Peace is a good example. It's a classic, and has spawned so many variations.

I'm planning my next rose garden. I have Austin's and Bardens, Weeks and even some natives and French antiques, but I lack knowledge of mid-century Hybrid teas, so I'm curious as to which ones people want to reflexively rescue from bargin bin purgatory.

Kathy, choose the hybrid teas from the hey day of this class, very carefully. They, for the most part are very disease prone. Here goes: Garden Party, Tropicana, Crimson Glory Chrysler Imperial, Mr. Lincoln, Pristine, Jadis, Just Joey, Tournament of Roses, Electron, Pascali, Oklahoma, Elina, Double Delight, Grand Masterpiece, Pink Peace, and Chicago Peace. I generally say the hybrid tea era concluded at about 1990. Coincidentally, the emergence of the landscape shrub Knock Out roses occurred at the hybrid tea's era conclusion.

There are plenty more, but these are some of the best of the best. For the most part they are bedding bushes, needing width and depth in the bed to let their mostly highly held blooms to display to their best. As stand alone bushes, they are awkwardly straight upright, columnar in growth. With bed partners all around, having growth made by season's end just touching their immediate neighbors is how they look their best. Strategic initial new bush planting has to take this into consideration. Flowers are held on long stems at the top 1/3 of the bush. Generally, floribundas were used to hide the flower absent, lower 2/3 of a hybrid tea's 's bush, being planted in the front of the bed to accomplish this.

The method of care here in the Pittsburgh, PA area was heavy watering, heavy feeding to keep the blooms coming, and spraying for insects and fungus (mostly for black spot and to a lesser degree, powdery mildew), every 10 days to 2 weeks. Unfortunately, this routine is still the standard hybrid tea care approach here, although organic methods are being used these days, but continued reports of their ineffectiveness are many, as I also have found them to be, ineffective.

Moses.

Thanks, Moses! I recognize most all of those names, from boards, mostly, although I currently possess a Tropicana and plan to try and propagate it to take with me to the new property. It gets foggy there, so "hot" colors are going to make up the portions of the garden visible from the house and more pastel shades will be used in the "walking" portions.

You have an exciting project ahead of you. I wish you much success. Don't hesitate to post your questions on the forum. There are plenty of knowledgeable Rosarians here who are eager to share their wisdom.

Also, if you can keep us posted as to your progress, and perhaps photos of what you're achieving would be greatly welcome.

If you can, could you add a descriptive insert along side your chosen forum name? Your: agricultural zone, location to nearest big city, brief description of growing conditions, etc. very succinctly worded, would help us know what conditions you face growing roses.

Moses.

Thanks! It's a project I'm really looking forward to see come together. Right now, aside from scheming various layouts, I'm trying to learn the Art of Cloning. And I am terrible at it. It doesn't matter how closely I follow tutorials, it all goes swimmingly for a few weeks and then phft! Dead. Method doesn't seem to matter: tent, no tent, burrito. Right now I'm trying fresh cuttings in 2" of straight vermiculite soaked in instant coffee, housed in mini greenhouses made out of 16oz clear cups.

I dump my coffee grounds on my current roses and they seem to appreciate them, so after looking at yet another tutorial, I thought, "why not?" rooting hormone isn't exactly lighting them up. LoL, we'll see. And there's always air layering to experiment with for the roses I already own.

The trick with propagating rose cuttings is to:

1. Select a stem that has just dropped its bloom's petals. It will have the most energy to respond to rooting than any other cutting.

2. Cut a stem with at least three leaf nodes, but no more than 5.

3. No direct sunlight during the rooting period. Bright shade, enough that you can read a newspaper by is ideal, no brighter is needed.

4. 100% humidity under your air tight, transparent cover is needed, but the rooting medium should be on the dry side. . Moisture condensing on the side of your cover is a good sign. Keep it that way. However too much moisture, especially in the rooting medium, is deadly to the cutting's succeeding.

5. Perlite is the best rooting medium, by far. I encourage you to use it, please! It's the most fail proof rooting medium there is.

6. Rooting hormone helps, but is optional.

7. Scrape off just the thin cambium layer (using the edge of a sharp knife or very sharp fingernail), on one side only of the cutting bottom end about 1/4", no more, before dusting the end with rooting hormone or still, without using rooting hormone at all. This will encourage good rooting.

(to be continued after grocery shopping)

8. Cut the spent bloom off of the selected cutting. Ma ke the 1/4" cambium nick on the stem after making a scrupulously clean 45° angle cut on the bottom of the stem, 1/2" below the lowest node on the stem. Cut, do not tear off, the bottom two leaves of the cutting. Leave a 1/4" leaf stub which will fall off naturally into the rooting medium as the cutting takes root. The cutting is submerged into the rooting medium with the two bottom nodes below the surface of the medium. Upper leaves that are still left on the cutting may be reduced in the number of leaflets each one has in order to balance respiration of the cutting.

9. Under the cover of your set up, make sure moisture is maintained. Condensation upon the clear sides indicates a correct level of moisture. Add water as needed by two tablespoons at a time as you correct moisture levels in the propagator.

10. As the cutting shows signs of apparent rooting, gradually, day by day increase light levels as well as cracking open the propagator cover, little by little, to introduce the developing cutting to outside humidity levels. Go too fast and the developing baby rose bush may dehydrate and the new leaves shrivel up.

11. You now have the baby rose bush at the state where it will transform into a new, own root rose bush. Takes about 6 weeks to reach the point where roots are mature enough for the baby rose bush to be removed to a 4" pot having a good soil less mix in it. Always graduate pot sizes used by increments...quart to gallon, gallon to jnground or 3 gallon, etc. Move your young bushes up to the next size pot when the roots hold the potting mix together as one mass in the present pot. Over potting can easily lead to roots rotting...too much potting mix with the moisture in it for the rose bush to assimilate.

Enjoy propagating your roses. I wish you have great success!

Moses.

IME, Tropicana isn't an easy rose to root. I don't think I ever managed it, actually.

Re: Tropicana

Really? Thanks! That's good to know. I think I'm currently on my third (or is it 4th, I've lost track) attempt. But it's one the other half really likes, so I'll keep slugging. (Or buy one next bareroot season.)

Welcome to the forum, Kathy!! You have a really exciting project, and you live in a wonderful place to grow roses. Of the roses that Moses mentioned, I love Pink Peace. The blooms smell like Fruit Loops and they're gorgeous. :)