South Africa, and now Apricot Candy - I’m truly sorry to hear that. SA is here on your recommendation, and it’s doing fine. I’ve been on the lookout for an AC locally for several years, after seeing a high-performing bush that impressed me greatly. The owner subsequently moved, and the rose made way for a nondescript groundcover.

I see at the Walmart online listing for True Sincerity, the Walmart pros are promoting this rose as ”$3.12/quart”. Walmart.

Rifis,

I know. There's no other rose quite like Apricot Candy. The blooms are long lasting, do not fry, stay lovely even past their prime, and have a presence that draws you in. Unfortunately though, black spot hits them here. Strange thing, the leaves turn yellow right away, when only the tiniest spots start. In short order they drop. Their vigor helps keep them going to a degree.

I need to keep things simpler, less mobility issues abound because of CMT Syndrome progressing. Not having to spray for Rose Midge Fly is an answer to prayer, a real miracle. Not a spot of damage anywhere in the roses is a phenomenal change of events. My mentor in roses was obsessed with its control. No blooms in the entire garden, only foliage is what happens when control is not diligent. Now, I have the freedom from that exhausting bi-weekly to every 10 days of spraying. Even then, midge control was not complete. About 5-8% new midged growth was the customary toll, even with diligent spraying.

I know right now is mercilessly hot for doing any planting, but the two True Sincerity bushes on order are a trial. I also am a water nut. My water bill will confirm that. I can stand on the paved garden path and do the deed without stepping into the rose bed. There are mostly Apricot Drifts and Sweet Drifts in front of the Apricot Candys. If these roses take, I plan to finish the deed with two more True Sincerity bushes, promptly thereafter, before July is out.

Rifis, I could not find the promo True Sincerity qt. size/$3.12 at the Wal-Mart online site. Can you post a link? I still plan to replace, #3 and #4 Apricot Candy with the 2 gal. size bushes.

Moses.

Yes, when looking at the big picture, you’re doing the right thing.

The Walmart listing isn’t advertising a quart sized TS. Rather, it’s listing a 2 gallon rose

( 2 gallons of soil/root mass) for $24.94, and highlights this works out

to ”$3.12/quart”.

Those Walmart folks really run a tight ship.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/True-Bloom-by-Altman-Plants-8QT-True-Sincerity-Live-Rose/163189528?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&wmlspartner=wlpa&cn=FY25-ENTP-PMAX_cnv_dps_dsn_dis_ad_entp_e_n&gclsrc=aw.ds&adid=22222222297163189528_0000000000_21407473164&wl0=&wl1=g&wl2=c&wl3=&wl4=&wl5=9003967&wl6=&wl7=&wl8=&wl9=pla&wl10=8175035&wl11=online&wl12=163189528&veh=sem&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21690411341&gbraid=0AAAAADmfBIpUx1AxK-UFasdcWro63W-8c&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9tT6sLW5lQMVETQIBR3n_CZXEAQYASABEgLHvPD_BwE

Moses, every Ping Lim rose that I have is stellar, even the yellows, though those two are a tiny bit more black spot prone than the others. I have 8 varieties. My favorite is still the first I acquired: Kashmir. It's not up to your standards for flower shape, but as a shrub it's everything Red Knockout wishes it were :P

K is absolutely, tee-totally spot free; a true red, a velvet red that does not fade-at ALL; has clean petal drop; it's drought resistant, keeps leaves to the ground. Alas, like KO, little to no fragrance.

I don't know the genetics behind Lim's line(s) of breeding, but his roses are the equivalent of million dollar thoroughbreds in the horse racing world.

Fig,

I had my eye on Kashmir shortly after it was Introduced in 2008. I really liked the rose then and still do. I was beginning my switch to only black spot fighters, so that I would not have to spray fungicides regularly.....hopefully not at all.

Although Kashmir is listed as a shrub, it has a beautiful hybrid tea form, and 50 plentiful petals per bloom. I'm very much OK with its 3" bloom size. My apprehension came with Ping Lim being such a new breeder. I thought his strong self promotion of his roses was hype, and would not stand up to close scrutiny. How wrong I was. Also, I had not been too much of a lover of red roses back then. Now I am.....time brings changes!

True Spirit, the red, 4.5", 50 petaled bloom, is a shrub to the extent its beautiful blooms are not exactly HT type, but a rosette, packed with petals. They're big! It's making tracks, now only in its second year here....likes to bloom....establishing nicely.

My only disappointment is True Devotion. Its a light pink, 50 petaled, 3.5", rosette type short lived bloom, that will wilt badly in only moderate heat. The petals have about as much substance as tissue paper. The fragrance is strong, though. It's in its third year here and subject for eviction any day now. The foliage is pristine. Even though it's grafted, probably onto Dr. Huey, it's not a vigorous grower.....nothing like True Sincerity. Both are in their third year here. True Sincerity is 5 times bigger than True Devotion. It was sent to me mislabeled. Or should I say, NO LABEL. I had ordered another True Inspiration, and an unlabeled not blooming, nor even in bud, rose bush, growing in a True Bloom...... no tag pot was sent. I planted it anyway, and determined its name through the process of elimination. You pay your money and take your chances.

