@NollieSpainZ9 and @Diane Brakefield, interesting… I wonder if the extra oomph from rootstock helps MW to keep blooming through cold temps despite some impact on petal integrity—darkening and thickness from

walling off cold-impacted areas.

My two plants are own root, and it never gets colder here than 45F/7C at night during a portion of the winter. Hm… both plants are going to bloom soon. I’ll have to see if the color difference is noticeable in warm temps!

@Diane Brakefield, may I ask what zone/location your garden is in? How cold does it get when your MW becomes that maroon color?

jjkOC, I'm in SW Idaho, zone 7, hot and dry summers, a semi arid desert, in fact. MW continues to bloom after we have had light frosts, as does Julia Child. They were both blooming in early December when it was 30-32 F. We had a late fall and the warmest winter on record. It was fun. Diane

December bouquet

Wow! Thank you for sharing your experience with MW in your climate, which is so different from here in zone 10a! I am even more astonished with MW!

Thank you, jjk. Many years ago, I lived in zone 10a in Redondo Beach. The weather was pretty much the same year round. I've also lived in the Southbay and SF Peninsula. Diane

This is my own root cutting of MW showing more burgundy tones during the first flush:

It’s possible the difference is down to more acidic potting mix of the own root versus the grafted parent in more alkaline garden soil. Although I generally find the opposite - the lower the Ph, the more purple the blooms, so who knows!

Edouard Manet /Climbing Claude Monet (Delbard) is my current new rose obsession. Deeply cupped, beautiful colors, strong old rose scent, productive, excellebt repeat , healthy almost thornless plant. While I’ve not grown The King’s Rose, I think Edouard Manet has so much more to offer.

Bring Me Sunshine is quite nice this spring, after being a big dissapointment last year. I put a sharp shovel and greenwaste bin next to her to frighten her into generous bloom.

Janice Kellogg (Meilland) has some of the best form and color I’ve seen for an OGR style red rose.

Capri (Tantau) has some magical colors. Fragrance is powerful and yummy like tropical fruits and perfume.

Scented Jewel is easily the best colored purple stripe I’ve seen. Mini-sized, very fragrant, very good garden performance

Ben, all gorgeous roses, but your Edouard Manet is superb. I agree it’s more alluring than The King’s Rose, but deeply cupped roses like EM always ball in my humidity. I saw a potted Capri on sale in my local garden centre recently, I was very tempted!

Still waiting for my roses to bloom, although one or two are starting, very slowly..

Ben, after watching your video, I decided I couldn’t wait any longer and bought Edouard Manet 🙂 There’s something truly magical about this rose.

P.S. I’m looking forward to seeing how Capri will perform in my climate—she truly changes her appearance depending on the conditions.

https://www.rosebook.ru/roses/gallery/capri/page-1/

I have a young Edouard Manet plant and, as small as it it is, it already puts out nice full plump blooms just like yours, Ben. I’m very impressed! I can’t wait till mine is big like yours.

@BenT (NorCal 9B Sunset 14), beautiful roses! May I ask, is Capri more a peach color or gold color? Your pic reminds me of Lady Emma Hamilton’s tangerine peach color, but some of the pics in hmf seems more gold like Sunbelt South Africa or Golden Celebration.

That's the way I love to photograph them!

'Alice Hamilton'

"Benny Lopez"

Soi disant 'Eugene de Beauharnais'

"Grandmother's Hat"

@jerijen, LOVE that color on Benny Lopez, amazing! And Im sure that bee is enjoying the fragrance of GH as much as the nectar! Lol

I’m back with a few more. Seems as if this morning four roses decided their day had come to open up. Isn’t spring wonderful?

Princess Alexandra of Kent; Memorial Day, one of my personal favorites; Life of the Party/Huntingdon’s 100th welcoming visitors to the front door. door.

@sylviaww 10a, hot dry inland Socal, pretty pinks!

