I'd let all buds bloom and see what happens...If need be then cut off bloom/s...I do not like to cut much off of young plants...But that's me...lol

Agree with Jim, just let him bloom, it’s not unusual for Ebb Tide to form large clusters, nor is the variety known to have suicidal tendencies ;-)

Oursteelers, your Ebb Tide looks great. I have three ETs of many years, and they all bloom in clusters just like yours. Never fear. My only criticism of my ETs is that the first few years, there was lots of bloom fading in the hot, dry weather we have-not now of course. This has lessened over the years, but ET still fades more than Twilight Zone for me. I think you are in a great climate for ET. Diane

Ben, ET is a girl. Twilight Zone is a guy. This "assignment" happens automatically to just about every rose I grow. I see that it happens in your garden, too. Diane

Oh thank goodness! My roses are so young that losing that many blooms would’ve made ME a little suicidal ;)

Diane,

My mistake, I don’t know why I called Ebb TIde a guy, I hope I did not hurt her feelings! Actually they are mostly girls to me unless they have masculine names like Mister Lincoln or Jude the Obscure.

Ben, she accepts your apology. Diane

I call Ebb Tide a guy too... I just think, who would name a girl Ebb, that rhymes with Jeb... Now, that communicated, the stature, rounded shape and relative demureness definitely reminds me of roses I would refer to as girls. Some girls have traditionally masculine names, others are tall, strong and lanky (like Mr. Lincoln). Before I fall down the rabbit hole that Ben was smart or awake enough to avoid, I will just defer to you Diane:)

Our Steelers-

I was told, years ago, that if you cut off some of the side blooms (?) you will get larger blooms. Ebb Tide is a floribunda, and once I started growing roses, my conclusions was, they have clusters of blooms, which comes from clusters of buds, that is what its supposed to do,..

Desert, I’m glad it’s doing what it’s supposed to, it‘s just crazy to me one little cane can support all that. I’ll feel less worried when another can grows I think. Right now he’s lopsided and top heavy....

Our Steelers, Ebb Tide in my garden can have an awkward shape, especially the first few years, so ET a little lopsided at this point is pretty normal.

Lynn, I don't even think about it when a rose becomes a she or a he in my garden. The roses convey their preferences to me using some kind of ESP--ha. Really. Ascot is a he, and Munstead Wood is a she. I never analyze this. Of course, an obviously named "he" like The Prince is always a he, and an Eglantyne is always a she. I'm nuts. Diane

According to my daughter, our Dr. Huey is transgender. We refer the good doctor as "she." Ditto (Souvenir du) Dr. Jamain. And Tradescant. And Francis DuBreuil (Barcelona). Apparently, our deep red roses are sharing with my daughter aspects of their identities to which I have not been privy all these years. I stand corrected! Carol

That's a beauty of a bloom, oursteelers. I've found that the deep purple and red roses fairly regularly produce a bloom with random white markings. Twilight Zone is most prone to this here. All is well oursteelers, but Ebby is telling you she is a she (wearing jewelry)--ha. Diane

LOL!!!!!

Gorgeous bloom, Steelers! Eventually, your plant will fill out to frame the flower clusters. Mature shrubs are pretty well balanced with modest and judicious pruning. I grow Ebb Tide, too. I'm a total sucker for dark purple roses, and ET (phone home) is a good one here. Fantastic fragrance! I go all goose bumpy when I see ET growing next to Poseidon. Carol

Going wildly off-topic here, Diane, you mentioned Eglantyne. I happen to feel she may be the most beautiful of Austin's roses, even better than Evelyn (who I hope is not listening), but I've always heard she's not a good rose in the heat. What has been your experience?

Forgive me all, for this very necessary deviation from the beautiful Ebb Tide, who has let me know she would commit suicide if I ever thought of planting her here again. Her blooms fried back in the day when it was much cooler here, so I would not dare now.

Diane, you better pop back in. Cause if she‘s not happy in Ingrid’s hot and dry weather perhaps she‘d like mine. Is she very fragrant?

Oursteelers, we have very hot, dry summers--not sure where you're located, but I'll wager it's hotter here east of the Cascades in desert, than PNW where you live. I have three Ebb Tide roses, and they do fine, though, I agree, they can fade and do some frying in the heat, but lots of other roses do some frying in this garden. Evelyn does not fry, nor does Augusta Luise. But the dark roses do burn more easily, the worst being The Prince. Twilight Zone is best here of the purples, and Munstead Wood is good, as far as dark reds go.

Ingrid, judging from the Evelyn bouquets I've made today against the blooms currently on Eglantyne, it's no contest. Evelyn is much more beautiful, I think, and smells even better, though Eglantyne has a lovely scent. Eglantyne does not hold up in the heat as well as Evie, and her blooms are smaller. I've grown Eglantyne in two locations from the time she first was introduced in the 1990s, I rarely use Eglantyne in bouquets because she doesn't hold up well. This is just my personal opinion, and I know others may disagree. I hope I haven't offended fans of Eglantyne. This rose is indeed lovely, but not my favorite by a long shot. Diane

Diane,

You forgot to answer the most important question! Is Eglantyne a girl?

LOL!!!

Ben, of course Eglantyne is a girl. Austin mentions she is named after an Englishwoman--can't think of her last name, but the web site mentions this. So there isn't much choice about that rose. Do you think Jude the Obscure is a boy or girl? Boscobel? Sister Cadfael? Evelyn? (Evelyn Waugh was a guy). Oursteelers, what do you think? Any favorite names that shout out boy or girl? Diane

Who assigns gender

In my garden, the roses tell me their gender, but many roses are obviously named after a man or woman. I usually stick with that, but in the case of indeterminate sexual orientation, the roses tell me if they are a boy or girl or other. It's through nonverbal communication. Diane

Hmmm... I love this topic. Jude is a girl (read romance novels from Jude deveraux). Boscobel boy. Ebb Tode sounds boyish. Evelyn def a girl

Sorry but Jude the Obscure is an wonderful classic novel by the great Thomas Hardy. In the novel, it is a "he".

You guys are really funny about the gender of roses. It is something I think about sometimes too!

You are correct, Debby. Thomas Hardy is a favorite of mine, too. Tess of the d'Urbervilles is another of his characters. Oursteelers, Evelyn is definitely a girl. My granddaughter is Clare Evelyn, and my late MIL was Mary Evelyn. Evelyn is now the tenth most popular girl's name. Boscobel is named for Boscobel House in England, but of course, Bosco can be nothing but a guy. For some reason Ebb Tide is a girl for me (Ebbie), and Twilight Zone is a guy. What about all of you? Do you have any more girl and boy roses? Young Lycidas-- all you English Lit majors--who was he? Diane

Oh! And how do you pronounce young Lycidas (who in my mind is a boy)?