Share your “surprise hit “ rose

last month

I was trying to think of something clever but i I’m not in marketing lol .

Id love for you to share a rose that surprised you and did better than you thought !

Mine is my Chicago peace, I bought it on clearance for $5 or so at Lowe’s when we moved here . I assumed it was misslabeled at the time as the colors were totally off , but it turns out this rose is a chameleon in the most fabulous way!

Brace yourself bc I know youll think I’ve lost my mind and no way are they the same rose .. but it is !

Featured Answer

librarian_gardner_8b_pnw

last month

I'm pretty new to this forum. I'd been reading as a visitor for a couple of months before I decided to join. There were two reasons why I joined:

1. As a new rose gardener, I learned so much from the kind and knowledgeable members of this forum.

2. This forum brought me so much joy. Members were from all over the world, had different life experiences and could share different opinions in a positive, fun and kind way. After such a stressful year (one that doesn't feel like its getting any easier) this forum was a wonderful restorative spot for me to go each day. Something that really impressed me was the number of times I saw members have very different experiences with the same rose and the friendliness in which they could agree to disagree, recognizing that there can be so many reasons for why people have different experiences. It's also a nice allegory for life.

I really appreciate all that members have to share about gardening.

I also know that it can be easy for misunderstandings to happen online. Tone isn't always universally read.

Honestly, I think it makes sense, in a thread about surprises, for a member to express relief that finally another person had a similar surprising experience with the same rose. The original comment didn't sound like an attack on others.

It also seems to make sense that members involved might want to clear the air and apologize for the misunderstandings or less than pleasant experience of the other member in another thread. Our intentions dont always match up with the experiences others have, especially online. I felt the need to comment because the this conversation seemed to take a turn when a member started to take the misunderstanding as a personal attack. There can be real hurt feelings when we think a personal attack has happened, even if there might not have been a personal attack. I'm not in the place to give advice on what to say or do, but I do feel confident in saying that the conversation went far off topic at this point. Off topic in a way that made me very uncomfortable and off topic in a way that wasn't supportive of the friendly and colleagial environment that many on this forum have worked to maintain.

I think that we all recognize these bumps in communication just happen sometimes. And honestly, I think people on this forum usually are really great at recognizing this all and they're good at being kind and understanding rose gardener colleagues.

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Comments (28)

Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca
Original Author
last month

The day I bought it

Next bloom cycle :

I thought I had a sport or something so weird ! Two roses grafted together? I had no idea

This year :

now , I wasn’t expecting much from this rose as it was cheap and I generally don’t like hybrid teas. And it is a hybrid tea but I can’t get over the color change. It’s remarkable! And so it’s one of my unlikely favorites. Now, will you share a rose or two that you love much more than you expected and the story of how you got it ?

I’m going to add more pics after this , it’s being so slow I’m afraid I’ll lose what I have
Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca
Original Author
last month
Then it went through a peony phase that was spectacular!

those buds are another roses
Isn’t that amazing?

Now what you see advertised often

Now this winter, it has been my favorite. It crushed me to prune it back but I gave it a bigger pot and moved it and I know it’ll be just as good this year .

I am so pleased with these blooms

These buds were whoppers!!

Look at it ! Aghh so pretty !

Now your turn ! Good luck and my your computer be faster than mine . Lol
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RaeAnna
last month
Wow!! I AM SO RELIEVED TO FINALLY see that someone had the same experience as I did with this rose! I remember one of the houzz members being a bit rude about it when I posted it in the chicago peace thread he created. He suggested that I post it in the appropriate forum and in future posts was determined to remind that it’s not CP. Google showed me otherwise! When I bought mine, the blooms were a spectacular hot pink like the photo you posted. It’s is constantly changing! I thought I got a sketchy one and I’ve been trying to figure it out over and over. Now I know.
RaeAnna
last month
More
RaeAnna
last month
All of the same rose. A chameleon indeed!
RaeAnna
last month
The Jenny bean photo was for my own comparison. Uploaded by accident. U can ignore those (I have no idea how to delete it) lol
flowersaremusic z5 Eastern WA
last month
last modified: last month
Lilyfinch, I KNEW I shouldn't open this thread. But, ok, I'm convinced. I've actually loved Chicago Peace for years, but seeing it in all it's variations, I love it even more. I'm limiting myself to only buying it if I see it at a big box store for cheap. HMF says z7b, but Rosarium Garden Center sells it own root for local pick up in z5, so I'm trusting that. Maybe own root would be safer. Hmmm......
flowersaremusic z5 Eastern WA
last month
RaeAnna, I hope I'm lucky enough to get one that does what yours and Lilyfinch's does.
MiGreenThumb (Z5b S.Michigan/Sunset 41) Elevation: 1,029 feet
last month
@raeanna I was not dude about that matter, and I'm sorry that you chose to view it that way. How very concerning and truly disappointing.. I just wished you to have a better opportunity for your doubts regarding the ID of your plant be seen by more individuals with greater experience rather than have it be lost in another post and I wished nothing other than a more positive identification on your plant due to its mutability- the blooms lacked some traditional aspects unique to it. Please do carry on though and feel free to speak ill of others.

