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Choice
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Posted by
zyperiris Seattle (
My Page) on
Sat, Jun 16, 12 at 22:42
| Okay..Graham Thomas or Golden Celebration? |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: Choice
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| My experience with both is Thomas is much more plant, requiring MUCH more water for far less color than Celebration. Neither was great for me. I shovel pruned Golden Celebration and would be thrilled to do the same for Thomas IF I could get a blamed backhoe into the upper, walled terrace where that thorny monster eats most of the real estate. I honestly enjoyed shredding over eight feet of that plant this afternoon after taking back room belonging to other plants. Kim |
RE: Choice
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- Posted by seil z6b MI (My Page) on
Sun, Jun 17, 12 at 17:09
| I would have to agree with Kim. GT is a water hog and doesn't bloom as much as GC. Both are tall bushes/climbers and both lovely, very fragrant roses but I'm more partial to GC. The blooms are larger and last longer on GC too. |
RE: Choice
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- Posted by hoovb z9 Southern CA (My Page) on
Sun, Jun 17, 12 at 17:33
| I've read comments from more than one person saying GT is far better own root--smaller, much better repeat. Is that true? I love my GC. |
RE: Choice
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| NOT in my experience with him. It doesn't matter how he's propagated. From my first plant of him from Hortico when they first listed him way back when, he has been a huge, water hog of a plant with far too little bloom for the plant size and resources required. I have selected buds for budding; selected cuttings only from ripe, flowering wood for rooting; grown him both own root and budded from varying sources as well as taken cuttings of "heavily flowering plants" and the story remains constant. Perhaps he is a great rose in a British type climate, but NOT in a mid desert nor savannah type. I do agree with Jeri that GC has more flowers; larger, fuller flowers and much more scent per flower than GC, but neither has ever performed well enough for me to consciously choose to retain them. As I said, IF I could get that blamed weed out of that upper terrace without having to break down the wall along the street, he would be GONE. Kim |
RE: Choice
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| Yep, what they said. Graham Thomas here is large and blooms only sporadically. Golden Celebration blooms more and is better sized, but blackspots out the wazoo. Wish I had a better option for you, but I don't know of any with that perfect golden-yellow color. |
RE: Choice
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| GC will give you more blooms, but GT blooms are lovelier. Just MHO. |
RE: Choice
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| Here at the CA coast, GT was, yes, a water-greedy Jolly Green Giant, with far too little bloom for its 12-ft.-long canes. Golden Celebration (we have 6) is a BIG plant, budded. It still wants more water than our Teas and Chinas, but it's "do-able." For us, it is an arching Shrub up to 5 ft., and fairly wide. It blooms in repeated flushes through the season IF DEADHEADED. It is disease-free for us, unless we get a rare warm/wet period, when it can suffer from blackspot. On its own roots, it is far smaller, and slower to build, but still a good bloomer. I can't imagine not having Golden Celebration. Jeri |
RE: Choice
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| In Seattle you should have enough water to grow Graham Thomas. What I found was critical for GT was winter irrigation. He might thrive planted near a drainspout, if drainage is good. GC in a warm climate takes up LOTS, as in LOTS of space. Also, while the flowers are huge and fragrant, they are a sort of buff color which can be difficult to place in a small yard. GT has some of the most beautiful flowers in all rosedom, IMHO. GT in full bloom, in all its' 8-10 foot glory is a sight you will not soon forget. I do think GT needs to be pampered like a diva, fertilize and deadhead after each flush, prune lightly during the summer to maintain a nice shape, and make sure he gets a good drink each 2 weeks in winter, which whould not be a problem in the PNW. GC is much more of a plant and forget rose, if you have the spot and the space. |
RE: Choice
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RE: Choice
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| Grief, I can't believe we are talking about the same roses. In my garden, which is tiny, I have 2 GTs. Yep, 2 of them! They stretch along a south facing wall for6metres with the most gorgeous clean foliage (a pleasure in it's own right) and bloom like maniacs, for weeks on end. Mind, I prune them within an inch of their life, tight back to the wall, leaving a skeletal framework of horizontal canes. Also, the whole garden is pretty much a pot garden so I am already watering on an epic scale. I would not care to attempt growing either as a freestanding shrub as both of them want to get huge, even in the UK. GC is growing in one of my customers gardens and it is definately not as bloomy as GT but is only 3 years old. GT is a classic rose for a good reason - if it likes your climate, it truly can be stunning. |
RE: Choice
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| "if it likes your climate, it truly can be stunning." Yes ma'am, that's the issue. Both were selected in YOUR climate and should be spectacular there. They definitely do NOT like mine. Unfortunately. Kim |
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