Would you like purple & white stripes? Purple Splash gets huge and grows quickly.

I'd LOVE purple and white stripes! Thanks for the suggestion of Purple Splash, ratdogheads. I'm going to check into that right now...

EDIT: Done! I ordered three and think they're going to work perfectly.

This post was edited by ilovegardening on Sat, May 3, 14 at 17:41

You might only need one:)

I love our purple splash!

That's okay, Kippy--I have plenty of other areas I can put them if need be! I figured better safe than sorry, so I bought more than I may need. I hate it when I'm doing a project and end up with not enough of some material! I recently removed a pre-fab pond from my backyard, with the intention of filling in its hole with soil and turning it into [yet] another flower bed. I stood there looking at the hole, picturing in my mind how many 2-cubic-foot bags of potting soil it would take to fill it in. Then I headed to Home Depot and had them load 20 bags into my SUV. I was GUESSING I'd need about 10, but I didn't want to be short--and I ALWAYS need potting soil anyway, so having excess was fine. Turns out I was off--by 3 bags. The hole took 13, and I ended up with plenty for other uses. :)

You will love her! She does have some pretty mean thorns, but she is owning about 16+ feet of our picket fence right now. Covered in 100's of buds and blooms well all summer long. Happy green leaves too.

You would never guess she was baking in temps about 100 degrees last week, other than the more pink tint.

This is just a very small part of this rose.

Amazing! Thanks for posting the pic, Kippy. Wow, now I can hardly wait for mine to arrive. I think I'll put two in the area I originally mentioned, and one at a different spot in my yard that has a smaller area of fence to fill in. Or not! I may just go ahead and put all three where I intended, because if need be we can train the third one to grow along the garage--as a grapevine used to.

UPDATE: They're in the ground--and looking great. They're already growing, and I'm excited now! Can't wait to see them spreading out through the fence.

I ended up putting all three in the original space I mentioned; they're about 7' apart. I realize three will likely be overkill, but I'd rather have the problem of too MUCH than too LITTLE.

Make sure you come back here and post a pictures when they're in bloom! We want to see them too!

I most definitely will post pics once they're blooming. Can't wait!

Thought I'd [finally] post an update!

As noted earlier I put all three Purple Splash bushes in the area I originally mentioned. It's kind of strange, but they're thriving at very different levels. The one closest to the garage is doing the best--it's big, and bushy, and had a lot of blooms. The next one over is doing okay, but not great. Its overall height/size is about 2/3 of the one mentioned above. Then there's the one farthest from the garage--and it's really not doing too well. Several of its branches died, but its remaining branches and new growth give me hope. Its overall size is less than 1/2 of the first one mentioned above.

Note that they're all in exactly the same soil with the exact same light and water conditions.

The roses that have bloomed so far have been pretty, but not what I expected. I was expecting PURPLE and white, but got much more of a deep pink and white. I have no idea if there's something the soil is lacking, or has too much of, that's causing this.

None of the plants has spread as I expected them to, but they're only a few months old at this point so I'm not panicking about that at all.

Mine gets rather pink in the heat too. Give them a season or two and WOW will they take off

I'll keep that in mind, Kippy! Good grief, this summer...no, this WHOLE YEAR, has been the hottest in California since records have been kept. So if the color of the roses has anything to do with heat, it's been HOT. Here in the San Gabriel Valley it was over 100 for many days in a row; it ONLY hit 95 today.

How does the exposure to reflected heat differ between the three plants? Is there a difference in the amount of water the three receive, or perhaps interference from other roots? Of course, it could be possible there was a difference in how dried out or otherwise stressed the plants were prior to planting, but for one to be thriving with the other two in various degrees of not thriving, something is amiss. Not being familiar with the space, it seems the one closest to the garage has deeper soil with better drainage, better moisture retention, less reflected/radiated heat from sidewalks or drive ways. If they're all receiving the same water, the one closest to the garage has the right amount for the heat it endures. The other two seem as though (from your description), they need more water to perform the same as the one by the garage, better moisture retention or they need better drainage if their performance is due to staying too wet.

