Damask, love it! Helen

It is beautiful:)

What a wonderful striped rose

It is gorgeous!!

Here is a rose bouquet I picked a few days ago. The roses are "Mr. Lincoln" and one of the mini roses in the Victory Roses series, "Honora" I think. Another couple of my favorite roses (I have too many favorites ; ).) "Mr. Lincoln" has the perfect form, color, heavenly aroma (one of my strongest smelling roses), and produces loads of deep red flowers perched atop straight, long stems. It is the best red rose there is in my opinion. "Honora" is another exceptional rose. The stems are nearly thornless, it has perfectly formed blossoms, the foliage is immaculate, and it blooms like crazy! There are hundreds of roses on each bush at a time. The flowers last really long in a vase, they probably have the longest vase life out of all my roses. What's interesting about "Honora" is that each bloom looks completely different. Some blossoms are green, some tinted with pink, some yellow, some a mix of the three, some have an old garden rose form and some have a classic hybrid tea form. It is really interesting. It usually blooms in sprays of 20+ flowers, but occasionally produces single stemmed flowers as pictured.

What an exquisite and sophisticated bouquet. Mr Lincoln is perfect, and the vase (plus the leaf Carol mentions) really add to the effectiveness of the design. Diane

Wow damask !! I had never seen your all American magic . And magic it is ! I am very partial to her pink and yellow phase. I have been dying to get the “Claude Monet “ rose and this looks just like it . How amazing is this rose to change like that !! Your bouquet is gorgeous too . I love it .

Yes, damask--I forgot to mention your gorgeous All American Magic in all its stages. The brights and the soft colors are equally beautiful. Diane

All American Magic is one of my favorites. The color variations are really fun.

Hello everyone! Thank you for your kind comments! You guys always brighten up my day. "Claude Monet" is such a beautiful rose Lilyfinch! I love the shape and color of the blooms. I'm going to have to add it to my ever-growing wishlist. Here are pictures of another one of my favorite roses "Rio Samba." The original bush was unfortunately hacked to pieces when our house was being re-piped, but my dad took some cuttings and a couple of plants rooted. I'm so upset that I never took full-bush pictures of the original plant, but here are a few flowers from the young plants and some close ups of the original bush:

Rio Samba is another incredible rose. It produces so many flowers! The edges of the rose are a brilliant scarlet, and it is vibrant orange/yellow in the center. The nice thing about this rose is that the blooms are still beautiful even after they fade, they turn a lovely yellow-pink, like in the second picture. The smell is incredible, very strong and fruity. I always thought it looked and smelled like a Big Stick Popsicle. (As a kid I used to call it "The Big Stick Rose" : ).) It looks amazing when it is in full bloom and you can see the different colors of blooms all on the same bush. A rose that will always have a place in my garden.

Have a nice day everyone!

damask_rose : )

Love Rio Samba as well. Your photos are lovely.

Damask!!! Another GASP!!! That first picture of Rio Samba is exceptional!!! The color!!! GASP!!!!

Hi damask rose!

WOW! Your rose garden is stunning! Rio Samba is one of my all-time favorite roses. Haha, I guess they do smell like those big stick popsicles!

:D

Thank you everyone! I'm so sorry I haven't been able to post in awhile, I have been really busy with school lately. This is "Gold Glow." I can honestly say it is one of my least favorite roses. It smells great, fruity and strong, the color is a beautiful golden yellow, but the blooms only last one day! After that they fade and the petals fall off. It doesn't produce too many blooms either. I keep it only because I love the color and the smell.

Have a nice day everyone!

damask_rose : )

Wow I love them all!

Thank you everyone!

The rose that I am about to introduce next is my idea of a perfect rose. I don't think it's too popular which is a shame because it really is just perfect in every way. I introduce to you..."Bill Warriner!" This rose has it all: heavenly aroma, dazzling pink color, glossy leaves, disease-resistant, heat-tolerant, compact, constant bloomer, perfectly swirled blossoms, perfect for hedges...you name it and this rose has got it! It blooms so much that it looks like it is covered in pink clouds, sometimes with 40+ blooms per stem! We have several bushes of it, and plan to plant more. It's my dad's favorite rose, and one of my many favorites. I won't say any more, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. This is one rose that I would recommend for every garden!

(Sported bloom)

WOW 🤩 you got my attention again with this one. I have never heard of it and it is incredible. When you said disease resistant, does that include resistance to blackspot?

Hi damask,

Bill Warriner flowers and bush are so beautiful, especially the heat tolerance part. Will the flower turned crisp in the sun? My heirloom flower cannot stand two hours of morning sun when the temperature was only low 90. I had to cut them before 9 AM otherwise they turn so ugly. How long the flowers last on the bush?

Thank you dianela7b! It does not get blackspot in my area. It has great disease-resistance all around and has beautiful glossy leaves. It sometimes gets a little mildew in the spring, but it does not affect the plant or flowers and goes away after a week or so. My "Paradise" rose just a few feet away has lost a ton of leaves to blackspot, but "Bill Warriner" doesn't even have a single spot.

