Cori Ann, it's most likely that the splashing water will contribute to disease. I know you live in CA, but roses simply don't tolerate continuously wet leaves. It's an invitation to blackspot and cercospora. It might be a good place for starting cuttings because of the higher humidity, but I question if that would be possible given that it probably receives too much sun for new cuttings. You'd do better with something surrounding the fountain that NEEDS the wet leaves/humidity/damp soil combo.

John

I was thinking that too but I just can't help but try roses. They're in pots so I can always move them. It's so dry here n my part of CA... like extra extra extra dry! Let's see what happens. Even with the fountain misting little splashes I bet it's still less humid than most other places. If I see blackspot starting I can always adjust. I will report back.

I like your attitude, Cori Ann! That's the nice thing about pots, and why I'm considering adding some next spring; one can always move them to a better place if needed. I KNOW you'll post pics once they bloom.

I was torn between doing gardenias here or roses. The smarter decision is gardenias. It gets some shade from the fountain and little misting water droplets. Gardenias would be easy to care for there in pots and smell heavenly.

But I put in a few problem children roses instead, like Homere. I'm already planning that they're probabaly not going to work and I will need to go to plan B. But, I'm trying them first in order to know for sure. :)

Good for you, Cori Ann. You won't know for sure until you try it, and the information will be useful for others too.

Here's a photo of how fast the water dries now that it's 11ish. Still misting/splashing but now it dries almost immediately. That's how arid it is here in my inland NorCal area. And it's even supposed to rain tonight so supposedly it's more humid than usual. Maybe it will work. Maybe not. We will see. I'm curious. Gardenias are a good back up. It's all an experiment! :)

And here's a photo of my potager garden Mantis guardian, who really likes the fountain today. I named him Paul. He stares at me whenever I take his photo. I think he's smiling for the camera.

Well... I decided to move Homere. I decided to move Franziska Kruger and Jesse Hildreth too. I guess I prematurely halted the experiment.

I was shuffling things around in the raised beds ... and 3 perfect spots opened up for these creamy colored roses where they could live permanently and still be protected by my dogs for now. I couldn't resist... had to move them.

Sorry... we will never know the results of the norcal fountain splash line rose research test!

In other news, I think a bird must have eaten Paul because he's been MIA.

I have two roses near a fountain... Gertrude Jekyll and Double Delight... I've had no problems thus far.. other than the roses growing out of control hehe... I havent notice any problems yet.

Gertrude Jekyll

Wonderful Haku! The foliage looks very healthy! The research experiment continues! Turns out the fountain splash line may be a safe place to plant roses (in some areas) after all!

Here's my little Homere in his new digs. Lots of room to grow and be happy.

Here's where I put Franziska and Jesse too. In time I will probabaly help Jesse get up on that fence. But for now he simply needs to get higher than the lip of the stone bed. Such a tiny little guy! He's not even as big as my creeping rosemary sprigs!

These are my creamy roses... since they are as close to yellow as it usually gets in my yard, I put them near my citrus.

Your place is gonna be amazing! It's been so fun watching the whole process! Lisa

Thanks Lisa. In my wacky imagination it's already full grown. Real life is about 3-5 years behind the garden in my head. :)

Can't wait to share the photos here!

I believe that the Homere at Rose Petals came from my garden originally. I got it from Paul Barden in Oregon - sent it to Dr. Malcolm Manners in Florida - he shared it with Rose Petals - and now it is back in California! How roses get around! Homere is the healthiest and best shaped Tea rose in my garden, with small, disappointing flowers. If you like pretty buds, this is the rose for you - no wonder it was sold as a buttonhole rose. If you like flowers that open, not so good. I have considered shovel pruning it many times but it has such a nice shape and pretty buds that I just can't do it. Hope it works out well for you!

Thank you Anita! That's pretty amazing to be able to trace it back! I am a strange one that loves foliage and pretty buds... so I'm sure I will be happy if mine works out like you're describing!

Here's an update. Homere looks very happy here at the beginning of his first spring. He's growing perfectly a little wider than he his tall. I really like his growth habit so far. Very healthy so far and little under 2 feet tall and a little more than 2 feet wide.

Buds are forming. I have been pinching them back so far in fall, winter and the start of spring. Now I'm letting about half go. They look happy. Excited to see them once they start opening.

I have Homere planted near some Lacy Phacelia as a companion plant, which seem to attract wonderful hoverflies in addition to other pollinators. Here's a photo of a little hoverfly larvae eating the aphids on Homere. Awesome!

