Jackie, my three year old Lauren doesn't show any inclination toward being a climber, even though she's going to be bigger than Kim expected. Mine has just been building bulk slowly but surely, getting bigger but staying bushy. But we all know that the conditions in CA make roses do some strange things they wouldn't even think about elsewhere. If she's showing signs of wanting to climb, I'd go ahead and get another one and encourage it by giving it support. It's one of my very favorite roses (I've said before that she has character!) and you couldn't go wrong by having more than one- whether it climbs, or not.

John

I wanted to get Lauren this year from Bierkreek, but it seems to have been removed from their list...rats.

Bart, I recommend agitating for them to add it back to their list. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and Lauren is worth having!

Jackie, my Lauren may yet reach for the sky, but it will no doubt take her longer here than it would there in CA. I wouldn't mind at all if she became a climber- it would just be more of a good thing, lol. She's just so dang *cheerful*. If a rose can smile, Lauren does.

PS. My Lauren is about the size of the main body of yours, below the level of the Peach Drift.

Lauren has a really beautiful purplish color. It's not reddish or pinkish, but a really a glowing purple.

I have a polyantha, Aunt Margy's Rose, that I planted in a narrow bed against the house wall. Before the drought at one time it was almost 8 feet tall, which you wouldn't expect of a polyantha. When roses have some kind of support, they often seem to morph into something unexpected. Unfortunately, with the drought and before drip irrigation it developed a lot of dead canes, and by the time I had removed all that it was only a shadow of its former self. It seems to be building itself up again now with drip watering. I don't think I've ever seen this rose without its lavender pink, fragrant and many-petaled blooms. I'm surprised more people don't grow it.

Ingrid - don't forget that Cl Cecile Bruner is a polyantha! It is climbing 3 1/2 stories up my house.

Thanks for the info about Aunt Margy's Rose - I will have to look that one up.

Jackie

Ingrid, I grow Aunt Margy's Rose! For the most part, I like it a lot. However, one thing that bothers me a bit - sometimes the color is a gorgeous purply-lavender-pink, but other times it is very very pale. I don't think its weather related - I have seen it do this in both hot and cool weather. My two are very young plants, so I was hoping that maybe as they mature, the color will stabilize. Or could it be a soil issue? Does yours do this? (I grow Lauren too, what a great rose! Mine is also bigger than expected, but doesn't look like it'll be a climber, though perhaps it could in a warmer climate. I like it so much, I'm planning to get another this spring!)

Thank you! I'm glad Lauren is pleasing you! Definitely try it as a climber. What could it hurt? Lauren is a Baby Faurax seedling. Harry Wheatcroft claimed BF was the "dwarf, repeat flowering sport of Veilchenblau". Those purples arose from multiflora, through Veilchenblau. Who's to say whether seedlings bearing strong affinity to Veilchenblau are more prone to sport, or revert, back to climbing traits? Polys, in general, are also strongly multiflora, and share the blurred line between them and "Hybrid Musks". When happy and in benign climates, most can attain enormous proportions. Take a look at the La Marne at the Sacramento Cemetery! Then, have a gander at their Comtesse du Cayla! Not a poly, but another which is significantly larger than others report. Lauren may well build into a bushy climber, perhaps similar to the way Pink Gate does. Whether it does or not, it's worth trying! If you want to "encourage" her to "climb", keep the flower clusters pinched off to force new growth. I think it will surprise you! Good luck!

Yeah, I'll definitely ask Geertje about this rose, Kim. This is what ends up fostering my antagonism for those dang Austins. everybody keeps on effing throwing them at you!!! whilst much better,far more original roses (come on, people; aren't the Austins all starting to look alike?) bred by true lovers of roses rather than buisness folk,are so hard if not impossible to find. Yes, I realize , a lot of fine old roses are available here in Europe and not in the USA . But what about these really beautiful ones , bred by living humans of today? I would so love to welcome some Paul Barden roses to my garden, not to mention the Ruperts...I know Kim breeds for resistance and resiliance in hot and dry climates, and if I'm not mistaken, Mr. Barden. too, deals with Californian-type climate...So I can't help but think that THESE would be roses that should be tried out in Italy, say, by Barni...but no. Barni offers a list of Austins. Nino Sanremo offers Austins-regularly offered as "discounted" and "direct from David Austin Roses", etc, etc, etc. In fact, sad to say, most of the Italian nurseries have a section for these frigging Austins ; even my local "garden center" (if you could call it that) sells the dang things, and in spite of my resolution to not buy any more, i did get a Princess Anne from them (the flower left on it was so mauve tinted, and it was marked down because "so late in the season", lol) (any of you guys out there selling spines or willpower? links to Amazon for these qualities? lol) Sorry for the rant, but it just kind of creams your corn that commercialism wins over real qualties. O, well, at least I've got one Annie Laurie Mc Dowell, Carlin's Rhythym (both still in pots)and hopefully another potted Annie on the way...

