I'm so happy I stuck with Arcadia Louisiana Tea!

4 years ago

I had ordered a band that died of canker in a pot in a wet early Spring here. The plant had started frail and then died. I read on HMF of people noting their ALT having trouble opening and that the blooms always hung down so far you couldn't really enjoy them. It made me wonder. Well, I ordered one anyway again. Here, this baby has been in the ground surrounded by it's alfalfa hay nest for 4 months and here we are.

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catspa_zone9sunset14

4 years ago

The large, full, drooping blooms mostly come with the first flush in April and, sometimes, to a lesser extent, in fall. Other times of the year, they are full but don't really dangle like globes.

Here's a photo from July, 2013:

April 30, 2018:

And here's one from October, 2016:

This rose, more than any other in my garden, shows a sort of proliferation in the fall (no other time of the year) that is amazing and unique. When a flower finishes, a whole bouquet (as many as a dozen) of what looks like new rose buds forms on the receptacle where the flower once was. If you look to the left of the bloom in the photo just above, you can see a blurry example; another photo of this is below. I would be interested to hear if yours does the same, Sheila. This was November 15, 2018:

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Comments (17)

Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
Original Author
4 years ago

I just love it!
Alana8aSC
4 years ago
It is really beautiful!! Glad it is doing so well for you! :)
Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR thanked Alana8aSC
ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
4 years ago
I am soooo happy for you!!! It is everything a rose possibly could be, and then some. A wonderful example of why we love old roses. It looks extremely happy in its nest, and what a surfeit of blooms.
Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR thanked ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca
4 years ago
Wow !! That color is one to take note of . Am I seeing it correctly as a lavender pink color ? Off to find what I can about that beauty :)
Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR thanked Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca
HalloBlondie (zone5a) Ontario, Canada
4 years ago
That is so pretty! Know nothing about this rose, but just wanted to comment on it's beauty!
Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR thanked HalloBlondie (zone5a) Ontario, Canada
sultry_jasmine_nights (Florida-9a-ish)
4 years ago
That is one fluffy rose! Such a lovely color too.
Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR thanked sultry_jasmine_nights (Florida-9a-ish)
debbym, Tempe, AZ Zone 9
4 years ago
Beautiful! I'd love to have this rose but no room, unfortunately

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Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR thanked debbym, Tempe, AZ Zone 9
Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
Original Author
4 years ago
ALT thanks you all. Lily, it is so pretty and new to me so I'm not sure I'd call it lavender really but it is very special. I'll look at HMF and see what they think.
Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
Original Author
4 years ago
They talk pale pink, saffron, parchment, peach. Whatever, I love it.
comtessedelacouche (10b S.Australia: hotdryMedclimate)
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
Lovely, Sheila... I'm glad you stuck with it too. :-) Such graceful foliage and habit - as Ingrid says, an example of why so many of us prefer the older roses to their modern successors. The petals seem so delicate and fine it looks almost as if they're made of gauze, and I particularly like the characterful way (some of) the buds seem to be paler/white-ish than the opened flower, then still stay soft white-ish as they get big, fat and globular, before opening fully to show the deeper colour within, still surrounded by a pale aura of translucent outer petals.

I wonder whether that tendency to droop (I just saw an old post with pics from Catspat about it) might be at least somewhat dependent on soil nutrients? I can never remember if it's potassium or phosphorus, and/or something else, that is supposed to make 'weak necks' stronger, but maybe you have a bit more of it/them in your soil there?
Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR thanked comtessedelacouche (10b S.Australia: hotdryMedclimate)
Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
Original Author
4 years ago
I wonder too, Comtesse, why my experience is different so far. I really don't know. My "soil" here is not the best. It seems to be fill and subsoil. I do augment the hole I plant in. I think in 5 years, I'll know better what really holds up here. The baby photos are a start, but I hope the plants have long term health. I am shocked this plant is so much better than the first one I was sent. I didn't complain, just ordered a second one. I really appreciate the support.
Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
Original Author
4 years ago
Catspat, I love the photos! It will be interesting to see if my plant does the proliferation too. Your photos look like my plant so far. If mine had acted too different, I might have wondered about another mislabel. These plants are so interesting between the color and bloom form changes that they keep me guessing.
catspa_zone9sunset14
4 years ago
last modified: 4 years ago
I'm glad you got a good, correct plant, too, Sheila. It's a wonderful, different kind of tea, and I think it thinks it made it to heaven, from the looks of it, growing in your garden.
Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR thanked catspa_zone9sunset14
mustbnuts zone 9 sunset 9
4 years ago
It is beautiful!
Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR thanked mustbnuts zone 9 sunset 9
Plumeria Girl (Florida ,9b)
4 years ago
I totally agree with Nuts, it is beautiful !!
jin
Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR thanked Plumeria Girl (Florida ,9b)
Dave5bWY
4 years ago
What a beautiful tea rose, Sheila! Definitely on my “tea envy” list now.
Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR thanked Dave5bWY