I just found these photos from last week on my camera of 'Etoile de Feu', which is a great rose here:

From this morning is 'Lavender Pinocchio':

And its offspring 'Lilac Charm':

And, finally, 'Louise Odier', which I also grew in western Massachusetts where it was JUST hardy. Though HMF notes that it dislikes warm climates, it is so far doing well here in a spot with afternoon shade. It is growing tall (hope to train it as a short climber), repeats well, and the scent is wonderful. I missed getting a photo of the very first blooms last week, which all had quite a few more petals than this morning's bloom, but it's still nice!

@catspa_zone9sunset14, beautiful colors on Etolie de Feu and Louis Odier!

Love your Etoile de Feu, Catspa!

Thanks jjkOC and judijunebug! 'Etoile de Feu' is a rose I particularly enjoy -- got it from RVR in 2013. Like a lot of the Pernetianas, it does well with the heat and dry air here in Livermore, and the bloom color is truly outstanding.

I was out watering my "corral" this morning and my DH brought my phone out b/c I got a text from a friend who I was picking up at the train depot. I was standing over my Lagerfeld and it was perfect timing. To me, Lagerfeld is an almost perfect rose... ultra-fragrant with killer form, and blooms like crazy. But it's hard to capture for various reasons. I liked these two pics, taken with my one dry hand :-D

@susan9santabarbara, shoowee! Look at those centers! What is the fragrance like?

@catspa_zone9sunset14, I love the colour and form of your Étoile de Feu! How is black spot in your area and does it get much? I have been looking at various old roses in those tones from Ducher, Nabonnand etc., but I have high BS pressures here so one that doesn’t defoliate from it would be a big bonus!

@NollieSpainZ9, unfortunately, black spot is a common failing of the Pernetianas. However, it is only very rarely and briefly an issue here. From time to time there will be a short period at the very beginning of spring where conditions here might favor blackspot and, if so, 'Etoile de Feu', 'Grus an Coburg', and "Lundy's Lane Yellow", the three Pernetianas I currently have, will get it (along with "Grandmother's Hat" and 'Kathrinerl', an offspring of BS-prone 'Gruss an Teplitz', but they are another story). But they all soon throw it off as spring proceeds, with no lasting effect. I have imagined this is why Pernetianas are not more generally popular, though the blooms are wonderful; they grow well in California and the south of France and not so well most other places.

Thanks so much @catspa_zone9sunset14, I had my suspicions black spot may be a problem. Perhaps I should stick to the moderns in those tones!

@jjkOC zone 10a/22, SoCal: I guess you could call Lagerfeld's fragrance classic strong rose, but it's not as Damask-y as say Oklahoma, Papa Meilland or Mister Lincoln. It has its own unique thing going on... maybe a tad sweeter. Hard to describe, but I think I could i.d. it blindfolded, lol. Definitely not "myrrh", nor particularly citrus. Once I lost Blue Bayou, it's probably my bluest lavender rose. Its only downside is, being ultra-fragrant and light colored, it tends to show thrips damage sometimes.

@susan9santabarbara, are there any public gardens where this rose is grown? It‘s always a welcome adventure to learn a new fragrance!

@jjkOC zone 10a/22, SoCal: Alas, my rose road trip days are behind me, so I have no idea what public gardens have it. I checked Roger's Gardens website hoping you could see it in OC, but they don't carry it. Otto's carries it, but that's a hard slog for you :-D

Light Years Away first blooms:

Summer Romance:

Parfuma Sunrise:

Melissa Darling:

Earth Angel:

Princess Hitomi ravaged by thrips (is this my future band-name?):

A better bloom:

Forever Amber:

Edith’s Darling:

@susan9santabarbara, I might very well be up in Filmore in May, so I will ask Andy if they have any in bloom at that time! :D

@SD Shine -Z10a Bay Area, LOVE the color of Light Years Away and Forever Amber!