I love all the colours you're getting. I'm rather fond of your half and half bloom! That's incredible! Do you think you might get a stripey?! I'd love to see that for sure!

I so agree though that Chicago Peace has been a surprise for myself as well for a first season plant! It has even given me blooms of Peace because with it obviously being a sport, it will be inclined to do so. Mine is from Edmunds'and is on Huey which I feel dislikes my garden.

I'm very excited to see how it will do in the upcoming seasons (and how much die-back it'll experience year to year).

Happy and Surprising Gardening!

Steven
oursteelers 8B PNW
last month
Hmmm... I think mine is Great Western, based purely on blooms. It was purchased on impulse, trying to get that “purple” rose.

The bloom isn’t purple but I was really impressed with the gorgeous colors it did possess. Started off a deep cool pink then darkening to a rich red, with some almost black shading (shading not crisping)

If you’ve read any of my posts you know I’m not a fan of red roses in my garden but this color is so interesting and it actually (surprisingly really) looks good with my color scheme.

Chicago Peace is one I still haven’t pulled the trigger on. Like you Jen I’m not a huge lover of hybrid teas and usually only get pulled in trying to get a blue purple or a true bright white. Their legs can definitely be hidden in a mixed garden bed but for some reason they don’t make my heart sing like other types of roses.
oursteelers 8B PNW
last month
I forgot pictures LOL
RaeAnna
last month
Oursteelers that’s gorgeous. The first photo reminded me of munstead wood a little, which I would love to get but I think it’s not going to work in my climate. Funny enough, lots of the roses labelled for colder weather are growing here where I am though YAY! Hehe @sara Ann, I used to love red roses but after my horrid experience where I lost all 34 plants, I realized that my reds are the hardest to care for. No idea why, BUT——I bought one yesterday 👀
RaeAnna
last month
Steven.
I don’t know if I should even respond to your rant there, but I definitely said nothing that “spoke ill of others”. I also didn’t name you but you but here we are...........I get along quite fine with everyone on here. I also remember a similar incident where a joke about husbands amongst women here, made you quite upset leading to a bit of a shocking response from you. I haven’t seen you pop up in conversations except to do these things....Perhaps consider a more light hearted view but also, to each his own.

Now back to the thread. I can’t wait to see everyone’s photos!!!
Kristine LeGault 8a pnw
last month
Wow! Chicago peace is definitely a chameleon. Im with you flowers, I should have never opened this thread. Now i am sorely tempted

Beautiful examples Jenn and Rae Anna of the incredible Chicago peace.

Oursteelers, what a fabulous rose. The color to my red loving eye is pretty yummy

It is a rose that I have never heard of.

I had 11 new roses join the garden family last summer and while they all did reall well, 2 were standouts just because they took off with amazing blooms right away and both lasted a long time on the bush.

Celestial night is a winner in my garden

For a first year rose it has been impressive.

And Marc Chigal, what a healthy dream rose this one has been
oursteelers 8B PNW
last month
Kristine are you getting ANY fragrance from Celestial Night? I don’t need a lot but I’d sure like something!
Kristine LeGault 8a pnw
last month
Oursteelers Celestial night does have a fragrance

It is no Double Delight but it has a moderate fragrance.
oursteelers 8B PNW
last month
Kristine I will be patient then. It took forever for Plum Perfect to develop any, I’m just excited knowing it will come!
Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca
Original Author
last month
Yay ! I was so happy to see so many responses this morning.