Thank you Lek Arun! The flowers last a long time on the bush. The nice thing is that it tends to finish its first bloom just before the hot weather starts. The flowers can tolerate heat well into the 90s. When it blooms in hot weather, the old, faded flowers crisp if I haven't pruned them off already, but the new flowers usually hold up pretty well. The flowers blow open and crisp in 100+ weather though. In 90 degree weather the flowers get a beautiful dark pink edge (last picture from above comment). Here is a picture of one of the young plants from today after 98 degree weather. The new flower is unscathed, but the old flowers that I should have pruned earlier have fried:

Have a nice day everyone!

damask_rose : )

Hello everyone! This rose is called "Blue Girl." For some reason it doesn't really look like the other pictures I've seen of "Blue Girl." In my garden it's more mauve than lavender, with a darker edge instead of even coloring throughout. The flowers are small but very pretty, and they have a nice fruity scent. It is susceptible to blackspot and is not especially vigorous, although the original bush is old and the new plants we made from it are still young so I can't say for sure. Overall I would say it is very beautiful and the flowers have a very pretty and unusual color. It is one of my parents' favorite roses.

Have a lovely day,

damask_rose : )

Wow Damask! The pink is stunning with so many blooms.. how big is the bloom and how long have you had it? Will it get big in my zone? I have enough pink for now. but fragrant and seems like strong bloomer!

Thank you Tina! Each bloom is about 3 inches across. Our oldest bushes here are 2 or 3 years old, and they grow to be about 3 feet wide and 3 feet tall. At the farm the bushes are about ten years old, give or take a few years. They are slightly bigger than the bushes here I think, maybe 3 ½ to 4 feet wide and tall. The bushes have a nice shape and are very healthy and vigorous, but they stay nice and compact and don’t exceed 3 or 4 feet. They would be perfect for a garden with limited space and they also do well in pots. All of our bushes of “Bill Warriner” came from one tiny bush in a pot that was left there by the previous owners of our farm. From that one plant we have propagated over 30 bushes. I think in zone 8 it would stay compact. It is definitely a strong bloomer, exploding into a pink cloud in flushes throughout the season. I love this rose and would very highly recommend it.

Have a lovely day!

damask_rose : )

Damask: You sold me on Bill W. Let me know how I can get one..

Damask - your Bill W. is exceptional!!! I've heard of it, but I didn't realize that it is fragrant! What a super bloomer!

Haha! I’m so happy you’re getting one! I hope it thrives and blooms beautifully for you Tina! You can purchase it at Rogue Valley Roses. They are currently out of stock, but I think they should be back in stock by fall or spring.

Enjoy your new rose!

damask_rose : )

Bill Warriner Rogue Valley Roses

Bill Warriner HelpMeFind

Thank you so much rosecanadian! The fragrance is really nice, very fruity and sweet. HelpMeFind describes it as mild, but I would say it is moderate.

Have a nice evening!

damask_rose : )

Moderate is good enough in my book!

Hope your day was good!

I'm so sorry I haven't updated this post in awhile. Here is "Bill Warriner," blooming away in the hundred degree heat at the farm:

I almost want to say the smell is strong, but then again, to me "Iceberg" smells strong, and on HMF the scent is listed as mild for both roses. It's not as strong as "Mr. Lincoln" or "Tiffany" though, but it's still pretty good.

I will post a new rose review momentarily.

damask_rose : )

This is another one of my favorite roses, "Intrigue." It is my only purple rose, not because I don't love purple roses, but because the garden centers near me just never seem to have any! It has a very strong perfume. The smell is really good; it smells kind of like fruit loops : ). The leaves are glossy and beautiful and it's got pretty good disease resistance. The color of the blossoms is a really lovely deep reddish-purple. The blooms become more purple as they age, and they look pretty even after they have faded. "Intrigue" is a heavy bloomer, sometimes producing 12 or more blooms per stem. It is a really wonderful rose and makes a big impact in the garden!

Have a lovely evening,

damask_rose : )

I love your first two pictures of Intrigue...really velvety looking...and I love the color!

I love all your picks of roses, there gorgeous and I"m glad they are fragerent!

Hello everyone! I'm so sorry I haven't updated this post in forever! The rose that I am about to introduce to you is one that is very near and dear to my heart. If someone was to ask me what is one rose that I absolutely cannot live without, my answer would be "Purple Tiger." This was the rose that first introduced me to striped roses. There was a sweet old lady who used to live in our neighborhood, and she had the most beautiful garden in her front yard. One spring when I was very young, maybe 3 or 4 years old, I took a walk around the neighborhood with my parents and saw the prettiest rose I had ever seen in my entire life. It was the "Purple Tiger" rose in the nice old lady's front yard. It had the most beautiful deep, velvety purple and delicate lavender stripes and speckles, and the most heavenly perfume. I had never seen such a rose before! I didn't even know striped roses existed! I used to love walking past that house, but since then some new owners have moved in and now the garden is completely overrun by weeds and the roses are dying. The new owners are very nice and they let us take a couple cuttings of the rose, and one of them rooted! The plant is under a year old, and it is already packed with blooms. A rose that will always have a place in my garden.