Wow, that is a really saturated violet-pink on LYA, SD Shine. Beautiful.

Nothing much happening here yet, just a few scattered blooms emerging. Darcy Bussell has chosen to hide her first blooms amongst the lower foliage:

How about some bouquet close ups?

Eisvogel, Juliet, Jude, Climbing Claude

Neil Diamond, the bush has several hundred blooms and bud

Henri Delbard and Lavender Crush.

I took these to my local garden club. I thought Henri and LC were by far the most impressive. But alas , the club members overwhelming go for Neil Diamond, everyone always does! Online in my videos, Juliet is by far my most popular rose, but ’in-person’ , Juliet dissappears, it‘s Neil all the way…two such different varieties, I love them both.

Sheena,

Lovely spring you must be having, I especially like the way your photos capture the subt;e shading of Sespe.

@jjkOC zone 10a/22, SoCal

responded to your PM

Susan

Otto’s is an even longer slog for me, but worth the drive!

Nollie,

Anticipation is almost as good the blooms themselves.

'Clara Thomson', yesterday.

Another of my dinosaurs (seems to have fallen out of commerce; its one source on HMF no longer seems to have it), "Lundy's Lane Yellow", which is a Pernetiana found by Gregg Lowery:

Susan, I agree about Lagerfeld—it’s my best lavender too. I almost think the fragrance has a touch of baby powder or something “soft” in it. It’s definitely very fragrant and given how much mine blooms, it fills the garden.

judijunebug my Dominic Sunset bloomed! It’s quite a baby still so I don’t consider these to be terribly representative but they were nonetheless.

Some cloudy weather made them look more red. In the sun they had more orange in them.

@jjkOC zone 10a/22, SoCal LYA is blowing me away so far, super fragrant too.

@BenT (NorCal 9B Sunset 14) Your bouquets are unreal. Lavender Crush + Henri Delbard = chef's kiss. Neil Diamond has made it onto my wishlist solely because of you lol.

@Paul Barden welp, I guess Clara's on the list now too. Stunning. I bought my first Barden rose this winter, Mel's Heritage from Burling and it is blooming it's tiny little heart out like there's no tomorrow. I'm smitten. I sense a rabbit hole coming (oshun, golden Buddha, joyce, diablo, oh lordy).

I give you Romantic Antike:

Pompadour:

Aloha (brand new to me):

Sheherazade:

Thank you, Ryan! It will be interesting to see how the blooms on Dominic develop as the plant matures.

Paul Barden, I have a hunch that Clara Thompson would like to replace Maggie in my garden. Maggie is beautiful when she’s not fighting powdery mildew. But she’s a sucker for mildew and I have held the shovel over her many times in the last few years. One of these days the shovel will descend. I need something rich and deep colored in her place… maybe Clara Thompson is the one. I have so little room left (as in, none, really), so I must plan wisely.

SC Shine, What a beautiful collection of roses. I especially love Pompadour and Romantic Antike. Do you think Romantic Antike is the same rose as Caramel Antike? Diane

Caranek Antike

I wasn't far off. Romantic Antike Freelander is a sport of Caramel Antike Freelander. That was a fun new factoid. I'd love to grow both of those roses. SD Shine, your sport could do some reverting. Please let us know if that happens. And post more pics. Thanks. Diane

Ryan, that's always exactly my thought about Lagerfeld's fragrance! But I always hesitate to use the words 'soft' or 'powder' (even though that's what immediately comes to mind), because they sound kinda weak, and its fragrance is stong. It's unique for sure :-D

@Diane Brakefield I had no idea! I actually have Romantic Antike in duplicate because I love it so, so much. Here’s one opening up today in much more direct sun:

Here are a couple I cut from the bush in the middle of a downpour because I’m THAT nuts:

Mine has moderate fragrance and grows as a typical HT, tall and narrow, naked below the knees. I need to downsize my collection, I’m just way too busy with young kids and a demanding career, and I’m paring down my duplicates first. I’d love to send you one!

