I bought that one locally this year and have been very impressed so far. The mauve is a dark purple tone that doesn't pink out like Ebb Tide in the heat. It's more like Velours de Nuit or other dark roses that simply crisp at the edges without pinking. The bush was large when I put it in and I'm expecting it to climb So far the canes are lax and at least 5' tall so I think it'll grow like a climber. If you want to put it in a smaller place, you could tie it to a low structure like the 2' wire garden fence I use and let it drape over the edges. I've done that with several roses that are unexpectedly large and it's a great effect.

The blooms are indeed large and notable though I haven't measured to see if they live up to 5.5'. I really like this rose and am contemplating another one. Like all Lim roses it's disease resistant to BS and I presume very winter hardy.

Cynthia

Thank you, Cynthia, I think I will be replacing my two South Africa's with at least one True Gratitudecfor one of them, if not for both former South Africa spots.

Three things about South Africa in my garden that are negatives:

1. The old enemy, black spot......although they do not defoliate completely, BS does creep up the canes if not sprayed.

2.. The bloom color is too sharp a contrast with its neighbors. South Africa is the only yellow/gold colored bloomer I grow.

3. The bushes were supposed to be 5' tall, but have never exceeded 3', so their spot in the bed looks sunken in.

I will try to grow True Gratitude as a free standing bush. Hopefully the lax canes you are experiencing are young growth symptoms, and that subsequent growth over the next couple years will firm up, and grow more upright. When my Quietness bushes were young, they grew lax for a couple years, then started growing pretty straight upright at a 17° angle from the vertical today.

It's all experimental, Cynthia. When do we stop experimenting with roses? 🤔

Moses.