Thanks for sharing these progress pics! I have a rose that was sent from RVR as 'Le Vesuve' but its blooms were so fragrant and packed with delicately colored soft pink petals tinged with a deeper carmine pink at the tips, I began to suspect I'd been sent the wrong rose. The other day I was flipping through a book of roses and there it was...listed as 'Homere'. I'm actually hoping it is 'Homere' instead of 'Le Vesuve', so I'll be watching this thread and comparing it to my plant. Here's a photo I took of one of the (many) blooms from last summer... It always seemed to be in bloom.

So pretty! If you want me to take any photos of foliage, buds, canes, etc to help you compare just let me know. :-)

Here are a few photos that may help you identify...

Most buds are single on my young Homere currently. But some have 2-3 buds. And this should give you a good look st the foliage too...

So Anita... It seems the requirement (in my yard) for Homere buds to open is about 5 days of 100+ heat.

Still just a baby, but growing new canes.

I may move it to a spot where it gets A LOT of radiant heat from a hot stone wall just to see what happens.

Cori Ann, your rose babies are growing really well! Homere looks like a very pretty rose and John's does look somewhat similar, although a darker pink, but that may be due to his much cooler, moister climate. That rose is most definitely not Le Vesuve, John. You may end up being grateful since Le Vesuve is such a wickedly spiny rose. Cori Ann, how is your Jesse Hildreth doing? I also have Jesse, and I've found it to be a healthy but rather slow-growing rose. I feel it's well worth waiting for, though.

Hi Ingrid! If Homere needs intense heat to open it's the right rose for our types of climates isn't it?! :-)

So....My Jesse almost died due to either a squirrel or one of my own dogs and is now in a pulp pot being rehabbed. He has one tiny little cane with a tiny little bloom and is trying to make more canes though. It's nice outside right now since the sun has just set! 85F. Earlier it felt Iike my eyelashes were burning. Here's a pic of my poor Jesse.

My Jesse is also rehabbing from being planted a month ago which would have been fine Last year. This year the weather did a freeze thaw cycle month enough to drive Jesse over the edge. He pretty much defoliated and looks horrible. He was in glowing health when I planted him end of March. I'm noting the alcove and patio are safer for baby tender roses, and I put him out too early for this year it turned out. The alcove during the winter was a fabulous help. Arcadia Louisiana Tea did fine in the covered alcove over the winter, then dwindled down during the Spring rains after I put him out on the patio. I should probably have put him back undercover, although others like Jesse were ready to be out on the patio. ALT is no more here. I wonder if I should get another one. Good luck with your Jesses, Ingrid and Cori Ann. I'm praying for mine, and I'm not religious.

Little more about Homere... petals are thick and kind of waxy like gardenias. I can see how they may not open elsewhere, but this is just a great rose for dry heat! 100+F temps here for the past week (120F on the stone near Homere) and this rose is loving it while others are shutting down. Small blooms, yes, but I really like them. Delicate scent.

I'm quite tempted to get a few more. Roses that like this 100+ dry heat are special and rare!

oh, Cori Ann, what are you doing to me? Now I just have to get this rose in my yard! :)

I noticed last summer that the blooms always had a scent - it didn't matter what time of day I smelled them. I like that in a rose!

Natasha it's pretty cool to find a rose that actually LIKES this kind of heat! Especially one that other people can't grow because it doesn't open for them. Go for it! Rose Petals Nursery has some now. ;-)

John are you sure yours is Homere? The scent is very delicate and light in mine. Not sure about all day... It's there though.

I can't be 100% sure, yet, but the leaves, prickles, buds and blooms look right to me. Keep posting pictures! . Mine had afternoon shade last summer, so that could have made it more fragrant. And we're a lot cooler up here.

Mine is really sulking this spring - the wet, cold winter was much harder on it than it was on the other tea and China roses I have. It seems to be waking up now, though. I love how tea roses wake up after winter by putting out flower buds first and then leaves. They have their priorities straight!

I'm sure making my list for Homere and for others from Heat loving thread for my fall order. I love planting in October now. Even though the clay is hard as rock to dig, but roses have plenty of time to settle in before these 100s come.

Homere refused to open when the temps went down to the 70s... but it's hot again today (90s?) and this is what opened...

There's a bunch of buds on mine currently and I'm tempted to move it now to a spot by a hot stone wall so the dry, radiant heat will help all those buds open up! It's so pretty! Blooms are small, about the size of a golf ball... but so pretty.

