I am actually considering replacing the Regan roses with the R.U. Bolero's next year.

My own-root Boleros (Roses Unlimited), received in May of this year, are blooming here and there, throughout the worst of my summer heat. The grafted product is alive.... acceptable...

Wow, thank you for sharing the pics Lisa! And thank you Desertgarden for sharing your observations on the differences between different own-root clones. This is something I will have to keep in mind. I wonder if it is just differences in vigor of the original mother plants or some other factors.

I wonder if a rose is vigorous on its own roots whether that is always preferable?

Thank you everyone for sharing your experiences!

I prefer own root roses in general, but my Bolero is grafted. My favorite nursery marks down all their potted roses in the fall. The price just drops lower and lower until they are $5. I ended up with quite a few roses at that price. They were not all winners, but Bolero sure was. Interesting to hear about the different performance of your Boleros. I'm very happy with mine. Lisa

Did you end up going with Snowbird or Bolero? I would love to see and hear updates on how your roses are doing? I’m especially interested in Snowbird. I have 3 Boleros (one in tree form)... and my oldest Bolero (7 years old or so)... is 4 feet tall and 6 feet wide... I’ve never pruned it. It’s a blooming machine and one of my absolute favorite roses. They’re all grafted but I bury them deep below the graft point to transition them to becoming ownroot.
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Here’s a link to a video of mine:
https://www.instagram.com/tv/COYyWBtHSfP/?utm_medium=copy_link
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My Bolero has remained quite small but it gives pretty good flower if I keep the midge away. I'll post a pic from yesterday it's absolutely gorgeous.

Ann-

Snowbird has a lovely fragrance and is dry heat tolerant. I purchased mine from Burling and grew it at a previous garden. Unfortunately, I only grew this rose for 2.5 years, however I had no complaints. Unlike my Bolero 2004 that had a pink blush during cooler temperature, Snowbird’s blooms were always white or cream.

Jjkoc-

My grafted Bolero from Regan and my own root Bolero from ARE were both Bolero 2004 floribundas roses. I saw no difference between the grafted or own root plants. (At one point I thought my plants came from Regan and R.U., but I remembered that I wanted plants closer in size to the grafted plants that did not break dormancy, so I ordered own-root plants from ARE). Also, at one point, I believe both Boleros were listed at R.U., but when I confirmed what Bolero was just shipped to me, I was told theirs is the 1997 Bolero... Romantica...

The Bolero 1997 Romantica from Roses Unlimited was own root and is very visually different... The seed for both comes from different David Austin roses. I could be incorrect, but at this point believe it is a case of the same name, but very different roses...

FWIW . . . There are roses that will never really be vigorous on their own roots, but there are other roses that just don't care. I have only grown Snowbird in SoCal, but it has told me that it is just as happy on its own roots as budded.

Bolero never did well here, but Snowbird is a trooper.

Below is my own-root Snowbird on May 1 of this year (compare to photo from 2016 above). She gets wider and more floriferous every year and the foliage remains front-door-beautiful (which is where she's at) all season long. All this with very indifferent soil and only a few handfuls of alfalfa pellets each year as an additive (and after a very dry winter, to boot). One of the best.

When I stopped to see Burling in January and pick up some plants I ordered, she also offered me cuttings of Snowbird. I gladly accepted and here is my young plant I grew from the cutting. I am already impressed and can tell it will be a good rose! The flowers are so well formed for such a small plant and the fragrance is excellent. I placed it beside the bush of Le Grand Capitaine I grew from a cutting given to me by Anita, former curator of Sacramento Historical Cemetery.