Gorgeous roses everybody!! No blooms here yet.

Forever a Newbie - I loooove your Perfume Factory....I have one on the way. What do you think of the fragrance?

Oh, all of these roses and tulips made me so happy!! BEAUTY beyond compare!!

@rosecanadian: thanks! Perfume factory has strong pure damask fragrance to my nose. It self cleans and drops dark purple petals. You will love it.

Thanks for the kind comments! I’m laughing at myself for posting the same pic of Scentuous twice. I’m not yet 50 years old but I’m already forgetful sometimes. :) Librarian, I am, as Carol would say, gobsmacked! Your tulips are prettier than tulips! Ok, I mean the tulips I normally see. These are so much more graceful, not so stiff and rigid and oh so ruffly!

Now I don't know who my favorite "kid" is: South Africa or Munstead Wood? I met MW this morning for the first time. To die for.. the camera never does reds justice.

PS: The way the color shows up on my computer is nowhere close to what this amazing beauty has to offer. It is a deep magenta, royally rich and saturated, with more blue than it shows here. Had I not read as many rave reviews of MW, I would have never gotten it based on the red that shows here, at least on my monitor.

I want to get more of these but I heard it's discontinued? Why, oh why, would DA do that?

Artist, I don't think it's a sure thing about discontinuing MW. It's still being sold locally in big DA pots with tags at my favorite nursery. I grow two MWs and they are tied with Augusta Luise for favorite roses in my garden. Both your South Africa and Munstead are gorgeous. Diane

I need to get another MW before it's too late. It is by far my favorite color in ANYTHING.

In the meantime, I think I just counted 70-80 buds on my low-key Olivia Rose. She got more and more prolific every year. She is a giant covered in buds now. Can't wait to see her all in bloom. Oh my.

If there was no threat from that horrific RRD, I think I would be half OK at this hobby now. I started out quasi-pitiful as this forum can testify.

As for SA and MW, I read about both that they are supposed to be strongly fragrant, especially MW.

Well, I can barely smell anything on it at all - so it is becoming clear Covid completely destroyed my smell. Worse things could have happened.

Try smelling Rouge Royale. If that rose doesn't tweak your smeller, you have, indeed, lost your sense of smell. I am sorry. You are lucky to have such a prolific Olivia. Mine was killed in December by voles. Diane

I’m sorry, Artist for not noticing your questions before. I’m not sure how helpful my answers about ZD will be since I live in hot, dry Arizona. Mine has never had black spot here, though she does get a touch of mildew in the spring due to our cool nights and warm days. I can’t really say how many hours of sunshine they get… plenty, for sure, but not all day. My guess is a good six hours. Everything here appreciates a bit of shade.

Diane, I realized today on my walk through my gardens how much I’ve been influenced by your garden. Many of the ones I have are because of your pictures and recommendations… Golden Celebration, Angel Face,Young Lycidas, Twilight Zone, Ascot, Boscobel, Augusta Louise, Evelyn, Jude the Obscure and even Abe Darby! In spite of your derogatory name, your pictures speak well for Twig. Mine is just starting to bloom.

Thank you, Judi. I hope the list of roses above that you grow prove to be great successes. They are all such good plants. I think most Abe Darbys are gorgeous. Mine just has problems. Maybe his mom isn't loving enough--ha. You have made my day. Diane

Forever A Newbie - oh YES!!!! Strong damask fragrance...sounds like perfection!!

Artist - what a shame about COVID ruining your sense of smell. I was SOOOOO worried about that. It would be devastating...I don't know if I'd even grow roses anymore...fragrance to me is king. I'm glad you have such a good attitude. :) And I'm really sorry about RRD affecting your roses. Horrid.

Atrist, I really envy your MW. It is very beautiful. I placed the order with DA and they told me it was out of stock after waiting for half a year.

rosecanadian: I hope your PF will come soon and great.

sheila’s perfume has her first bloom. It smells good but can not compare with PF

Paradise is getting better and better

Beverly has the intense and unique sweet litchi scent. It’s everyone’s favorite

Desdemona

Lavender crush matches all the description with strong lemon frangrance. Only drawback is the petal looks a bit smoked and feels dry after one day even in our very humid and mild spring

Happy rose gardening!

Lemon Spice

Peach Swirl

Alakazam

Paul Shirville

Good as Gold

Ring of Fire

Cobalt Dreams delphinium & Stephen Rulo

Flora Danica & First Impression. FD is my favorite orange rose.

My front yard (the "corral")

Susan, I am so impressed with your Flora Danica that I must ask you what makes it your favorite orange rose… health? Bloom power? Fragrance? I became aware of this rose when I looked up roses with my children names and haven’t yet found a source for this one. We have a daughter named Danika and I would like to get a Flora Danica for my orange rose garden sometime if it’s a good rose. We have a daughter Felicia as well and I am very pleased with my first blooms from Felicia rose this spring. I haven’t been able to find a rose named the same as all my children yet.