Moses.

Glad True Sincerity worked out good for you Moses....

Thanks, Jim. My Orange Dude just finished its second flush. The flowers are all small, but well formed and plentiful. The bush started here as a 1/2gallon....pretty small so small blooms now make sense. The foliage is perfect, no black spot, which has reared its ugly head elsewhere in my garden, so it's here, ready to hit any roses that have black spot vulnerability. Orange Dude is holding its ground excellently so far. Hope yours goes into high gear, ASAP!

Moses.

Cool on your Orange Dude Moses.... As you know mine got zapped bad last winter...So it got stunted this year....

But last year it grew very well in its 2nd season...

LAST YEAR PIC IN JULY.....2025

THIS YEAR PIC: JULY 2026

Jim,

As beautiful as Orange Dude is, and as much as it flowers, then too, it not having black spot issues, if it is not winter hardy enough, it's not a keeper. Dying to the ground is a big issue in our climate. Let's hope it was just a fluke for you last winter, and see what this coming winter has in store for our Orange Dudes.

I may give mine some upcoming winter protection, just this one time, because it is still so small, but after that it has to make it solo. I plan to use two 3 gallon nursery pots, one inside the other. Their drainage holes will be purposely not aligned but there should be sufficient air flow for heat not to build up on sunny winter days. A brick on top to keep the protection from blowing away, and that's it.

Moses.

Last winter was way colder than usual here.... So we shall see....

Hey Moses we been getting very bad thunderstorms...Today it dumped 5 inches rain on us in 3 hours and flash flooded our town my yard was 1/4 full of water...

My car out back got water in it & my garage is full of mud.. But roses are ok.... gee...lol

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zvro-8DIMU

Moses, I have True Sincerity and it’s a funny one for me: I still don’t understand why I bought it in the first place since I don’t care much for pink and yellow bicolor roses; but buy it I did and it is pretty much bulletproof. I have not babied it in the least and it blooms almost nonstop. But I can’t figure out why the blooms fade as they do: not one other rose in my garden looks as that one does. The colors fade to a creamy apricot color with green edges and look more like the bracts on a bougainvillea than a true petal. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures to post and I just deadheaded it yesterday so I can’t take any for a while, but next time I get a chance, I’ll photograph them and post it here, if I remember. I can’t make up my mind whether I like or dislike it.

Jim, what a video! So sorry about flooding.

Jim,

You got hit hard. Hope damage is minimal and something you can fix yourself.

All the threatening weather just fizzled out....maybe .15" of rain, that's all. If tomorrow's predictions hold, ~.50" more of rain. That's barely .more than a half inch of total rain. Glad I watered the roses good and heavy on the 4 th. With temps in the upper 90'sF. for daily highs for a week now, I kept watering like crazy. Highs are predicted to be 10 degrees cooler this week coming. Still hot, highs in the mid 80'sF......the hose will still get a good workout.

Judi,

Please give True Sincerity time to grow on you. It will. The color change from just opening to full open is drastic. It bleaches out, no question, but the petals are cast iron, no crisping or wilting, even in the excessive heat of this past week. The final color before petal drop is a pale pink with faint etchings of red at the petal edges. It's nothing like the richer muted yellow centers with Deep pink edges. A true chameleon flower. It retains its cup shape pretty good. Mine keeps making candelabra canes with ~12 buds per cluster.

Have I sold you to enjoy the quirky color change and appreciate its strong positives? Hope I did! It's a monstrously strong grower....no give in it.

On the other hand, there are so many roses you can grow because of your zone 8, and minimal to no black spot issue, roses that I can only dream about growing. Therefore, you devoting space to a rose that you have qualms about needs some decision making about keeping it. I understand your position entirely!

Moses.

Well, the deed's almost done. The two replacement True Sinceritys from Wal-Mart Online, came this week. They are nice 2 gallon size bushes* growing in not 2 gallon 'trade,' pots, but growing in true 2 gallon pot, by my estimation. One is noticeably smaller, but still acceptable. Both bushes are in boom with flowers matching the variety. They definitely show the signs of wanting to get out of their pots and into the ground. At this time of year, mid-July, that's understandable. Tracing their route to their place of origin, they originated at a grower in Texas.

The two Apricot Candys chosen for eviction are the worst looking of the four ACs in the rose bed, black spot damage wise. It really grieves me to see them go, but to keep in line with my vision of a pretty much black spot free garden they must go. Apricot Candy's flowers are beautiful. They are truly alluring to me. I cannot just walk along when passing, they demand attention. The bush is very vigorous, generous in bloom, and survives winters with little damage....the only growth affected is that which would be spring pruned anyway. Life goes on.

Moses.

*bushes - the bush size of the True Sinceritys is equivalent to pot size, not a 1/2 gallon size bush growing in a 2 gallon pot.

Can you tell if Altman itself was the actual grower of the rose?