I do remember, Moses! I would love to hear your report.

“cheap lipstick”

I haven’t worn lipstick in over 30 years, so I need to ask this:

I thought the price of lipstick bears no relation to the quality of the lipstick - is that not so?

I have used cheap, very old nail polish within the last several months, but that was to try to prevent cane borers.

I have it on good authority that the shade of pink in question does not sell well, so it is often seen greatly reduced in price where lipstick is sold, to move it out. Hence, I compare S. Dragon Fruit's bloom color to the unpopular pink lipstick color merely as a reference point. The bold pink color of SDF's blooms is lovely to me, popular or not as a lipstick color.

It is often stated in conservative Christian circles that women should not wear makeup.

I say that with certain women, makeup is mandatory! 😁

Moses.

Sounds like a very good rose for you, Moses. I look forward to hearing from you next year and hope it continues to please you and do well for you. Maybe I’ll have a chance to see it for myself some time, if our local HD carries it in their potted roses area next spring.

I suppose this isn’t a forum about lipstick and makeup, but here’s my two cents. I don’t wear it myself; never did and don’t want to, and I don’t like the pressure our society puts on women to do so. When I go to the grocery store to buy flowers, I personally don’t care for the flowers that are artificially colored; neither do I enjoy seeing “ painted” skin. It feels artificial and fake to me. A woman who is clean and well groomed and tastefully dressed doesn’t benefit from makeup. And a woman who isn’t clean and well groomed doesn’t either. Just my personal opinion.

Judi, I'm using the Drift roses to edge the front of my 8' wide bed, mostly Apricot Drift and Sweet Drift, but if Sunblaze Dragon Fruit is found to be up to the task, I can plant one here and there among the Drifts to break up the sameness there.

Moses.

Judi,

You've got good, commendable sense regarding appearance.

You know, men need to heed your formula of good grooming, no tats, and meticulous cleanliness,too. I don't know where this rage for tattoos, both women and men involved, came from, but I wish it fades out in popularity, and soon. I think tattoos take away from rather than embellish a person's appearance.

Moses.

I’m curious, Moses, how big this rose gets to be? It must be quite small/ short if you have thoughts of using it for a front of the border rose?

I share your feelings about tattoos, Moses. Though I do want to make something abundantly clear: I have good friends who wear makeup and have tattoos. While I personally don’t like either, I value the person and want them to know I appreciate them. My dad always taught me that “there’s nobody you can’t learn something from.” When I meet someone, I always want them to know that they matter to me as a person even if their choices are different than mine. Jesus did that and He is my role model.

It is short, Judi. S. Dragon Fruit's height is likely to be 18" when well settled in. So are my Drifts. Sweet Drift has The Fairy's (one of its parents), short spreading habit of growth. My oldest Sweet Drift, over ten yrs. old, can get 3' across by summer's end, but rarely exceeds 16" tall. Apricot Drift can push a bit beyond 2 feet by summer's end, but to keep it in line with the Sweet Drifts' height, it gets cut back hard at spring pruning, to about 3-4 inches.

The front of the border is 3/4 Apricot Drift, and 1/4 Sweet Drift. I find Sweet Drift to bloom more heavily, but I like the more upright growth habit of Apricot Drift, and its flowers are a good 1/2" wider than Sweet Drift's, and have better substance. AD's foliage is more substantial than Sweet's, and shinier. White Drift is not as disease resistant as Sweet Drift, its twin for looks in all regards except bloom color, and, of course, it's not as disease resistant as SD. The new gallon size White Drifts I bought never made it into the garden, diseasing up in their pots before hand. They got pitched into the trash.

Glad to know you are a lover of Our Jesus, as I am too. He had to drag me screaming and kicking into His fold back in 1972, as a 20 yr. old. I had to have the snot knocked out of me to get me to see the light. Very much a hard unbeliever described me to a 'T', before He got me to see things His way. I look back and wonder how He did it.....Amazing Grace is what it took, as the song goes!

Can you believe I am the only Christian in my family, a sea of Jews as far as the eye can see, a lot of them. Many are Orthodox, Lubavitchers. A few are Reformed. Some are receptive to the Gospel, though. They're not easy for the most part. I've been threatened to be arrested. I respond in love, but try to stay firm in the faith, knowing that the Holy Spirit is working overtime on them, doing His job to break down their stubbornness as He did me. You've got to be prayed up or they will chew you up and spit you out.

Moses.

Thank you for the detailed description of Dragon Fruit Rose, Moses. It sounds like a good one to keep in mind for small areas that could use a pop of color. I have Pink Drift in my Garden Border and it has been a good performer for me this past year, though I feel the color is a bit too warm and almost clashes with my Annie Laiurie McDowell Roses on the fence behind them. I wanted some with cooler tones to blend better with them, but everything else had a strike or two against them, so I went with Pink Drift.

Thank you for sharing your story with me, about how the Lord Jesus found you. It’s a beautiful story and I have a feeling that I could enjoy hearing more if we’d ever have the opportunity to visit in person. My husband and I recently had the pleasure of sharing a meal with a young Jewish woman who grew up in NYC and who became a Christian after asking her mother why they observe the feast days and her mother told her to read the Torah. She did so, and guess what, the Law led her to Christ!

That is a pretty rose - I may try it here in the spring.

Thank you for sharing your salvation story Moses

@Moses, Pitt PA, cold W & hot-humid S, z6

Thank you for your report on Sunblaze Dragon Fruit. Since hearing about it on the RoseChat Podcast I've been very interested. I saw a few for sale at my local boutique garden store, but couldn't quite commit to the cost.. So happy to hear it has been healthy and floriferous for you. Maybe I'll swing by and see if she is still there. On the podcast the lady said Dragon Fruit was so healthy it almost became a Drift, not sure why it didn't? Maybe the size of the overall shrub was too small? Seems like DF could be planted as a Drift. So exciting!

I think, just having one year's experience with S. Dragon Fruit growing in-ground, that its strongest selling point is its seemingly (so far), iron tight black spot resistance. It stands up to its advertised disease resistant claim very well. Few miniature roses can claim this.

Spider mites and black spot seem to go hand in hand with miniature roses. S. Dragon Fruit is no exception. Spider mites get it good like all other minis that I have grown over the years. I spray with Tetrasan 5, a month apart, July and again in August, which keeps mites in check pretty good. Otherwise I could almost say that S. Dragon Fruit is about as carefree as a mini can be.

Moses.

from hmf: MEIkanrou X (unnamed seedling X Double Knock Out)