They are so easy Kristine. I love Ellen. Her blooms are fantastic. Every photo of Jeri was very pretty too, although I don't have it.

My Ellen ran into a little gopher trouble but I have one in a basket now and I'm sure she'll be fine. The gallicas can sucker, which I am thrilled with.

Thank you Sheila. How long does Ellen bloom? She is my first galica

Paul may chime in here, but in previous discussions of his gallicas they don't sucker nearly as much as others in that class. I recall a few he mentioned as rare if at all suckers (Marianne comes to mind) so I think Ellen is in the same class. I haven't grown Ellen yet but mine is on order too so we'll discover how long it blooms together. As with any rose, rebloom will get better as it matures.

For Jeri Jennings you would be in a good zone for her. There are tea elements in breeding of many of his roses so they are marginally hardy for me here in zone 5. Now that I'm zone 6 I may try again with some (I have ordered Mel's Heritage as my top choice of please please survive). If Renae and its cultivars do well for you, Jeri Jennings should be good. I think she appreciates some shade if you get blazing hot sun.

Cynthia

Ellen is a Spring bloomer. The blooms have good substance and last a long time. I've never actually timed the length of bloom but at least a month I think. Of course as the plant matures, the number of blooms will explode and it will be even more spectacular.

Kristine - I hmf'd Ellen Toffelmire ... it's a beauty!!! That color is amazing!!

Carol, I picked it because of its smaller size and that amazing color.

Sheila thanks, it sounds like she does well for you.

Cynthia , cool ! We can compare notes. Thanks for the information on Jeri jennings. I will be mindful of where she gets planted.

Kristine - good choice. :)

Kristine, did you buy Jeri Jennings? If so, I can say that mine just does its thing with no trouble whatsoever. Planted it and have left it. Blooms a ton and looks great all the time.

Oohh! that is good to know Robert. Thank you

Is anyone in Zone 9B ( Phoenix) growing Barden's roses? I had heard that they don't tend to like the heat. I 'd love to know if you recommend any of them for this zone, from your own experience- especially the dark reds and purples!

"Paul may chime in here"

It appears Mr. Barden no longer has an account here on Houzz, so I don't think you'll get any input from him.

Mel's Heritage does great for me in 9b! She's exploded in growth ever since I put her in the ground last spring. I have a new band size Marianne with one bud I'm eagerly looking forward to. Other than that, I haven't tried any others.

Yes, sadly Paul Barden deleted his account and will no longer be posting here. I will miss his posts.

I am so sorry to hear that darn it

I know we all will miss Paul. I love it when the experts chime in and he is always so interesting.

That's disappointing to hear. Maybe he'll read this & consider rejoining one day.

That's a shame. Paul had a lot to add to the forum.

marascz, thanks for your input! Do you have Mel's Heritage in full sun? Eastern exposure? many years ago I had a couple hundred roses and was active on the old rec Garden's Roses, back when Bob Martin ( petrose), the Clare who started help me find roses, Mac from Socorrro roses roses roses as well as Mel himself and many other beloved characters actually posted--- I'd love to have a rose in his honor now that I have the time to spend on gardening again!

marascz, I got Marianne late last year and am looking forward to finally seeing her bloom as well!

I also picked up a few others this year, including Mel’s Heritage and Jeri Jennings and I’m hoping with an earlier start I might actually see some flowers this year. Hopefully we will all have flowers to share here soon 😊

I did not pick up Ellen but this discussion is making me reconsider…these forums are always terrible for my rose budget!

I hope Paul Barden is just taking a vacation from the forum. We need his insight and expertise!

I hope he reconsiders.

I have taken long breaks from Garden Web back in the day. Got sent to Disneyland by Spike a few times for dumb stuff too lol. I even had death threats maybe 15 yrs ago, because someone totally misconstrued something I said. They got my email somehow and sent me a list of reasons they hated me and why they thought I should be dead! OK whatever...

I wasnt on this forum at the time. Mainly the tropicals forum, brugmansia forum, FL forum etc.

Sultry...what?? Death threats? Who did that? Or would you prefer not to say. My goodness!! Yeah, I remember Disneyland. :)

I’m sorry about Paul Barden leaving our forum too. I know he was involved the Garden Roses and Etsy threads, and those got rather heated at times, I hope nothing inappropriate was said to him in private message. And I hope he finds us irresistible and comes back!

Someone cursed me with God’s punishment on this forum last year. I was actually trying to make amends on some disagreements, but once I realized the nutjob martyr believed that she was God’s mouthpiece to freely dole out his curses, I wasn’t so keen on patching up anything anymore.

Sultry, I am glad you brushed off those crazy encounters and still participate here.

desertsilver, I am in Phx area and have grown Paul Barden rose Won Fang Yon for many years. It is huge and has done very very well here. It grows big like a tea rose; actually I think it has tea in it.

rosecanadian, I dont know who it was on the Garden Web..some random reader or someone actually signed up, or someone in the actual conversation. I had no arguements with anyone. This person was making references to a particular thread. I didnt even say anything bad, just told something that happened..They twisted it all up and somehow got my email..Im thinking they must have been a member. People used to be able to just email you instead of sending a message on Garden Web. I think this person may have had a mental issue.

Ben, thank you. I am glad you are still here too:)

Mel's Heritage is in the middle of my garden so that it can climb up a pergola. It gets sun from midmorning to mid-afternoon or evening. It receives full sun and provides good dappled shade for my bands to acclimate in, an unexpected benefit. It's leaves and canes scorched last summer, as did everything else, but it still provided some wonderful blooms in fall and has rebounded and fully recovered. It is full of sprays of buds right now and the first are starting to crack open. I put it in the ground as a two year old band in a 10 gallon container. It grew about three to four feet the first summer despite the heat, and the spring flush has now pushed it above my head to five and a half to six feet.

I’m excited to see how these two do for you, Kristine. I’ve grown some of Paul’s other roses but not these two and so I’m sorry I cannot really offer any advice but I’m sure they’ll do well with general rose care (other than pruning Ellen after she blooms in the future) and potting the bands up for a year should help them put on some size before they go into the ground.

I, too, hope Paul will come back to the forum. Besides his roses, I appreciate his expertise and straightforward, honest replies.

I don't think Ellen Tofflemire needs pruning. One would do it after blooming if really necessary, true.

Ben and Sultry...unreal. I'm super glad the two of you stayed!!! :) :)

Thanks for letting me know motbto prune Ellen . I would have made her very angry with me .

And As to mean people Grrrrr!!’ As my mother used to say, ” if you dont have anything nice to say , dont say anything at all ” Good advice !

Mel's Heritage starting to bloom!

Wow!! Mel's Heritage ... what a winner!!

My roses will he sent this Sat snd should he here early next week. I used to he able to go pick them up but since covid I dont think they do that anymore

That's exciting!! :) :)