Kristine, I love the color of celestial night ! It’s gorgeous. I accidentally killed mine and immediately regret that . The color is just like Chianti but reblooming! Mine never had fragrance but it wasn’t Happy in the place I had it either. You bet I’ll be growing it again ! I also love my Marc chagrall too. Mine is in a pot and I think wild love to be int the ground more but I don’t have much ground to use .

Tina , don’t give up ! It’ll come . I love your rose , and agree it does resemble munstead wood ! Hopefully not as awfully thorny . Your rose looks more complex and deep , very pretty!! I’d never heard of it . I too don’t have red roses . I did in Tennessee but only 3. They really have to be amazing for me to try and work them in my beds. I just don’t have an eye for them , like others do .

Steven , it never even occurred to me that it may give peace blooms ! I feel like a dork now bc I don’t know much about genetics but of course it could do that !! I don’t think I have seen it yet but I would love to. My pretty in pink eden used to give random blooms that were like the original eden and so did Winchester cathedral like Mary .

RaeAnna , something that we have in common is our much higher temps for longer times so our roses do look the same! I bet it gives us the bigger more intense blooms and really let’s them shine. Having lived in 3 different zones I have realized this happens here in a big way. California gets ginormous blooms for quite a while , when it might have been once in a while in colder climates.

I also wonder , if plants are cloned from a certain branch , will they continue to be more likely to show off that way ? Even tho they are the same rose in essence .. are some more likely to be one way ? I think this with dianes absolutely stunning Augusta louise . Hers is gorgeous!! But if hers came from different plant material then another vendors , and they seem slightly different . Not that my Augusta is not gorgeous but some times it is so shockingly bright and offensive. I’m keeping my eye on it to see how it does this year .

Thanks for the great pics everyone!
flowersaremusic z5 Eastern WA
last month
last modified: last month
I'd forgotten I had a surprise hit rose last year. An old one I've often complained about. I don't care for shocking colors. Bright, dark and deep, yes, but not shocking. The only reason I've kept her is because she's a continual bloomer.

Peppermint Pop, who is usually shockingly hot pink had an entire flush of soft, dusky pink so I had to tell her I was sorry for all the things I've said.

Peppermint Pop finally looking good.

As she usually looks. I even toned down this pic and the next because

they were so vivid they looked doctored.
Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca thanked flowersaremusic z5 Eastern WA
Kristine LeGault 8a pnw
last month
Ha ha Floweres, I think that is a fabulous rose, just slightly shocking.

It seems that try as I may to keep softer colors I am attracted to those hot vibrant, shocking colors
flowersaremusic z5 Eastern WA
last month
Kristine, I always think of you when removing her crosses my mind. You do shockingly vibrant roses beautifully and make them blend in. PP looks like a florescent, neon sore thumb here. I don't know what possessed me to buy it. I must have just wanted to buy a rose, any rose, that day. But, credit where it's due - she out performs any other rose I have, which is maddening.
dianela7bnorthal
last month
last modified: last month
Flowers I LOVE your PP. I also love the soft and deep colors, but the super shocking colors can also be so vibrant and happy. I feel like more and more I like both extremes in color.

Jen your Chicago peace rose is amazing. I love roses that that can change colors like that, but I have never seen one that is so dramatically different while being always beautiful. I only wish I had a bit less blackspot around here so I could run to buy it (my regular peace looks awful.
Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca thanked dianela7bnorthal
Moses, Western PA., zone 5/6, USA
last month
last modified: last month
My MOONLIGHT ROMANTICA impressed me the most of my newer roses in 2020, which was its second year in the ground. I planted it as a tiny liner, right into the ground right away, no babying, when it first came in 2019 from Stargazer Perennials. It took off like greased lightning.

M.R. grows very upright and tall. It made a late in the season cane last summer's end, 2020, not a basal cane, but a lateral cane, starting from a growth point about 2' from the ground, that stopped growing about Thanksgiving time. It reached 8' from the ground, about 25° from the vertical, very upright.

I suspect M.R. could be grown as a climber, but can't truly recall if its canes are flexible or stiff. They're probably stiff and will need some man handling to conform to fastening it to its support structure.

It's plentiful large blooms are good in their 'English Rose,' form, not exceptional....could use a few more petals, and it's color is creamy, palish yellow with the outermost petals fading to ivory.