When I worked at the beach, I had a client who had a row of gardenias in terracotta pots. All but one thrived and he was at a loss why the offender always looked fried. All but that one received shade to their pots by a pony wall. The offender received full sun exposure to the pot so it overheated, cooking the gardenia. Once a larger pot, with bubble wrap used to insulate the interior to keep the roots cool was used, all the gardenias looked similar. It may seem all three roses have precisely the same of everything, but something is different, or you should see all three behaving similarly. Kim

Thanks for the input, Kim. What you're saying certainly makes sense, i.e., there MUST be something different...but I'm truly at a loss as to what it might be.

The area they're in really is identical in all ways. They're along a chain link fence that divides one portion of the backyard from the driveway. This area used to have a *HUGELY* sprawling grapevine that completely covered the fence AND ran along the entire side of the garage. The grapevine's base was right smack in the middle of the area the three roses are in now. It died off about three years ago, and other than a few bulb plants that were under it, there hasn't been anything in that area. Hence my desire for a spreading, climbing, purple rose--I want it to fill in [and hide!] the ugly chain link fence.

The soil is all the same.The reflections from the driveway and structures are the same. The amount of sun and shade is the same...water...drainage... everything. The absolute ONLY difference I can think of is something to do with moisture retention closer to the garage, although I'm not exactly sure HOW, because as I mentioned, the soil and drainage really do appear to be the same.

What killed the grapevine? It is unusual for a large grapvine to just up and die. If it was infected with Pierce's Disease, that could explain it. Otherwise, I'd be watching the soil for evidence of possible Oak Root Fungus outbreak. Traditionally, it occurs in compacted, waterlogged, nitrogen deficient soil, but with the drought and stressed plants, I'm seeing it in places I would never expect to find it.

My soil is EXTREMELY loose, friable and well draining. My uphill neighbor lost a huge, old Xylosma a few years ago. It just turned brown and died. I then lost a large Mutabilis on my side of the fence from where the xylosma died. Now, the rest of her screen of huge xylosma are showing stress and her large oak tree at the end of the line is dying. I found mushrooms all around several hibiscus downhill on my side of the fence from where all this is happening. None of it is due to over watering as the whole area, both sides of the fence, is dry. I hope something like that isn't the case where your roses are, but I would be watchful and do some investigating to see if you find signs of the fungus. Good luck! Kim

Here is a link that might be useful: Pierce's Disease

I really don't know what killed the grapevine. I do recall that it started losing some of its leaves, then parts of its vine, a year or so before it died. But I was having problems of my own (a brain tumor), and wasn't able to pay attention to things like a dying plant. My gardener did some trimming of dying parts, but other than that nothing was really DONE for it, other than the same watering it always had. The grapevine was at least 10 years old, perhaps more, and its main vine was huge--looked more like a [small] tree trunk than a vine! Since its death, and removal, the bulbs that had been growing under it have thrived; nothing has died there, despite being in the same spot as the dead grapevine--so I don't THINK there's a fungus or anything, but I really don't know.

Also, and I have no idea if this could be related, a tangerine tree that was about 100 feet from the grapevine died earlier this year. One of its sides started dying off about a year ago, even while the rest of the tree continued producing wonderful tangerines, lots of them; pruning it didn't accomplish anything, as little by little it died off. I spoke to the horticulturalist at the LA Arboretum (which is like a mile from my house) as it was dying, just to see if perhaps there was a known issue killing citrus trees in the area, but from his questions and my responses there wasn't anything. We chalked it up to the fact that ALL plants eventually die, so perhaps it was just its time to go.

In the immediate vicinity of the now-gone tangerine tree is a huge lemon tree, a fig tree, a couple of mulberry trees, a palm tree, a few hibiscus plants, a large jade plant, and several other things I can't think of right now. And they're all doing fine.

Similarly, in the area with the three new rose bushes, everything else is thriving. There's an avocado tree, various succulents, a flower bed, gardenia bushes, and morning glories, all of which are fine.

Thanks for the link--I'm taking a look at it right now.

Welcome back from your medical issues! I'm glad you've recuperated and back digging in the dirt. I know that should make you feel "restored". I hope you don't have any issue like Oak Root, but that's all I could come up with from all you've said about the area and other plants. If you notice issues with your hibiscus and the avocado, they can be the "canary in the coal mine" as they are quite suceptible to the fungus. Hibs and Hopseed Bush are what it's now attacking here, after the Mutabilis died. Good luck with them! Kim

thanks for that link Kim

I am going to have to take a very close look at one of our grape vines. It has odd leaves that burn and turn black when the other of the grape of the same kind looks great. Of course that could also be because the lower one gets regular water and the one at the top of the hill gets watered when we remember it.

