It is a high rated rose on helpmefindroses site, so it must be a good rose. The description state that the it is " Strong, opinions vary fragrance". I guess that means it depends on the individual's nose.

Darren, Blue Moon and Blue Girl were competing Sterling Silver seedlings back in the 1960s. Blue Moon (Mainzer Fastnacht; TANacht) was Tantau's lavender HT; Blue Girl (Kölner Karneval, KORgi) was Kordes'. Both have great scents, to my nose and both are rather similar in appearance. Growing them side by side, you can see a difference between them, but in many instances they are confused in the trade in the US. For a fifty year old, very fragrant, lavender HT, it's a great rose. You should read the Comments for Twice in a Blue Moon on Help Me Find Roses. One stated it almost appeared as if Blue Moon was reissued from the photos. Another stated, "I think ‘Blue Moon’ has a more damask rose fragrance whilst ‘Twice in a Blue Moon’ has more citrus tones." I've grown Blue Moon but not Twice. If I were still in the "collecting mode", had the room and enough water, I'd have it here.

How interesting. I just looked up Blue Moon and was thinking how similar it looked to Blue Girl. I was wondering if it was the same rose! I noticed there was also a climbing version of Blue Moon. One of my Blue Girls climbs but wasn't sold as climbing. I had it a long time before it recently decided to shoot out a climbing cane.

Oh my goodness Darren! You are so lucky to have access to those roses!

Twice in a Blue is fantastic here and I absolutely adore the fragrance. I only have a few and would love to have more. Mine are no-spray and own-root.

"Twice" is supposed to be an improved version of Blue Moon and I've talked to people in Europe that said that is indeed so, and others who didn't see much of a difference.

Please keep us posted! I can't find own-root TiaBM anywhere.

For those of us in cold zones, there's quite a bit of difference between Blue Girl and Blue Moon. Blue Girl is reasonably hardy in an average zone 5 spot, and Blue Moon is a wimpy one twig wonder below knee height in my most protected zone 6 spot. Twice in a Blue Moon is OK but not robust in my zone 6 pocket, so I'd give it halfway between the others. Makes sense that the Kordes rose would be hardier than the other breeders, even with the wimpiness that lavender roses often have. That's not relevant for Darren I know, but jjpeace and other cold zoners might be checking this.

In color, I've found that Blue Girl is more liable to turn pinkish even in part shade like she is for me. Here she is in the relatively cool temperatures of June:

Blue Moon if and when it blooms for me is more reliably lavender but can fade to a greyish white in the sun as it ages fairly quickly. Here's one from July:

Twice in a Blue Moon mostly looks about as pinkish as the Blue Girl photo above but I did find one shot that has the more lavender tones. This was in July in a part shade spot, and it has now been replanted in full sun to get more hardiness benefit.

For all three roses, I don't find they stay in the high centered stage very long, not like Veteran's Honor or Dream Come True. The loosely open look in the last two photos is more what mine look like most of the time.

FWIW Lavender Lace, I got my TiaBM at Heirloom own root in 2015, but no telling with their current management if it will show up in their availability at this point.

Cynthia

Thanks Cynthia! That's where I got mine also but they have been consistently showing them as "out of stock" and somebody in customer service said that they had stopped growing them entirely, much to my dismay.

TiaBM here is much darker lavender here with afternoon shade. How do you think that the scent compares to BM? Blue Girl didn't have much fragrance when I sniffed it in a nursery but it was very young.

I have no information on this I just wanted to say how hard I laughed out loud to nippstress’ “one twig wonder” comment! Ah nothing like a good laugh to end the afternoon!

So true, I've had a few of those "one twig wonders" myself kali!

Glad to brighten your day, Kali! Whatever Blue Moon puts out in my yard is unworthy of being called a cane...

LavenderLace, I'm the wrong person to ask about scent so hopefully someone else will chime in here. I can rarely detect scents at the best of time and none of my lavender roses are tall enough to bother, with the exception of Poseidon who's plenty tall enough but I don't detect any scent. Doesn't mean he doesn't have one, just not to me. No telling if Heirloom will ever reopen their more unusual roses that we really want to buy from them, but as you heard from customer service I consider it the longest of long shots for the foreseeable future.