The scent is strong, and disease, especially black spot, which is a major problem in Pittsburgh here, has not been a serious issue with M.R., but it does get some. I suspect it still could thrive under a no spray program. I do spray my roses, but pass over roses like black spot proof Quietness, which MOONLIGHT ROMANTICA comes close to being similarly endowed.

The bloom necks are strong, no nodding.

I have great continued expectations for my MOONLIGHT ROMANTICA.

Moses
Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca thanked Moses, Western PA., zone 5/6, USA
flowersaremusic z5 Eastern WA
last month
Thank you, Dianela. Hope you are feeling good. How much longer?
MiGreenThumb (Z5b S.Michigan/Sunset 41) Elevation: 1,029 feet
last month
I'm sorry y'all, and I'll leave the unrelated note alone after this...

@raeanna (I love your photos, by the way)okay, I got it. It's a joke if women smear guys and say negative things about them, but it's offensive and shocking if a gentleman refutes and refuses to entertain misandry or stereotypes (and some of those comments were clearly not jokes, and I didn't respond with anything shocking on it- merely that I didn't have a need for any expensive companions and that both women and men are disappointing). If there's anything shocking or offensive about that, please cite and prove how.

Yes, claiming someone is rude when they weren't is speaking poorly of another.
It's like the new lady at work I had to train: 46 years old, and freaked out on me her second day giving me attitude and refusing to listen, walking away from me claiming I was condescending to her and treating her like she was stupid.
What did I do? Why, I asked her a question about what she was doing to make her THINK. Her third day she has the audacity to tell me that she thought "we both had strong personalities" and to "not be offended" if she said something to me that was awful. I told her to not worry about it because I could "get quite colourful myself".
What did she respond with?
"Are you threatening me?"

Honestly now!

Unfortunately, you're reminding me of people like her: the only person in two years at my new work that behaved so terribly to me and told me she was going to speak to and about me however she wished but I wasn't allowed to return the favour in kind. It breaks my heart. :-(

(((She no longer works there, by the way, ha. ^_^)))

Being of the LGBT community myself, I have discovered a good many things about society and how people are. I am as tolerant as I possibly can be, but I will always speak out if facts don't support the narrative. I cannot be silenced and I have no problem saying the things others won't or are afraid to.
In middle school, let's just say I effectively took care of a little bullying problem I had because of my orientation (that I was still completely oblivious to) in a manner the system could never hope to achieve.
Let's just say no one ever dared to harass, threaten, mock, or assault me again.

You have to forgive me and accept that the things I've experienced and seen are what lead me to such views, and you have to accept that because that's the modern and progressive course of action for you as your social obligation. I believe that's the claim of the world today. Especially since I'm part of a truly suppressed minority group (tongue in cheek).

Most importantly, and the only appropriate note for what is a beautiful post otherwise... ROSES!!!

They're going on five years old this spring (2021), but am I allowed to say I've been impressed with a native rose I've raised from seed?

I have a couple specimens of Rosa setigera (Prairie Rose) planted by an old fence post and shortly it will be a mound of extravagance.
They gave a small bloom last summer for the first time... AND I have hips! I'd done some reading about how R. setigera seems to sometimes function like it's dioecious, so I'm glad I have one that seems fertile as a female (not that I'm anticipating experimenting breeding, but it's a notion I entertain).

It grows beautifully. Has lovely autumn colours between foliage and fruit.
Shockingly, I see mildew on it from time to time!

Steven
Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca
Original Author
last month
Thank you Librarian gardener, I was really bummed that this thread went south , and wasn’t even going to come back to it .

I think it’s wonderful to meet so many people all over with a similar love for roses ! And hope we can move this along . I do think it’s important to say , we don’t get to chose if someone is hurt by us or not . You can say you don’t intend to hurt , but you can’t say , that someone isn’t allowed to be hurt . And that’s all I want to say bc I can go to any other social media platform if I want to fight about things .

I love the pics added and hope people found them inspiring !

But I think this thread is done now .

Thanks for the pics everyone!
Kristine LeGault 8a pnw
last month
Well said Librarian.

I agree Jenn, lets shut her down
Lilyfinch z9a Murrieta Ca thanked Kristine LeGault 8a pnw