Thanks, Kim. Yes, I LOVE digging in the dirt and it's wonderful to be doing it again. I'm a lot more limited now, but between my gardeners and me everything gets done to my liking. I love not being able to answer the phone because I'm covered in mud. :)

The avocado tree I mentioned is literally within three feet of the rose bushes, so I'll keep an eye on it. Right now, it's thriving. I started it from seed in 2009, and it's now about six feet tall.

It's been a while since I updated this, so I thought I'd do that now. The third Purple Splash--the one that wasn't doing well--died. I really have no idea what happened, as its light/soil/water conditions were basically identical to the other two. I don't think I'm going to replace it, because from other posts it looks like there should be plenty of spreading/coverage from the two remaining plants. Also, I've just bought a few vines from Annie's Annuals, including a beautiful "Cup and Saucer" vine, and I'm going to put one of those along that fence, too. THAT should do it!

Love, love, love Annies! I have bought several plants from her and they have always arrived in great shape and have done well. I bought Laurentia from her last year and planted it as a fill in, on the front walkway. What a great plant! The master gardener's had never seen it before when they toured my yard and kept exclaiming, what is that plant!

Your cup and saucer vine should be georgeous! It takes off slowly. Would love to know how it does.

I love Annie's, too! Good grief, their plants arrive big, in great shape, and really carefully packed. I've never grown a Cup and Saucer vine, but can't wait for mine to take off! I bought three of those; I planted one yesterday by the chain link fence mentioned earlier, and I'm not quite sure yet where I'll put the other two. I'm thinking perhaps one on each side of the arbor that's where the patio meets the backyard. If the vines grow too long and want to come out the other side, that'll be fine because there's a low wall dividing the patio from the yard, and I can train the vines along the wall.

Nice pics, BlueIsland! So the darker one is Night Owl, and the lighter one Purple Splash. I like the darker one better, but for now I'm going to leave well enough alone and let my two remaining Purple Splashes do their thing. The blooms last year--which was shortly after I planted them--were much more on the pink side than purple, but we'll see if that changes at all with maturity.

PS Cute dog! :)

u might want to look at Cardinal Hume, very deep purple, sprawling, carefree.

And it smells like Red Hots. Kim

Thanks, emily2002, for the suggestion of trying Cardinal Hume. Right now I've way over-ordered plants, so I'm going to hold off for a bit on buying more! If the fence I want covered still needs something more to fill it in, I'll consider Cardinal Hume.

If you like the flowers and scent of Cardinal Hume, but only have a small space, you might consider Kim Rupert's PURPLE BUTTONS rose. It is a seedling of Cardinal Hume and stays compact. Here is a link: PURPLE BUTTONS ON HMF

Thanks for the suggestion, jasminerose4u. That variety looks interesting.

You should also look at Stormy Weather for a blend of purples, lavender, raspberry and cream colors with more double flowers.

I have Stormy Weather it is in a prime spot but I am not to thrilled with this one, maybe this will the year for it but it is very stiff, tons of thorns and no rebloom. It is puting on some mass this year so maybe it will improve

Here's another update: The biggest of the three Purple Splashes that I planted last year is growing LIKE CRAZY. Seriously, its branches started to really spread a couple weeks ago, and it's now winding its way through the chain link fence I planted it next to. The second biggest is doing fine, but its branches aren't nearly as long as the biggest one--yet. And, of course, the third one...well, it died. :(

I'll take and post pics soon.

I can't believe it's been almost a year since my last update! The two surviving bushes are doing great. The bigger one, the one that was already spreading like crazy last year, is still spreading like crazy this year. The other one is more subdued, but it's doing quite well, too, and they're both blooming like crazy.

There is one thing, though, that's troubled me from the first time they bloomed: their color is more on the dark pink side than purple. Oh, don't get me wrong, they're very pretty, and they're darker this year than they were last year, but they're still not PURPLE and white, they're dark pink and white. Is there perhaps something they're missing in terms of nutrients? I'm giving them Miracle-Gro Shake 'n Feed Continuous Release Rose and Bloom Plant Food...but I had forgotten to do it for, well, a few months, until today. :)