Oh, someone tell her!!I would like to know how this can happen...

Happy Spring Flushes,

andreark

I have the feeling its going to be one of those stupid questions ;)

but outside of growing basic herbs and vegies i have no idea. I did tell hubby we have no idea about roses and that we were probably better off to plant lavenders but he insisted!

Not at all, Tammy. Weather and/or growing conditions can often produce changes in some blooms. A lot of roses will get much paler in high heat or much deeper in cool weather. I don't know how these 5 plants are located but perhaps the wind hits them differently or something. Or there is something different in the soil where they are located.

It could also be what is called a "sport" which is a slight genetic mutation in the rose. That mutation can happen at any point in the plant while it is growing out. So it could affect just one bloom or an entire branch and can be a genetic expression from any rose in the family tree of the rose. So if a pink or mauve rose is in the genetic background those colors could show up.

Interesting that you have more than one bush doing this though. There are some roses that tend to throw sports often so it could be that. I'm not that familiar with Papa Meilland so I don't know if it has the tendency or not.

Most sports are not stable. That means they don't repeat the new trait in the next bloom. Some, however, are and the branch will continue to produce the new blooms as it grows. If you want to see which you have mark the canes so you can watch the next bloom and see what color those are. If they remain the new color you can propagate them by taking cuttings and rooting them. Then you'll have your very own new variety of rose!

Thankyou!

Phew!! now i wont feel so bad when hubby next travels home from work and thinks ive sabotaged his roses ;)

All of them are lined up less than a meter apart along the front fence. We have just left our very hot Summer heat that was burning the flowers as they slowly opened, into a cooler Autumn climate. The flowers are opening up in a spectacular abundance at the moment. Many in our small town have commented to me about the blooms when i bump into them in the shops :)

This post was edited by tammygreenwood on Tue, Mar 25, 14 at 0:17

Do I understand correctly? Both colors are blooming on the same cane? TIA

Yes they are, which added to my confusion

The odd flower either didn't receive exactly the same levels of the necessary nutrients as the darker one, and/or the temperatures were sufficiently different when they were formed to cause the difference. Grow more roses a while longer, you'll see it happen every once in a while. Nothing to worry about, unless the whole bush starts doing it all the time. Then, something is amiss! The odd stem or flower here and there are nothing to worry about. Kim

Thankyou Kim :)