WWWEEEELLLLLL, it looks like I'm going to be growing this beauty by myself. I'll let everyone know how beautiful it is :) I thought for sure someone out there would be growing this beauty.

Hi Ken

Didn't want you to think we'd forgotten you - it's just that I'm not much help on this one. This is one of those roses that simply will not overwinter for me in zone 5, so I'll have to admire it from your yard.

Cynthia

Sorry for the late response. I purchased this climber from Cliff Orient a few years ago. It has been slow to get started. However, the blooms are stunning. This one will probably need 5 years to come to its full glory. Last summer it got dosed with manure/alfalfa tea and did much better...
Jeannie

I had SPECTRA way back in the early 90's when we lived in the mobile home park. I planted it in a somewhat shady spot facing East, at one of the awning supports and it grew up to almost the top of the awning. That would've been about 9ft at the most. It was gorgeous when it bloomed. I don't recall how well it repeated tho. I can't even remember what ever happened to it. May have died. All I do know is it didn't move with us, and we took everything I had at that time. It took many yrs to find it again. However, the bagged bareroot one I did find at HD, or was it WalMart, some yrs ago, is apparently not the right rose. (go figure) It blooms a light yellow without the lovely reddish blush. I probably will dig it up one of these days and try to find the real one, because I do remember it being quite stunning, and loaded with blooms when it did bloom. Hope to see pics of yours when it blooms!

I'm happy to hear that someone else has had luck with Spectra. I'm in Central Florida and mine has looked terrible.

Mine is from Nelson's, but it was one of the last left at the local nursery at the end of the season and a small twiggy one with terrible black spot.

I had finally got it in my head this evening to just dig the dang thing up as it's looked pretty much the same for a year now while the roses around it look great. But, thought I would give it a quick search before shovel pruning it. I'll let it have one more growing season to get it together.

So, looks like I'll be generous and give it another year of fertilizer in hopes it turns it around this year. Thanks for posting your success with it in Florida!

JenniferinFl----What part of Central Fl are you in??? I lived in Winter Haven for 20 yrs. That's when I first started growing Spectra. I had 2 of them growing on a 9' high by 14' wide trellis next to my carport. They covered the trellis and then some. If you're not happy with the one you have, don't fight with it. Go directly to Nelsons and get a good healthy one. I'll be in Central Fl some time this summer and will be making a trip to their nursery to get what I need. (will also be getting Christian Dior and JFK)

I'm in Deland, so not that far from Winter Haven. In all fairness, the Spectra had a rough start as it was pretty late in the season when I planted it, then it got chilli thrips on top of the blackspot it already had. Lost a couple canes to that, than I missed that it had scale this spring and that didn't help.

I sure learned my lesson though, always buy a beautiful looking rose! I bought the last three roses the nursery had left in July and they were all pretty ugly and sparse. Prosperity and Belinda's Dream bounced back fine, but, I probably didn't pay enough attention to Spectra.

I still haven't made it directly to Nelson's, should one day though! I would like a Christian Dior, but the ones at the nurseries have all been a bit runty. This week I picked up Queen Elizabeth, Mr Lincoln, Mardi Gras, Hot Princess, Lynn Anderson and a large shrubby rose missing a tag but on clearance.. lol I went to get a Queen Elizabeth and we see how that turned out.. lol

Now if I heard they had a Maria Stern, I would be driving to Nelson's tomorrow as that's next on my wish list.