Brother Cadfael keeps going in all weather.

Molineux, a nearly continuous bloomer

Jubilee Celebration

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Wise Portia is still completing her final flush and seems to really like cold weather.

A small spray from The Reeve

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Here are my two non-Austins doing very well in the December chill.

Peach Swirl just keeps going and doesn't mind heat or cold. This rose is in the best shape of all the December roses.

Lyda Rose is winding down but she still wants to bloom.

Hope these roses gave you a bit of cheer no matter what the weather is like for you!

Ann

Thank you Ann for Lighting up a dark cold December morning.

Your roses are just lovely!

Thanks Kristine! More rain is coming tomorrow so I should probably cut these roses and bring them inside.

Ann

The Prince has long been one of my favorites of the red Austins. The blooms are so sumptuous, and love the fragrance!

Great pictures, Ann. The rich colors of the blooms are a welcome glow in the cold month of December...

They are lovely! After all of CA's troubles, it's good to see a little beauty. ; )

Those are great photos, and lovely roses!

Simply beautiful, every one of them, and to my eyes especially The Prince and Molineux. They should look wonderful in a vase.

Gotta love these Austins! Sadly I am not getting Brother Cadafel in my spring 2019 order. Just got notified that they don't have it! It's always out everywhere and I was so thrilled when I thought I found someone with it! Well maybe another year.....

Hi Stephanie - I think the pink is darker in cooler weather. Here’s a photo from last May during Lyda’s first flush. I got mine from Heirloom a few years ago as a teeny tiny plant. It grew quickly and just recently got huge. It’s a great bloomer!

Ann

Wow! These are beautiful Ann, thank you for sharing.

What a parade of lovely late bloomers, Ann. I agree that The Prince does like the cold, and yours is wearing his velvety winter finery. I'm amazed at how late and how well your Brother Cadfael is blooming. Is he newish? My elderly Brother is going downhill fast as far as blooming is concerned, and I may not keep him much longer. I love Raspberry Cream Twirl. It's so yummy looking and luscious. Your roses make the best Christmas decorations! Diane

Wait a minute....I just noticed your rose is named Peach Swirl. Is it similar to Raspberry Cream Twirl? I must be hopelessly mixed up. But PS is gorgeous no matter its name. Diane

Didn't coryanne have Peach swirl?

Vapor, yes she did, but she also had Raspberry Cream Twirl. I just looked it all up on HMF because I was hopelessly mixed up. I think I like the peachy, more subtle tones of Peach Swirl best. All these names are giving me a headache. Another one that drives me nuts is Sisters Fairy Tale, aka, Home and Garden, not to be confused with Garden and Home, a totally different rose. Diane

Gorgeous pictures—-such happy, well-loved roses! Thank you for the color-pick-me-up! :-)

Thank you everyone! I definitely associate Peach Swirl with Cori Ann who I wish would come back to the forum but I'm glad she recommended this rose to us. I also wish I had room for another Peach Swirl but if I get one, it's got to fit in a really big pot. After only one year, mine is huge!

Ann

Diane - Thanks for your kind comments! My Brother Cadfael is from 2011, grafted from Regan Nursery. He was the first Austin I ever bought along with Abe Darby. He's always been an excellent bloomer and might be my all time favorite Austin rose.

Ann

I'm so glad you posted your roses Ann! It's so wonderful to see the blooms. I don't think I've seen the Reeve before. What a lovely spray! I'm completely blown away by the Prince too! The bud looks almost black, it's incredible! I don't have too many blooms right now, just the icebergs are going strong and some double delight buds. My Austins look like they are ready for a break.

Wow Sultry Jasmine nights, I love your peach swirl and raspberry cream twirl all loaded with tiny frogs peeking through, they are cracking me up!

Happy December! Tiffany

I too adore those little frogs, Sultry! I have them in my garden, too, so my question for you is, how did get them to pose so cutely in your roses?? ;-)

Tiff & Perma, thanks :) I do love the little frogs. They sure love to hide in the flowers. I believe they are mainly nocturnal. They are very sleepy in the daytime until late evening so they let me get in pretty close to photograph them as long as I dont get too close or make fast movements. They sometimes jump, if I'm using a flash. They do a great job eating bugs here. Sometimes they get a few good bugs too but totally forgivable.

Which online nursery still has The Prince? I looked on the DA site and didn't see it. I think I need it for my purple and dark red rose bed. Its so gorgeous!!

I think Cool Roses in Palm Beach have the Prince on Fort .

Sultry, those cute froggies know which is the most beautiful and sumptuous rose, and that's where they've chosen to reside. I would love to have tiny froggy helpers in my garden. PS--your roses are gorgeous, too. Diane

Thanks Pink! I will check them out. I bet The Prince would be great on fort.

Thank you Diane :) The frogs do seem to like getting into big fluffy roses. They dont usually get into the singles or semi doubles as much. They hide and sleep between the deep layered petals. Every once in a while I find them in a more open flower like a moonflower or gladiola or something.

One time I found a glad with frogs in different flowers..hard to see all of them in this pic. some were on the backside blooms of the flower spike- but we were calling it the No Tell Frog Motel lol

Oh, it's a multi-storied frog hotel. Love it! Diane

Wow Sultry. I love your photos. You show us a world that is so different from mine which is a dry desert most of the year. The frogs, and your tropicals (was looking at your Brugmansia in another thread) are just other worldly.

Thanks!

If one can grow roses, brugmansia are cake! They are way easier to grow. They all have their pests and little problems but brugmansia aren't that difficult.

Karen I grew tropicals in the desert (Phoenix and Lake Havasu AZ) so it can be done lol..minus the tree frogs of course haha. Water is the main issue and filtered shade like using shade cloth etc.

If you are in SF, in addition to the common regular 'warm group' brugs, you may be able to grow the 'cold group' brugmansias which like the cool fogginess but protected from frost. They hate the extreme heat and humidity we have in FL or I would LOVE to grow them.

https://www.brugmansia.us/cold-group-brugmansia/

SF Botanical Gardens

https://www.sfbotanicalgarden.org/garden/bloom_10_09.shtml

Come to think of it, there are some wonderful varieties of passiflora that do well in the SF area but hate it here. I am jealous of the thoughts of what I could grow there lol.

It's always fun to discover a stray bloom just when you think you're garden is done.

Here's Heritage enjoying the December sun.

Ann

Sultry - Just wanted to add I absolutely LOVE your mini frog photos! I didn't realize these tiny creatures would live in flowers the way they do. Thanks for posting the photos!

Ann

It was a lovely 65 degrees yesterday in mid-December so the roses were loving it!

Anne Boleyn

Molineux

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Strawberry Hill

The Prince from last weekend

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Tradescant

White Lightnin'

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Tahitian Sunset

TS looks a bit more gold, less orange and pink in winter.

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Best Kept Secret with lovely red stems in winter

Jersey Boy which used to be called Ben-Panda. I bought this rose as a miniature from For Love of Roses but it just started blooming like a full-size rose. It's very fragrant in winter.

Here's a lovely bee climbing Anne Boleyn's pink petal wall.

Ann

What a happy bee!

I have been eyeing Ann Boleyn for awhile. Do you like her? Is she a good grower/ bloomer?

SJN - Anne is a good bloomer but slow in growth as a shrub. She was moved after year one so that might be it. She also might be like many other roses where in year two or three she's going to leap. I love this rose for her quartered blooms, varied color, some fragrance, and being a good bloomer.

Ann