I now reside in inland SoCal, about 30 miles north of LA, where it is often windy and, in summer, almost always hot hot hot. No rain since April.

Austins are a possibility too. "Sophy's Rose" looks terrific. Anyone growing it? Is it more of a "light red" or a "dark pink"? Looks like the latter to me.

I love Sophy's rose and have grown her for years, very reliable bloomer. Her color fades quite a bit in the heat though, and in your climate I think you'd be looking at a rather pink rose.

Here are some photos- the first is to the left of where rose trees would go.

The lantanas will stay. The cycad, not so sure. The begonias were there when we moved in - they could go, but I'm reluctant since they look so good these days (thank you, drip irrigation).

Here's the right side of the patio. You can see the umbrella base which will be gone!

The yellow bloom on the left is my first miniflora - Hello Sunshine. My Ebb Tides are mostly pink at this point. The yellow bloom in the center should actually be pink - it's Dr. Grill.

Winter Sun is on the right.

Thanks all!

I can't help you with the rose trees, but I wouldn't consider getting rid of the cycad! What an amazing plant and you have the conditions to grow it outside. Colour me jealous! It really adds to the excitement to have different plant and leaf forms and to me, makes the roses even more spectacular.

Soft Whisper HT rose tree repeats pretty fast, I checked for you this past weekend. It’s not hot pink though.

I have combined some roses with rose trees due to too many potted roses. You could do the same with other plants as rose tree foot cover.

I can't help with specific suggestions, but I wanted to say that I think standard roses are a great idea in that area on the patio. I can picture them there. To me they have a sort of formality that would look lovely in that location.

Thanks, all! First, though, I have to get rid of the large, broken umbrella and stand ... In my old neighborhood, you could just put things out on the street and they'd be gone in two hours. Here, we are behind gates and it's, well, different.

As soon as I clear the space, I'll make my order. I'll let you know!

Sylvia

Question: can a nurseryman or woman create a tree rose, for a customer? Has this ever happened? Or is this insanity? Might cost a bunch, too ...

I'm not pleased with the selections at my local nurseries, and the only mail order source I can find for standard roses is Austin -- and they're crazy expensive (esp. shipping).

I would love to have a tree of Love and Peace or Dream Come True ... thinking more about a blend now. I miss the Granadas and stripeys I had at the old house. L&P and DCT don't seem to exist as standard roses, although they are quite common as HTs.

What if I called up my local rose nursery (Otto's, in my case) and asked them to create a standard rose for me, using one of these well-known HTs? Is this completely preposterous, or not?

Thanks,

Sylvia

I seem to recall ringing somewhere that Burling from Burlington roses will bud tree roses to order. You might want to send you an email just to ask.