Your rose corral is so charming!

Hi to Susan's Stephen Rulo. What a beauty.

When I saw these blooms this morning, it's hard to describe the excitement in my heart. I really miss their colors and fragrance!

Therese Bugnet, the first beauty to start this year.

Susan, I love your corral and you've certainly corralled some lovely and unusual roses. My beady eye zoomed in on Flora Danica immediately. What a beauty, and I don't think I've even seen a photo of this rose before. I checked it out on HMF and saw more of its all round beauty. Is it hard to find? Alakazam is wonderful and so fun. Peach Swirl is luscious. I think this is the first time I've seen a group of your roses, so thanks for the look. Now I want Flora Danica. You probably know that is the name of a famous and horribly expensive hand painted china pattern. I read an interesting article about how the top artists were selected to hand paint the flowers on each piece. It was quite an honor to be chosen.

Artist, your Paradise is exquisite with its subtle coloration. I think it's Rosecanadian's favorite rose and was her avatar. She hasn't been able to acquire another after she lost hers.

Fey Lo, I understand the excitement and am happy you have your first blooms--I'm still waiting. Therese is lovely and I like her pretty leaves. It looks like she's thornless, too. That would be nice. I hope more start blooming for you soon. Diane

Diane, 

I'm not sure which Paradise rose you mean, as I don't have one by that name. Just making sure I'm not missing anything.  :)

Artist: Diane might be referring to the Paradise picture I posted.

I also like the color variation

I think Rosecanadian's Avatar is Paradise Found, which is highly fragrant and not as easily found as Paradise 🌹

judijunebug, so many reasons to love Flora Danica. Great color, very floriferous, good substance to the petals, and very healthy. Alas, it is currently out of commerce in the US; I got mine in 2002 from Pickering. Fortunately, it's very easy to root. I have shared it with a few rose collector friends, and will continue to propagate it to keep it going! I'd be happy to make you a rooted plant, but I don't know the Ag restrictions of shipping from CA to AZ.

Sheila, Stephen sends his regards right back to you, and his new little brother living with you (who has a profound will to live)!

Diane, we actually had a conversation about Flora Danica, maybe a year or so ago. No reason to remember it though! It's also the name of a Danish Blue cheese, which I always thought was the origin of the name, until you mentioned the name of the china pattern as another possibility in our previous conversation :-D

Susan, please keep posting photos of your big brother, Stephen, so I can encourage my little guy.

Also meeting Savanah and Beverly for the first time. I love, love the color on both but the bushes are still very young.I also hope Savanah's bloom gets bigger.

@Artist-FKA-Novice Zone 7B GA - Wow, that Savannah rose presents a really pleasing color contrast between the dark, glossy leaves and the soft apricot bloom! Very nice!

@Steve_M in PA

This was the first bloom I ever saw of Savanah and it is indeed very pleasing and refined. The bloom, however, seems to be on the small side - I have read this observation from others too - that she has rather small blooms. It should still be fine as long as she gets big and bushy and makes lots of them. The blooms don't have to be big in my book, but they do have to be 'lots.' :) Hopefully she will get there when she grows up and becomes a young lady. Now she's still a baby, her first season.

I also love Beverly's pink brightness from the kitchen window. If she does a good job long term I might place her in Belinda's Dream prime location pot. That one has been a disappointment for years now, maybe because she was a small band when I got her.

Not sure what to say about this whole "own root"/band thing.

Beverly went quickly from bud to maturity. Sounds like one of those who peak in high school.

And  Savanah's Bloom all out:

From what I read, it sounds like mature Savannah blooms are "normal" size - not so large you would call them huge, and not so small you would call them puny. But I have only seen Savannah in person once, and it was almost comical, because there was a fully formed HT bloom on a plant that could not have been more than 8 inches tall! (I think that's in its favor somehow?) I would expect bloom size to increase at least a little as the plant matures.

As for own-root versus grafted, it seems like own-root is better for cold hardiness and plant longevity, but grafting is definitely an effective shortcut to get bigger plants sooner. I also hear that some varieties may do better grafted on another rootstock, at least in certain soil types. I am sure the reverse can be true as well. I know that certain rootstocks are better for different areas of the country.

Overall Savanah bodes well. An elegant lady, something that Beverly somehow does not seem to have, despite being very beautiful. Savanah is a lady who will still look so at 90, Beverly is more like a Megan Fox-type thing that peaks in high school (lol).

