Stacy, all your babies look so cute and healthy. What a shame about midge--don't know if I could handle that. The Pretty in Pink bloom is gorgeous. I'm puzzled as to why it won't grow. I like grafted plants, so maybe you should give a grafted one a try. Here's to a midge free garden in the future. Diane

They are gorgeous!! Congratulations on finally getting some blooms, it is so frustrating to have that first flush wiped out. I love the color starting to show on Olivia Austin!

@Diane: Thanks. I am planning to buy some climbers from Palatine this fall. I heard some large climbers don’t grow well own root so perhaps PIP Eden is one of them.

@Joey: I wasn’t sure about how Olivia looked yesterday with those first few tiny petals but she sure looked much better today!

Your last picture is soooo lovely!!!! What a change from when it was first opening...I was thinking there wouldn't be many petals....and then TA DA!!! I'm glad you finally got some blooms...and they're all lovely...especially ORA and Lavender Veranda!!

Really? Kiss Me Kate's fragrance is similar to GJ? That's a huge compliment to KMK!!

Stacy, congratulations on your first blooms!!!!!

This midge thing is just too much, I know.

I am crest fallen! Again! So many of my roses, which I bought specifically for fragrance are not fragrant. I cant detect any fragrance in my KMK. The blooms are huge though.

So happy for you that your blooms are so pretty and fragrant.

@rosecanadian, @katyajini

yes KMK has a strong fragrance for me. This morning it even waft a little. So far this rose has been doing so well, disease free, pretty flowers and fragrance. The only thing left to be seen is repeat.

Here is a picture of KMK with a Lavender Veranda bloom next to it for comparison. Lavender Veranda’s blooms are small to begin with and now they became tiny in the hot weather. Kate still looks pretty.

I had a lot of thrip damage a week ago. I can see the little thrips on the blooms. This week I don’t see much damage. I wonder If some beneficial insects got them under control...

katy - maybe the pH of the soil is too acidic for fragrance? I had that problem. I added a 1/2 cup of lime to each pot...and the fragrances are much more developed. But...I would hate to be the cause of problems from willy nilly flinging lime in the soil. YMMV

sbr - such a cute combination seeing those two rose blooms together...I really love the color of your Lavender Veranda!! Hopefully you got some good critter action going in your garden! :) :)

Stacy, those two roses look so pretty together!

Carol, you dont say! Do you by any chance remember what the pH of the soil was and what it changed to? I will check the pH of the soil around some of my roses and report back. Some references say pH of 6-6.5 is optimum, some say pH 7 is best. And maybe it varies a bit from rose to rose. I would love to know what the pH of the soil is for your roses. Thanks for bringing this up. Definitely worth exploring.

Stacy I did not want to hi jack your thread so I posted my question else where.

Carol, your suggestion intrigued me so much, and fragrance means so much to me that I started a thread about it. I do hope you dont mind. I respect your thoughtful reading of comments and answers greatly. thanks