Have a lovely day everyone!

damask_rose : )

Damask, love your story about Purple Tiger. Wonderful that you were able to get cuttings from the original plant you admired as a child.

Absolutely gorgeous damask . What a lovely memory! It’s so nice to pinpoint the moment we fall in love with something.

I too signed up on rvr for bill wariner. Boy they sure need to use your photos instead of the spent bloom pic they have! Geeze .

Where are you damask ? I’m sorry for asking I’m sure I should know , but wasn’t sure how far you were from me .

Damask_rose - Oh those are gorgeous photos...especially the last one! You must have some special rose acumen to grow that rose so well!! I've never grown it...but members have said it's a tough rose to grow well. Kudos!

Thank you @Stephanie, 9b inland SoCal! I am so happy that I was able to get a cutting! What I love about roses is that they are like living memories; every time I smell a fresh blossom unfurling it takes me back to happy moments in my life, mainly from my childhood. Each rose has it's own special beauty and memories that I associate it with, like the bush of 'Rio Samba' that used to grow by our driveway when I was younger, which I used to call 'The Big Stick Rose' because it looked and smelled like the popsicle, or the "Climbing First Prize" that mysteriously sprouted along the back fence of the farm, which every spring we cut and place before the icon of Virgin Mary in our living room. If I ever have to replace some of our roses, I think I would get the same varieties because I am too attached to them. At this point they are like old friends : ).

Thank you @Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca! I hope 'Bill Warriner' grows and blooms beautifully for you! I am surprised that it is not more popular, it is a really great rose all around. I'm not quite sure why RVR chose that picture to advertise 'Bill Warriner,' it really doesn't do the rose justice.

I live in the Bay Area, and we have a small family farm in the Central Valley. I will see if I can add it in my username. Last time I went to do it the website was down, and then when it was back up I forgot to change it ; ).

Thank you @rosecanadian! I think "Purple Tiger" likes the climate here. The original bush was spectacular when it was at its peak. I am so happy that I finally have one! I have loved it since all those years ago.

Thank you for your kind words everyone and have a lovely evening,

damask_rose : )

Thank you for explaining your deep connection to some roses! Really moving!

Hello everyone! Here is another rose review. I hope you enjoy!

I introduce to you...'Bing Crosby!' Our five Bing Crosby roses came with the house when my parents bought it. They are really nice roses, and they are named after one of my favorite actors from the 50s : ). The blooms are a beautiful scarlet-red color, and they have the perfect form. Bing Crosby would make an excellent show rose. The blooms open to an old-fashioned bloom form sometimes, and other times they open to an HT form. They are also heat-tolerant and last well in a vase. The bushes are very vigorous and healthy and they bloom a lot. When all of my other roses are taking a break from blooming after the spring flush, I can always count on good old Bing to be blooming away. The fragrance of the blooms is moderate, but really nice. This rose has two major flaws though. The blooms break off in strong winds. This is the only rose that does this for me. It doesn't have weak necks, but if it gets really windy the blooms will just snap and fall. If you live in an area that gets strong winds, I wouldn't recommend this rose. Also, it is really, really thorny. Even more thorny than my OGRs. My Bing Crosby roses are the thorniest roses I have. Other than that, they are really nice. I thought I took pictures of them this spring, but sadly I didn't : (. These pictures don't really do this beautiful rose justice:

I took two pictures of the same bloom, one right after the other, and the first picture came out dark and the second picture came out light.

Loving this thread. I wish I had your nose, mine is not nearly as sensitive. Your All American Magic is beautiful as are the others. Thanks for sharing.

Damask_rose - what?? Are you saying that these blooms don't do the rose justice?? They look utterly and fabulously glorious!!! Perfection and I love the loud color!! Bing Crosby...what a voice! Eddy Arnold was another voice I just love...oh and Andy Williams.

I can't decide which rose picture I like better...dark or light...which do you like better?

Thank you so much Al Mitchell Zone 5b Chicagoland! I'm so happy you are enjoying this thread!

Thank you so much @rosecanadian! I usually like to take pictures of the roses in spring when they look their best, but I completely forgot to take pictures of Bing Crosby! The pictures above don't show the perfect HT form it can have in the springtime, but I will make a note to take pictures of it next spring. I'm very indecisive, I couldn't decide which picture I liked better so I posted them both :). The second picture is less fuzzy, but I kind of like the color of the first picture; I think it is more accurate to the real-life color.

I don't have Fragrant Cloud but I think it might be a good replacement for Bing Crosby, especially since it has a strong fragrance and I haven't heard about it having trouble with blooms snapping off in the wind.

I loved the movie "The Bells of Saint Mary's" starring Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman, who coincidentally also has a red rose named after her, and it was hybridized the same year as Bing Crosby, in 1981, although by a different company. And I love Andy Williams rendition of "Moon River!" Such a beautiful voice!

Have a lovely evening everyone!

damask_rose : )

Damask_rose ... oh yes...The Bells of Saint Mary's....a classic!!! I love Ingrid Bergman...she was a wonderful actress!! My favorite actress from by-gone days is Irene Dunne.