BAH! Get rid of those 90's before next weekend, please!

I've always rather wanted to try Homere, myself . . .

My 'Homere' balls only when it's cold and wet -- but no more so than do several others in those conditions. And not nearly as bad as 'Clotilde Soupert' when conditions are right. I wanted to say that before people reading the "rarely opening fully" comment so often attached to this rose won't take it to mean "it always balls". Well, it rarely does for me. But it takes a relatively long time -- compared to other roses -- for it to go from fluted tulip shape to that which you see in Cori Ann's latest pics. And many times it never does -- it just sits there half-open, as if on pause, until it is spent.

I detect a nice fragrance on mine. We don't have the vocabulary I wish we did to describe scents, but perhaps this will describe how 'Homere' hits my nose. First, imagine the Damask scent on a real Damask, like 'Quatre Saisons' or 'Kazanlik'. Now think of how that compares to your typical strongly-fragrant Bourbon. The Bourbon lacks some of the Damask's spice, but has a sugary-sweet element lacking in Damasks. Now imagine that sugary-sweet element without the Damask part, and add a hint of jasmine and citrus blossom. That's what I get from 'Homere'.

:-)

~Christopher

Cori Ann, I think you've just enabled me right in to adding Homere to my list! Any rose that likes the heat is welcome in my garden and I have a soft spot for white roses flushed with pink. Please keep sharing roses that are doing well in your heat! Laurel

Its so fun to discover a rose that does well in the dry heat, especially when it's reviewed as not doing well elsewhere. It feels like discovering a little treasure. I wish I picked up on the fragrance like Christopher does and had the same way to describe fragrance! It's a very subtle fragrance in my yard so far, but still enjoyable. It's a pretty little rose.

What a fast growing band for just 6 months. I was thinking of moving it to the stone wall since it can take the heat, but I just can't. It's too happy here! The high, dry heat (100+) seems to really help it open up. What a delight when the same heat makes others shut down completely.

It's so lovely - thanks for continuing to share updates on this thread. I always look forward to seeing them. I can't wait to see it grow into a mature shrub covered with those sweet blooms! It really likes your garden!

It has been cooler lately. More pink in the blooms. I really like little Homere.

Homere is still happily blooming. This rose has been blooming nonstop since April. What a joyful little rose (for my hot and dry climate)! I will take a bush shot later tonight once the sun isn't so fiery.

What a lovely trooper, Cori Ann!

What a useful thread, Cori Ann. I'll have to add Homere to my (tiny) list of roses that like it hot and dry. It's been fun seeing your baby grow larger and bloom its heart out in the heat.

Happy to be helpful ladies! The soil in that bed is neutral and sandy (not like my clay) since I have dwarf citrus trees in that area . That may be helpful info for you too. It's been easy for me to take this rose for granted. Its time to give a shout out for how much I appreciate it! Not only is it still blooming in the incessant heat here, but look at all those buds! The foliage also stays lush and green, no crisping here.

It has grown a lot since it first arrived.

It even self cleans. See all the spent blooms on the mulch below it? I didn't remove those, they seem to just remove themselves.

It may also be helping the breeding ground for lizards in my yard (which I love). There are lots of little lizards nearby. Look at his little teeny tiny baby lizard I just saw near Homere! He let me put a bloom near him for size comparison. Both the bloom and the lizard are about 1 inch. :-)

:-)

What are the thorns if any like? I have a nameless rose that looks similar and was wondering if yours had thorns. If it does could you please post some pictures? Thank you

Here you go Brandon...

Thank you for the Homere update, Cori Ann! I have been thinking about you and wondering how baby Homere is progressing. We are struggling along down here, our highest high has been 107 to date. Hot, dry and dryer. I will definitely add Homere to my list. To date all of my roses have hung in there...nobody has defoliated or died, so I guess we're OK. Stars of the garden to date are: Francis du Brueil. Surprisingly enough, he's in dappled shade and has not stopped blooming, nor has he fried. Who knew? Madame Alfred Carriere, Mutabilis and my new baby, Bassous tea, MrsBRC all in deep afternoon shade have been unfazed. And of course, DonJuan, in full blazing sun, has not stopped blooming. I'm thankful for any rose that will survive in this desert of deserts. Laurel

The color changes sort of make me think of a reverse or inside out Archduke Charles. So cute!

Thank you Cori Ann