Cynthia

Nipstress, is your 'Blue Moon' own root or grafted? I got a grafted BM from Palatine this fall. It is planted and mounded over with compost and leaves, so we will se how it does come spring.

You need to remember that both Blue Girl and Blue Moon were the latest entries into the "blue rose" segment after Sterling Sliver in the US, coming seven years after SS hit the market. There were others, elsewhere, but none of them were as widely promoted here as those two and both were significant improvements as plants, over the original. Neither, though, could be called "robust", particularly to Twenty-First Century Eyes. They benefit from the highest culture and a very light pruning hand.

I’m super excited to see my first glimpse of Blue Moon in all its throbbingly beautiful finery.

Thanks for the feedback. I’ve enjoyed reading your posts.

Ok, I’ve got the blue moon song in my head now. I shall leave you with it..........

”Blue moon, you see me standing alone, without a love of my own......”

The above photo has not been photoshopped. Diane

Wow, Diane! Now that’s an amazing picture of a beautiful rose! Magnificent! Lisa

One of the most enjoyable versions of that song for me was on a very old cassette of "The Supremes Sing Rogers and Hart". Yes Diane, for me, here on the Central Coast, Blue Bayou was a real "feh". The color wasn't great. It was addicted to rust and mildew. There was no form and virtually no scent. I hoped it would live up to its billing as I wished to press it into use with some of my Hugonis seedlings, but it had other ideas. Sterling Silver is actually performing better here than BB did, so Blue Bayou is long gone. And, SS isn't really "performing", just putting out some flowers and inches of begrudged growth. As long as it produces SOMETHING from which to bud it, I will be placated. Your photo of BB is definitely "things dreams are made of!"

Diane's Blue Bayou is what started my whole fascination with lavender roses!

Must pipe in here that Twice in a Blue Moon hasn't needed to be coddled at all but I haven't tried Blue Moon.

Darren, if it's not too nosey to ask, did you see TiaBM in a place where they do mail-order own-root? Thanks!

McNastarana, my latest incarnation of Blue Moon is own root, but I've tried Blue Moon a whopping 6 times earlier grafted and own root, and this is one of the only ones that has overwintered at all. The first two times were grafted (2009, 2010) that promptly died over the winter, and the next four (2012, twice in 2013, 2014 and 2015) were own root. Yep, seven plants of Blue Moon and only one winter survival with maximum babying. Nothing other than French Lace and Black Lady has gotten that many tries for me, and I finally gave up on French Lace. Black Lady is still a maybe since I've gotten limping survival now and then.

Kim is so right (of course) that this rose and others like it want babying and hate pruning. Unfortunately in my zone there's no way any HT doesn't get pruned severely after the winter, usually to the ground, even in my warmest spot. That's why I get nothing more than twiggy growth and why it's really a rose best for zones 8 and warmer, still needing some babying there. It's a relief that there are some reliable lavenders like Poseidon and Violet's Pride here in zone 5, since that's a jaw dropping color when it shows up in the rose world.

Cynthia

Oh dear, I really don't like babying lavenders. Already have to do that here with with my Charles de Gaulles and Neptunes, much to my surprise.

Sounds like the original Blue Moon is not the way to go to add to my beloved Twice in a Blue Moon? I wish Heirloom would bring it back!

I took a peak outside during a "warm", that is, above freezing, spell. I saw green canes hiding among the dirt and leaves I had mounded around 'Blue Moon'. So far, so good. I did start with a healthy, big plant from Palatine. I hope that helps.

Lavender lace-

I bought mine from a garden centre - I haven’t looked on-line but I’m sure you can find one? I’ll keep a look out for you. :)

Even though BM is one which definitely benefits from budding, at least if it's from Heirloom, it SHOULD be virus indexed, free from RMV and that SHOULD mean something.

Blue Moon smells delicious. A mix of old rose and some citrus notes. Addictive when you get a good bloom. Not all flowers are equally fragrant.