I'm comparing these two because I got them and planted them both at the same time. Theoretically they are both HT-s with the same type of bloom, just slightly different color, so they shouldn't feel so different. And yet there's a world of difference in overall feel between them. Amazing how every rose has a unique personality even though in theory, there are only so many color categories and bloom forms to go around.

And yet...

Yes, it's interesting how plants seem to have a personality ... and each of us reacts to them differently. I have a long list of favorites on HMF, but some very well liked roses just can't make it on there. I look at them and I am like ... no, it's not for me. I will give you one example - Double Delight. I hear the fragrance is great. But looking at the pictures, the cream/yellow center with red edges just doesn't grab me.

Another example is, my neighborhood has quite a few cherry trees in it. I don't know what variety they are. They are decades old, with big thick trunks. They are loaded with bright pink blooms for a few weeks every spring. They're really nice ... but ... they don't hit me with that heartache beauty. The form of the tree lacks grace and delicacy. It's almost too much blooming at once. And the trees just look "meh" before and after blooming. Contrast that to a nearby sycamore tree, which has puny flowers you would never notice. But I could look at the tree all day in any season!

Thank you, susan9santabarbara, for the offer to root a plant of Flora Danica. I would love that! I’m not sure how to feel about the Ag laws as far as shipping plants into Arizona. I know there are restrictions but I have never had any trouble getting plants shipped here from private parties and I think as long as they have been grown only in bagged potting soil, it should be ok. However, if someone on here knows differently, let me know. I do know that EBay sellers ship to me without question.

I know the Ag restrictions for Arizona have been discussed on here before but I don’t remember what the details were. I have never had any trouble bring plants across the state line. However, if you don’t feel comfortable sending to me, I fully respect that.

@judijunebugarizonazn8, I'll make a new batch of cuttings of Flora Danica soon, so hopefully I'll have some more to share in the near-ish future (maybe 6 months?) :-D

Oops, forgot to add my email: (removed). Can you please make a note of it, and either send me an email or say here that you got it, so I can remove it from this post?

@Steve_M in PA

I hear you on Double Delight. It reminds me too much of Dick Clark which I had and despite being a good performer, I struggled with it quite a bit because of its garish red color. DD seems to have the same red in it. It doesn't appeal to me either.

Indeed there's something about each plant or tree and some speak to us more than others. When it comes to flowering trees, I obssess over one that blooms purple in my area though I sitll don't know for sure what it is. That and Muhly grass. I wish I could get some of that but I have no place for it.

Forever - My Perfume Factory has come in the mail...and it has leaves!! Looks smallish, but healthy. :) :) I also have Sheila's Perfume. :) :) Man, oh man...your Paradise looks beautiful...that color!!! Your SP is amazing too! And oooh!! Your Lavender Crush is a stunner! :)

Susan - your corral took my breath away!!! Oh SWOON!!! :) :) What is the purple one in front? I love your Peach Swirl so much...I really would love to get one...if I could ever find one. :) :)

Feiy - Yay for your Therese Bugnet!! Such a vibrant beauty!

Diane - Forever_a_newbie is right...my avatar is Paradise Found. Ironically, I can't find another one. :)

Artist - GASP - that's a gorgeous Beverly! Oh my!

Carol, thanks for your kind comments on my corral. It's extremely difficult to get a good shot of it that shows up in these tiny images here, even with clicking on the pic! The purple that you see in the front is what I call my "grape kool aid" iris. I inherited it when we bought the house in 1997, and it's ultra-fragrant. No idea what it is really, but I've propagated it for friends and myself a lot over the past 25 years. Here's a close-up:

Susan, lovely iris, and it looks like maybe a twin to "my iris". There's a small flower bed that looks like it's on our property, but it's the neighbors', and I take credit for it-ha. The iris is almost ready to bloom, too. This is the kind of plant I like to grow. I take the credit and someone else does the work. Sort of just joking, of course. Diane

Boy, my memory is shot. These don't look at all like yours, but they are my adopted iris.

Those iris ⚜️ of blue and purple are very beautiful

Artist, I also think Beverly flower is less elegant. It is way too big, heavy and feel rigid. However it has wonderful litchi sweet scent that everyone loves

rosecanadian: glad you get your perfume factory. Mine is also small but it has put a few new shoots already. It looks like a robust plant.

Paradise really grows a lot in one year

Fun in the sun finally produces good flowers after the weather heats up.

Moonlight in Paris puts a great show after two months in ground

Pink Reminiscence is pushed by the big Julia Child and is trying to stand up

Peace. I read that due to over propogation, Peace has lost a lot of its original great traits. Mine certainly does not look like the picture on the web, and it is pale and lack the red edge. I got it from walmart as bare root

Happy mother day weekend 🌹

If rose forum members could only see the gorgeous Peace my dad grew in the 50s! Huge, fat, delicately colored blooms on a big shrubby bush with great growth habit. My step dad grew a nice Peace in the 60s, but in recent times I kept wondering what had happened to Peace. It just didn't look the same, and then I read that its quality had slipped due to the astronomical numbers of clones it had produced. The genetic load build up had had a detrimental effect, I'm sure. The edge should really be a subtle spreading pink that fades into a creamy pale yellow.

