There is also something else I've wondered about. I notice occasionally someone will state that a particular variety is never without blooms. I've even read that in some rose descriptions. Do they mean that literally or do they mean it repeats very quickly?

"Continuous bloom" means that, after the first flush, the plant produces scattered flowers rather than well-defined flushes. It does/t necessarily produce more blooms. No rose can be in heavy bloom all the time--only annuals or plastic plants can do that.

Two roses that previously pumped out flowers continuously - by which I mean new buds beginning & others swelling at the same time blooms are opening, each stage simultaneously ocurring in great quantity - haven't managed to do so this year but instead produced three traditional flushes with lower number of blooms. Floribunda Easy Does It and shrub/climber Golden Celebration are the two that displayed actual continuous bloom in prior years. Roses that rapidly cycled previously - 3 to 4 weeks from petal fall to new blooms opening - have taken a week or two longer. Even weeds that typically grow quickly & luxuriantly here have been relatively restrained this year.

What you might think about doing is keeping a log of bloom times for each of your roses for a couple of years. Then you can see approximately how each one behaves. I did this early on for exhibiting purposes and it was very interesting. In the long run I don't think it made a lot of differences in my showing but it was fun!

I often snap off the spent blooms when I have needed to cut back drastically in the spring. In this case there is no need to cut the stem, just the spent bloom -- and that would give a more continuous bloom effect.

Sammy

Susan, your Countess is breathtaking! HMF lists her as "mild fragrance". Is that code for "none"?

Cold nights and cooler weather in generel slows growth. Around 61 to 68 degrees Farenheit you get closer to optimal growth and flower bud production. If night temperatures drops under 50, growth slows down a lot. Too hot slows things down too, above 86 on some varieties; depends a lot upon how much water roots have access too and how well established roots are.

Drought will slow things down

Fertilizer and well kept soils give much better growth than neglected. Compost and amendments help a lot.

As plants grow older regrowth slows down too, both on ownroot and budded roses. You should at least get 7 years of any rose yoiu plant as long as winter or other horrors haven't damaged them. Old roses can put on a good display of flowers so there's no reason to repace them unless you produce cut-flowers for sale.

A hard winter and spring can slow a rose down considerably, and noticeably well into summer, but it will regain both strength and speed with better weather.

...and of course a major attack of mites, aphids, larvae, beatles, sheep, horses, lawn mower or neighbourhood children doesn't help either.

A hard pruning will slow a plant down much more than a light pruning. If it get's to keep some leaves and stems regrowth comes quicker. After winter it doesn't matter that much, since the plant already is dormant, winter dieback and all that, but even then a light pruning can give a plant 3-4 weeks head start on hard pruned ones.

Are you saying to just cut Dead, Damaged and Diseased in spring, and then doing harder after bloom pruning?

I was reading that for several more stingy bloom roses, like Mr. Lincoln, that harder pruning was required so the plant would put up more basal canes and thus more flowers.

We have had Mr Lincoln since 2010 and I'm still trying to figure him out...lol (Own root)

All I can say is experiment and see what works best for you and your roses then go with it...