I've grown this climber "Marlowe Soft Orange" for 13 years now and all I can tell you is what it isn't. It is not, for example, 'Royal Sunset', 'Talisman', 'Helen Traubel' or 'Westerland'. (Any ideas out there?) Individual blooms are large and last an amazing amount of time both on the plant and in a vase. Does well in all kinds of weather. And, for sure, it is always among my "top ten" favorite roses, despite its somewhat ungainly HT habit.

March 31, 2026:

April 13, 2026

SD Shine, your Romantic Antike is gorgeous. I love both the orange color and the apricot. And thank you for your very generous offer. Because of Idaho's strict plant import rules, bare roots only from licensed sellers allowed, I'll have to decline, but that was so thoughtful of you. I'm still musing about how I could acquire Caramel Antike again. The voles killed mine during the winter of 2022-3, and I had grown that rose since 2007. From your description, it sounds like Romantic and Caramel both have the same growth habit and blooming. Fairly tall and narrow plants with sporadic rebloom after a pretty good spring flush up here in the north. The deer really loved Caramel Antike and that was frustrating. The blooms were so precious that didn't get eaten, I never made bouquets, but the blooms lasted forever on the plant. Typcial florist type rose, I guess. Thanks again. Diane

Catspa, I am very far from an expert, but having recently been looking at old roses in these tones, the two that sprang to mind looking at your lovely Marlowe Soft Orange were Gruss an Coburg clg and Duquesa de Peñaranda. However, I see from Jackie’s recent thread that you already grow the shrub version of GanC and have grown DdP, so that probably firmly rules them both out! Dot did breed a lot of HT’s in soft orange tones though, so I wonder if he might’ve been involved somewhere along the line in it’s genesis..

@NollieSpainZ9, 'Duquesa de Peñaranda' was here so briefly, and well before "Marlowe Soft Orange", so I wouldn't "firmly" rule it out :-). But, while 'Duquesa de Peñaranda'is similar in color and "look" to "Marlowe Soft Orange", it lacks the gold reverses on the petals and, judging from HMF. generally has fewer petals than "Marlowe Soft Orange". But, yours was a good suggestion and, yes, the rose's bloom does have a Pernetiana look about it,

Almost exactly 2 years ago, in April, it produced an interesting sported bloom (never before and not since) that I speculated might be a clue. I tried to propagate the branchlet it was on but unfortunately failed. But look how wonderful that sport bloom was:

Edit to add that I just scrolled through the list of Pedro Dot roses on HMF and he would seem to be a very likely candidate on the list of possible breeders of this rose. The gold reverses on this rose are like those on his 'Condesa de Sastago' or 'Girona', though both those roses are redder than this one. Sadly so many of his roses seem to have gone by the wayside, perhaps because they did require a specific climate to do well, as the Pernetianas do.

Wow, that single sported bloom was wonderful indeed! It’s fascinating how many found, sported, seeded and/or differently cloned roses appear over the pond that probably originated from some distant European stock. I guess you may never know it’s true ancestry, but it’s a certainly a rose to be treasured.

And how is it that I dont have a Lagerfield ?

"Penny-Trad", a variety I bred many years ago, used only as a seed parent for further breeding efforts. It' came from a cross of 'Penny Ante' (Yellow/orange miniature) X 'Tradescant'. Not hard to see where its color comes from!

Wow, Paul, what a color!!!!

I’ve had few blooms so far and most have been pretty scrappy looking. Stormy Weather is probably the first worthy of a portrait:

I thought I posted a few photos already. I guess I didn't. Here are a few.

Louise Estes.HT

Joy. Mini

Ring of Fire. HT

Molineux. David Austin Shrub.

Tottering-by-Gently. David Austin shrub.

Munstead Wood. David Austin shrub. Heat of the summer.

Scepter d' Isle. David Austin shrub.