Forever, you have many beauties to be proud of --I especially like the looks of Fun in the Sun and Reminiscent Pink, which has that fluffy, puffy look I love. Your Peace bloom is still beautiful, too. Diane

Diane, how I wish I could see your dad’s Peace. It is a shame that such a classic beauty is now hard to find. Is that an example of ”killed by love”? I read now some companies are trying to sort out their stock, clean the virus and maybe hopefully one day they can bring back the glory to this beloved rose.

Forever - my goodness!! When I grew Paradise it never had that many blooms and was only a fraction of the size. Beautiful! Love your Moonlight in Paris. :)

Diane - I wish I could see it too. He'd be proud of how well you grow roses. :)

Thank you Forever and Rose Canadian. I hardly ever see The Peace Rose that I don't think of him. Diane

My 2.5 years old Thomas Lipton is the star right now. Looks like the plant is finally established and churning out tons of buds without me doing anything special. All it got was a helping of cow manure mid last summer.
The pros are endless-

1. Virtually no maintenance
2. For some mysterious reasons not even the Japanese beetles bother it (other roses are not as lucky)
3. Fragrant leaves- YES I can just rub the leaves gently with my fingertips and the unmistakable rose smell transfers to my skin even when no rose in bloom. Did not know rose leaves can smell so good before planting this beauty.
4. Blooms are at least 3” across. Some even reaching 4”.
5. Amazing fragrance. The entire side yard where the rose is, smelling ROSE right now.
6. Good shade tolerance. Gets no more than 5 hrs of sun for most of the year. Summer sun stretches barely to 6 hrs for about 2 months.
7. Elegant arching branches look tidy.
8. Deer tend to not bother it.
9. Keeps blooming on and off May to October with two distinct flushes that I noticed last year - one in May and the second one in October beginning.
10. Decent petal counts (~40 large petals) to look dense enough and yet has exposed center at fool bloom to attract the bees.
11. Pure bright shade of white.

The only negatives are thorns (which is probably why deer don’t eat the canes) and aphids at the beginning of spring. But the aphids also attract all the neighborhood ladybugs.

I think it’s one if the most underrated roses out there. Got the plant from Home Depot for under 20 bucks - did not find a lot of information on line when I tried to search for care instructions.

After experiencing first hand, highly recommended thus one to anybody looking for a fast growing low maintenance fragrant Ragusa rose.
Here are a few pictures from this evening:

Here are some other bloomers new to my garden except for the white immortality Iris (4 years old)

Nature Inspired your Thomas Lipton is fabulous! I heard it was great in the South but I assume you are East somewhere and it looks so wonderful there!

Thanks Sheila. Yeas I’m in zone 6b and the winters are whimsical lately. This winter we got absolutely no snow though temperature dipped below 20 degrees for long stretches. And yet Mr Lipton looks to be absolutely fine. Not a single cane died back. The hardiness label said zone 4 if I remember correctly. If it does well in South as well, that’s a fabulous range of zones for such a low maintenance fragrant rose.

Natureinspired - what a great rose! It's charming and utterly beautiful!! Thank you for the detailed reasons why to grow this rose! I think you should frame that first clematis picture...oh my goodness...so beautiful!!!!

A month passed and my Peace rose seems to get better color. The yellow gets darker and it develops some red/pink edge. Hopefully over time the bloom could improve further

It has had good fragrance

Below is the bloom a few weeks ago which was very pale and lack of the pink edge

My neighbors ( the notorious chainsaw pruner) have a very old and mostly beautiful Peace rose but sadly it is reverting back to the good Doctor. I better get a few cuttings.

A few newbies

Bernstein rose, thanks Diane

Roberto Alagna

Palantina Traviata

Forever - I especially love your 2nd picture...ooh la la! I thought that Peace wasn't supposed to have any fragrance. I looked it up and it's supposed to have medium fragrance. I didn't know that. :)

Kristine - I adore your Palantina Traviata!!! So beautiful!! Would you post another picture of Roberto Alagna when it opens further? I'm interested in how it will look. :)

Kristine, yeah better get a cutting from that old and beautiful Peace. great new blooms, the lovely form of Berstine and the color of Roberto Alagna

rosecanadian, Peace is fragrant,. Everytime I went to local botanical garden in spring, I always ran to the Peace bushes and had a good sniff. They were planted in 1995🌹