Darren,

I hope Kristine responds to your inquiry. She grows Twilight Zone which she has stated is far superior to Ebb Tide. Her input here would be invaluable.

I have passed on Ebb Tide for my garden because the ones I saw were not uniform in growth habit, disheveled looking. The flowers were very fragrant and nicely formed, but on the bushes they seemed to be held just at foliage height or a bit tucked into the foliage. Since the color of Ebb Tide' s blooms receeds, the blooms seemed to blend into the background, so to say, not presenting themselves well, like they are hiding, shy.

Moses

Hi Darren, I think you will like Ebb Tide. Mine is in a pot which personally I think it would ne happier in the

It is a baby so I believe it will do much better next year. I think the color is smoky and beautiful, buds last about 3 days.

So far, Twilight Zone has out grown and out bloomed Ebb Tide but I think next year it will come on.

Zero disease which is a winner in my book.

I will be anxious to hear how you like yours.

kristine_legault's ideas · More Info

Ebb Tide in its many colors

Hi Darren. I've had Twilight Zone, a child of, and "improved" version of Ebb Tide for about 4 years now. I did decide to get Ebb Tide 2 years ago as well - I love purple fragrant roses.

I made the mistake of first planting her too close to another rose, and she didn't do well. This summer I dug her up and potted her for a few months, then just moved her to a spacious, but partial shade spot.

She's doing GREAT, continually covered with blooms. Blooms are smallish (2" and under), but very fragrant, and there are many of them. I would suggest if you get really hot summers to give her partial shade, as her blooms tend to fry in the direct and constant heat.

She's a healthy, happy plant. Mine is about 4' high and about 3' in diameter, but I don't think she's reached her ultimate size yet. I anticipate she'll widen up some more.

I edited my response, I meant to say that I think Ebb Tide would like being in the ground better thsn a pot but I am still struggling with getting the most out of my potted roses.

I agree with what Karen said about a bit of afternoon shade for better color.

Mine gets sun until 3 and then filtered light.

I had over two dozen own-root Ebb Tide as I had this vision of a very dark purple for contrast with lavenders. That very rarely happened in our southern Z8 heat as they were usually magenta to violet so I don't have them any more.

That being said, they were incredibly vigorous here, disease resistant, the first and last to bloom in the season. Sandy soil, lots of water, and afternoon shade. They were a nightmare to deadhead because there were so many blooms though, tightly clustered together.

DH constantly pointed out that the branches would have 24-26 blooms each, which would make it easy to get in the 100's, and how that greatly outnumbered my slacker teas, who could only dream of that total! Sometimes you couldn't see the green for all of the blooms on ET!

I did not have the fading that some have reported but I also didn't find the fragrance to be as strong as I would have liked. But perhaps I gave up on them too soon? I didn't try Twilight Zone as I've given up on dark purple here. Midnight Blue was much darker and often looked quite similar on some days, though without the sheer volume of blooms.

Very nice color on yours I

Ahhhhh I love you for for commenting and helping me. I’m super excited now to watch mine grow!! CANT WAIT!!! Woooo xxx

I have a couple plants of this variety; great colour, but in my garden's tough conditions it's a slow grower; I had to dig it up and put it in a pot. My plan now is to grow it on in the pot until it gets big and mature enough to handle the lack of regular irrigation,intense summer heat, and generally poor soil. However I must add that, up until recently, I've concentrated most of my garden efforts on climbers and OGRs, so I'm not used to the cultivation of floribundas. I think they, as a group, might just need more indulgence than the other varieties I mentioned.

Ingrid, that photo looks like paradise! My ET seems to look it's best in Spring.

Ohhhh, Sheila, that is so beautiful!

Sheila, Ebb Tide has found its perfect home in your garden. Simply exquisite!!

Wow sheila - stunning!!

I have both Ebb Tide and Twilight Zone. TW is much deeper in color and a more robust plant at 5’. In zone 10, ET is 3x3. Each has wonderful fragrance. That and their unique coloration ensure that they will remain in the garden. However, both are on Dr. Huey and that is a continual issue with the suckers. I’m no longer putting Dr. Huey grafted roses in and if a rose needs grafting to perform well, I will try to get it on Fortuniana.

If you have the climate for Fortuniana (mild winters) I prefer it as well. In my somewhat limited experience with grafted roses, I find it gives more strength to the scion than Dr Huey does.

Another important advantage is that the foliage of Fortuniana is so distinctive that it is very easy to see when a rootstock sucker makes its appearance. With Doctor Huey the rootstock suckers can remain hidden for much longer.

That is an excellent point,Rosefolly. I don't think they use either Fortuniana or Dr.Huey here in Europe, but I do know that several times rootstock suckers have managed to escape my notice for far too long, becoming big, mature-ish canes, before I noticed them. This can happen all too easily with a very big,unruly climber-grown -partially -as-a shrub; in my big, unruly garden it can be hard to catch a sneaky sucker.