Meredith, a Carruth rose

2 years ago

Anyone here growing this rose? I was @ Home Depot the other day when I caught a whiff of a wonderful fragrance. My nose led me to a few pots of Meredith the smell was incredible. Ben, purveyor of all roses fragrant, and a friend of Tom Carruth, perhaps you've grown this? I don't think I saw any in your videos but maybe I missed it.
I read that it grows to only 3-4 ft & I'm hoping that's true. Oftentimes a rose that is sold as such can grow to over 5-6 ft here in SoCal & I don't want any more tall ones. Maybe a good sized rose to plant behind a shortie like Bolero?
I'm tempted to go back and buy one. Sorry I didn't take any pics.

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BenT (NorCal 9B Sunset 14)

2 years ago

Hi Soozie,

I’ve never grown Meredith but I saw her at Otto and Sons looking and smelling terrific

I did ask Tom why he used Meredith so much in his breeding and he said he like the way progeny inherited good form, size and fragrance. He also said perhaps he used her too much because they inherited her weak stems , too (I think it looks fine, but it bothers Tom).

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Comments (10)

oursteelers 8B PNW
2 years ago
I hope people say good things. i just planted one this spring!
Soozie Q, zone 10b thanked oursteelers 8B PNW
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Soozie Q, zone 10b
Original Author
2 years ago
By weak stems does that mean nodding blooms? I didn't notice that but I'll take a closer look next time.

Do you know offhand any roses that have Meredith in their parentage BenT?

Oursteelers do post a pic when your rose grows. I think you'll be happy with the fragrance.
User
2 years ago
From a breeding standpoint, Meredith has 2 issues. Weak neck and the New Zealand heat-intolerant bloom curse that it sometimes passes on.

One of the major benefits, and one I am sure Tom knows and is not saying, is that it passes on downy mildew resistance.

Easy Spirit is a simple case study. One parent offers high blackspot resistance and average foliage to downy. The other offers high downy resistance and average foliage to blackspot. You can see how each parent would be an improvement to the other.
Soozie Q, zone 10b thanked User
Soozie Q, zone 10b
Original Author
2 years ago
Thank you everyone who commented. I'll go back to HD and look again. They had another nice rose that unfortunately had no scent but it was very pretty. I'll take pics if any are left. This was a very large HD and I was pleasantly surprised at the rose selection & prices, Peach Swirl among them.
BenT (NorCal 9B Sunset 14)
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Meredith descendants: All Dressed Up, Easy Spirit, Grande Dame, Celestial Night, Miss Congeniality, Parade Day, Pretty Lady Rose, Sugar Moon

All Dressed Up and Sugar Moon seem to have especially strong stems, so they escaped the curse of Meredith.
Soozie Q, zone 10b thanked BenT (NorCal 9B Sunset 14)
Soozie Q, zone 10b
Original Author
2 years ago
And I have both! I wasn't aware these were Carruth roses. I love All Dressed Up! She was the star of my front garden this year, full of blooms healthy leaves. No fragrance but I can live with that.

Maybe I'll buy their mother after all so the family is reunited lol. Well actually I should look up the dads too. Thanks BenT!
rosecanadian
2 years ago
Ben - I didn't know that Meredith was a parent for all of those roses! My Parade Day doesn't have weak necks. That's a good one. And I had a Grande Dame that didn't either. It died when the garage door was left open one winter...but...I have a new one. Hasn't bloomed yet...I'm hoping it has strong necks too.
Soozie Q, zone 10b thanked rosecanadian
BenT (NorCal 9B Sunset 14)
2 years ago
Carol,

My Grande Dame was droopy , I gave her to a neighbor. The neighbor recently sent me a pic that it has ’magically turned into 2 beautiful roses, one hot pink, one dark red!’. I’m glad she still likes it.
rosecanadian
2 years ago
Ben...ooops...would that be Dr. Huey? It is lovely, though. :)