I garden in zone 7 SW Idaho where it is semi arid desert, hot and dry. I love Wild Blue Yonder, but it took several years before it won me over. I've grown it since 2006, the year it was first sold. It's grafted on Dr Huey and is extremely vigorous with the shape of a large grandiflora. The thick canes grow straight up and out from the ground and are very long--my rose is 8 feet tall with hard pruning in spring. WBY blooms quite well but does take brief rests, and I've taken to calling my rose The Clown Prince because it likes to display different shades of purple/purple red/lavender as it responds to hotter weather. Frankly, I enjoy the show. No thrips bother my WBY, though I have some other roses that are thrips susceptible. Diane

@Diane Brakefield Do you have a full bush shot handy?

Magpie, this is about the best I can do for now. WBY is hemmed in on one side by a tall, fat boxwood, Boscobel on another, and the house in back. The one side I can photograph from I only have a few feet before I tumble down to the neighbors who are lower than we are. Oh, the trials of a photographer in a small yard. Diane

Top half

WBY to the right--very close

@Diane Brakefield What do the legs of the rose look like? Naked, just leaves, or blooms all the way down?

Magpie, this is a pic from a few years back and WBY is larger now. But as you can see, there are leaves and blooms all the way down. Remember, your rose will be smaller (zone 5) and may take a while to achieve mature size. Diane

Diane, love the color variation. It is like having two roses in one.

Oh Diane, Diane!! <3 <3 Incredible!!!! Sheer poetry!!!

Carol, thank you so much. I get such a kick out of this rose. (I'm sleepy and can barely type). Now I've got one of my Ebb Tide roses doing the same Clown thing.

Thank you, mmmm. I like the color variation, too. I don't know if other gardeners get this variation in their WBY. Diane

Ebb Tide doing the color variation thing.

Oh, I love your Ebb Tide!!!! I love the color variation which adds such depth to a rose bush!! Have a good sleep!

Thanks, Carol. It's better than having the blooms fade out to dirty white. ET is back to very dark now that temps are moderate. Diane

Excellent!! I love your ET in all its forms!! Yay, Diane!!! :) :)

Thank you, Carol. Do you feel like you are being followed by an insomniac? I hope you don't mind. Below is normal Ebb Tide. Diane

Diane - LOL Yup...we are strange non-bed fellows. :) :) You and I just fall asleep anywhere we can...and the bed is a virtual stranger.

Oooooh!!!! That PURPLE!!!! It's such an OGR color!!!

Diane, what can I say? Your purples are fantastic. I LOVE that "Clown Prince" effect you're getting with both Blue and Purple Eden (Ebb Tide is called Purple Eden here in Europe).

Thank you Carol and Bart. I wish I could sell Clown Prince as a new rose, but I couldn't depend on the Clown to always be clownish, unfortunately. Diane

Ooooh!!!!! Glorious!!!! I loooooove that picture!!! :) :)

Thanks, Carol. That's from last spring. We're having a two day blast of cold weather (60s--warm for you-ha), but right now it's 47F, and will drop a few degrees more before the sun comes up. Then, the temps go up to 80s and warmer overnight. Thank heaven, because so far September hasn't been exactly a bloomathon here. It's just been a crappy year all around, and I think you had a similar experience. No rain arrived with the big wind storm night before last, either. The predictions have been off, but I hope they're right about the warm up. I hope you get a warm up, too, so you have some more time with your roses that are doing well. So much for the boring weather report. No fun garden news here. Clare and I went to the store for groceries (really, it's a snack run. Let Cheetos rain down). Then it was time for me to fix dinner. A few chores after dinner. Then crash in chair. One day after another, all the same. Fall has hit and all the trees are turning colors and starting to lose leaves. Now maybe my three shady Evelyns will get some sun again and bloom. I hope your day was more exciting than mine. I need an attitude adjustment, especially after reading Melodye's trying times over the past few years. Diane

Melodye, I've read through your post again on the other thread, and am shocked at what you have been through in recent years. I hope your life stays nice and boring (at least the health parts) from now on, and you can happily putter in the garden. I was amazed that your government helps provide a gardener for you. Here they pat you on the head, give you a swift kick out the door, and say, "take care of yourself!". Diane

Diane - you are hysterical....Let Cheetos rain down...LOL Today is a cool day...overcast. We'll be in the low 70s and then gradually over 2 weeks get down into the low 50s.

For sure...it's been a crapfest (but of my own making...ignorance is NOT bliss). Well, at least it will be cool enough to go for longer walks...although my Achilles tendon can only withstand 35 minutes...BUT that IS an improvement...so I'm going to celebrate the improvement....like you said...attitude adjustment. :) :)

Good point about Melodye...she deserves much better in the health department. :) :)

I was surprised about the gardener too! ???