Kim, your Laren is a profligate, wanton bloomer, with no respect for wet feet, disease or sub-zero winter! She flaunts her good looks in spite of what's expected of her in my BS haven, and she refuses to behave with propriety in her situation of dappled shade and almost no direct light, thumbing her nose at needing "half-day sun" and she just shows off her swag in the face of hopeless deer pressure. She's a moral, ethical affront to rosedom, and I LOVE her.

She was a band LATE last year, and I left her outside over the worst winter in memory, exposed to and browsed by deer, where water STOOD in a pond at least three times over winter, and now she is almost 18"x18" with over 50 buds. And she's so cuuuuuuuuuuute, lol.

Now if I can just get my hands on your Porcelain Rose.

You should contact Linda at Long Ago Roses (linked below). I'm pretty sure she should have Porcelain Rose, unless the winter there was worse than expected.

Here is my plant this week, complete with fried blooms due to the extreme heat wave which appears to have just ended (thankfully!). Thanks, again! Kim

Oh, and Bart, here in my cooler weather, Lauren is even prettier. She's closer to a purplish pink (like the darker blooms that are in shadow in Kim's pix), with hints and streaks of lighter pink and a white base to the petals that makes them glow. She's also slightly more double here. Of course, these are her first blooms. I'm anxious to see what the brazen showoff does in warmer weather!

John

The common threads are Basye's Legacy (Lynnie, Porcelain Rose) and multiflora (Porcelain Rose, Little Butterfly, Lauren), both of which seem to provide excellent disease resistance and cold hardiness. In addition, they provide ease of rooting; ease of growing own root; and insistence of flowering. Paul stated he loved how easily Lynnie rooted and exploded into flower as small plants in small pots. When you contact Linda, you might also ask her impressions of "Joyberry". It's a cross between the mini, Joycie and Basye's Blueberry. I'd hoped for it to be prickle-free, and it isn't, but it IS vigorous, healthy, heavily flowering and incredibly fragrant. Paul Barden stated it had a "true, Old Rose scent". Immature plants can experience some rust, but they grow out of it. If a rose can easily rust, here it WILL rust. Joyberry, even grown in an extremely hot, dry, south-west exposure backed by cement block retaining wall, doesn't rust.

'Arctic hardiness' is definitely NOT something I can test for here in the 'land of endless summer', but increased mildew and rust resistance as well as increased resistance to our strains of black spot are. Ease of rooting; success as own root plants and urgency of bloom are all requirements I hold dear for any seedling I willingly 'let go of'. Not that all of my seedlings are perfect in all those categories, but they are all improvements in the health, propagation and easy gardening departments over what I grow and observe around me, or they don't make it out of my 'beds of death' alive. No joke. Ralph Moore said many times over many years that he "tested by stress". He didn't coddle seedlings. He only sprayed the retail nursery stock because he had to in order to keep it 'retail ready' so it would be acceptable and legal to release to customers. The breeding and testing material, other than just being watered, often had to fend for themselves. He said, "If I can't kill it, most of my customers shouldn't easily be able to." As far as raising seedling plants of any kind, I believe those are wise words to take to heart. I don't spray anything, at all, nor do I use any soil applied pesticides or fungicides. I'm fortunate that my climate allows me that luxury, but that means anything requiring spraying, dies, whether due to disease or a healthy dose of the shovel. Thanks. Kim

I wonder who will have Annie Laurie McDowell first, Linda or Burling? But I'm starting to think it might be best to receive the rose after summer. Any young rose would have a difficult time in this heat.

Bonnie

I don't know who will have stock ready first. Remember Long Ago is on the east coast and doesn't ship west of the Rockies. Burling is less than three hours from you. Actually, I prefer receiving young plants during weather as we're "suffering" right now. Replanted in a larger pot, in good soil, placed in filtered sun and kept well fed and watered, most will grow like mad with this heat. It sets the stage for the perfect opportunity to push them by keeping them disbudded. I'm impatient when it comes to pushing plants. It drives me crazier for them to just SIT there, appearing to do nothing. Kim

Bonnie

Update: I received an email from Burling today that my Annie Laurie McDowell is ready to ship. Great news! I'm so excited! I've been on the waiting list awhile. I'm sure by word of mouth, there is a large fan base for Kim Rupert's roses. :)

(I'm sure there is a pretty valid reason. But I have to vent about these things sometimes).

The creeping womblegottus sounds terrifying! Hahahaha.

I want that rose. Is it available in the EU?

M