Thanks Lilyfinch! You have some lovely new roses - I especially like your Wollerton Old Hall, it reminds a bit of Jude the Obscure. Glad to hear that WOH is growing well for you. I've been curious Soul Sister and Rosita; looking forward to seeing more about these two roses.

I think Candice was only available from Ludwig's, now Agave in Phoenix, and was originally introduce by Delbard (France). I wish more of the Delbard roses were available in the U.S. too.

I've had Abe Darby for several years and love it. I know it's part of the Leander group from DA with Aloha as a parent I think. Abe is one of my all time favorites because of its color, form, and great fragrance.

I can't say much at this time about how Leander compares with Abe, but I can say that they appear to have very different growth habits. Leander already has some very thick canes that are growing out laterally; I've read that it can get up to 8-10 ft tall with all the flowers on top which is not ideal, but I'm curious about it and love the blooms so far. Abe has a much more standard shrub appearance; after three years, it's still only about 3 ft, which is a bit small but I've learned that DAs can suddenly take some big leaps in size after they settle in. I think Leander is probably more for the DA obsessed; Abe is a better rose overall.

Thanks for your sharing your feedback!

Ann

Beautiful and informative presentation. Thank you.

Great photos. I especially like the colour and bloom form of Leander and Abe Darby. For some reason I haven't grown any of them yet but I have a sport of Leander called Ina an' Mona.

Love your presentation. Great info. for newbies. Lovely blooms.

Thank you everyone!

Henrik - I looked up Ina an' Mona on HMF and it quite pretty! The pink version seems to have a purple cast which I wouldn't have expected. The orange version reminds me a little bit of Benjamin Britten which I also just started growing this spring. I didn't even know about this rose. Thanks for mentioning it!

Here are a few more collages of the newbies, and speaking of orange, here's a blend that's really lovely.

Tahitian Sunset has been slow to get established, plus I moved her once so she had to start all over again and sulked. She's only about 2.5 ft tall, and her blends are more consistently like the top right corner and lower left corner, not quite so many variations as in the early spring. It seems quite disease resistant but the cucumber beetles and another beetle called the Napa weevil love this rose. A couple of months ago I discovered the whole first flush was covered in holes which led me to discard all the blooms and start a campaign to remove these critters one by one by plucking them off the roses and dropping them into soapy water. I think this invasion was caused by our historic winter rainfall which led to overly favorable conditions for bug reproduction in the empty fields near my neighborhood. Tahitian Sunset is doing much better, just finished a second flush with no holes! TS deserves an A for her beauty, scent, and health.

Heritage is a lovely rose that's been known to blow quite quickly. I agree that the blooms don't last long but while they are there, they're quite beautiful and fragrant.

In her first spring, she suffered from disease that I think came from her neighbor, Mme. Ernst Calvat, another first year rose who is a disease magnet. I removed all the diseased leaves of Heritage and her neighbors, and all have bounced back very well. Heritage is now producing tons of new growth; there weren't a lot of second flush blooms compared to the first flush, but they were very pretty and fragrant (top right, and lower left quadrants), and she's working on her third flush. The rose in the upper left quadrant was the very first rose to bloom this spring, quite a pure pink. As the weather has warmed, now in the 100s sometimes, Heritage is pink with a peachy cast. Heritage deserves a B+ to B for her classic beauty.

Peach Swirl has been quite a delight! It was sold out everywhere and I got it at the nursery near where Cori lives. It was the very last one and I'm so glad I scored one. PS is still in a giant pot - it skipped two pot sizes from where it started within three weeks. The photos below are all from the first flush, expect for the one in the bottom right corner. It can turn red and white from peachy stripes with enough time. It lasted longer in the spring when it was cooler. PS was also invaded by the beetles but she's quite bug free now. Fragrance is very good. It's been dormant recently but she just produced one very large bud that is about to bloom. Can't wait. Definitely deserves a solid A.

Hope you enjoyed these roses - please post your favorite newbies!

Ann

Love love love your posts. Each and every pic is gorgeous!

I love your picture format, great to see so many variations of each variety, thank you! And you have more Anne Boleyns than Henry had wives :-)

Beautiful!! Really love PEACH SWIRL!!

Thank you to Judy, Ben, and Beth!

Ben - love your joke about the wives! I'm a history buff so it was perfect. After finishing Anne B's collage, I had a funny reminder of the old TV game show, Hollywood Squares, as if each rose was a unique celebrity. Thanks!

Ann

Beautiful roses presented in a beneficial manner. Thank you:) My Candice is just a baby. In time, I hope it has the variations you show.

Hi Lynn,

I was wondering what your baby Candice looks like? Is she all pink? The very first bloom I got last September, shortly after the plant arrived from AZ was mostly pink.

The next bloom was very unique, I've never had this form again, and the colors are very muted.

I've gotten mostly shades of medium pink in the first and second flush, but the other day I got this very pastel one.

Then today I got one with a lot of orangey pink which I kinda like!

Hang in there Lynn! It takes time for these roses to develop. Candice seemed to handle the last couple of days very well when temps were over 100.

Ann

Wow peach swirl is gorgeous!! Of course unavailable because that's how it goes!! Haha

Hey Lilyfinch - I feel the same way about Princess Charlene. I've been trying to get some reviews before buying newly introduced roses, but sometimes it doesn't work!

Ann

Ann, I love your roses, may I ask what fertilizer do you use ? Thanks

Hi Redroses - I used alfalfa pellets in early spring; then fish emulsion coinciding with the holidays, so I can remember to do it like - Easter, Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day. I might do a little more of the fish emulsion but a lighter solution for any rose that seems stubborn about growing.

Ann

Ann, thank you :)

You're welcome! Any success I might have with roses or any plants I grow I attribute 90% of it to the climate I live in where things grow easily. I just add water, food, and a bit of attention.

Ann