Thanks, Bart! Paul has bred some beautiful roses, though his climate actually has "winter", while mine throws a half-hearted attempt at something the locals complain about as "winter". I completely understand the NEED for some new rose or other flower, as I frequently suffer it, too. But, I have found that budding, rooting and raising my own from seed satisfies that perfectly and at a fraction of the cost of buying new plants. You honestly do need to learn chip budding. Anyone CAN do it if they are interested and want to.I've outlined it in photos and description on my blog and Results of chip budding. The budding tape is easily found in EBay and is CHEAP. You can bud on virtually any rose material and I would suspect that your chances of obtaining roses not infected with RMV in Europe should be quite a bit better than over here. If you have something that you know grows well there own root, root it and practice budding to it. IT IS EASY! Bluegirltx does a smash up job of it and I showed poorbutroserich how to do it when she was in California a few weeks ago. I'll be happy to answer any questions you have, too. We can do it here or pm me with your email and I'll be happy to do it that way. If you WANT to, you CAN do it. I promise!

Thank you so much, Kim,for your generosity.I'll have to look for your blog. Right now I've got so many irons in the fire that I don't know if I should take on a new project, but it DOES seem like a very useful skill. I don't know how to "do" pms on this forum, but here's a link to my Internet site (sadly not up-dated), where you can safely (for both of us) e-mail to me,after which I can answer you back:

http://www.rosewhitemusic.com/eileen/contact.html

You're welcome! I understand too many irons in the fire, but this one isn't going to take a whole lot of time to accomplish. While out tending the roses, you determine what seems to have suitable canes to root for stocks. Harvest them when it's time for you to root them using whatever method you prefer. If you'd like to try wrapping them to pre callus them before planting, all of that is also detailed in multiple posts on my blog. Remove all the buds from each of the cuttings EXCEPT the two, top buds. There has to be somewhere for the sap the cutting generates to expand into so it grows. Root them, pot them into individual pots of your choice of size and soil. When they are growing vigorously, determined by active, vigorous new growth from the remaining top buds, bud whatever you want to reproduce on to them. Keep them properly watered for the next several weeks. Ideally, if the buds are still green two weeks after budding, they've taken! Any time after that, cut off the top two buds of the original stock variety and seal the cuts with your choice of pruning sealer. I prefer a plain old candle. If you can seal them before the direct sun shines on them, causing the sap to "turn on" and begin flowing heavily, it's easier. I tried the Elmer's Glue and the sap was flowing too heavily. It dissolved the glue and continued bleeding. But, if you can do it when the sun isn't hitting the actual cutting, the sap isn't flowing as heavily and the candle wax will seal the would, stopping the bleeding almost immediately. It is that plug, stopping the sap flow that is going to push new growth from your newly inserted buds. If you want to (or have to) wait longer than two or three weeks to remove the top growth and force the new buds, that's fine. I've budded in fall and not removed the top growth until the following spring and they worked just fine. You really only have to pay attention to them at each step, but keep them properly watered between each step so they continue pushing growth. Budding only works when the sap is flowing freely, so it supports the inserted buds until their cambium knits to that of the stocks. That could be the toughest part when you don't live where they grow, but if you can take the budded pots home with you, just pay enough attention to them while they knit and keep them watered. They will do the rest! I'll check out your site, thank you!

I just emailed you through your site. I hope it went through! Let the fun begin!

I got it; thanks so much, Kim. I'll try to get onto this project soon...

You're welcome! I'll look forward to your adventures!