I would love to find a mauve hybrid tea that makes me happy. I currently have Blue Girl. Love the color, love the bloom form, love the scent. The downside is that she grows straight up---I mean steeeeraight up the house like a ladder---and has blind shoots except at her very high tips. Attempts to cut her back yield more blind growth. Beautiful rose if you plant it in the ground and have a 2nd (and eventually 3rd) story balcony that she can poke through.

I also have Koko Loco, which is gorgeous, but it's low-growing and has a looser form, and the blooms are gone in a day and can't be cut for indoors. I think it will mature into a gorgeous garden rose, but it's not quite what I'm looking for.

Neptune makes me knock my head against a wall. I had 2 blooms last year. I had only 3 more this year, and nothing from May until now. In fact, it had no growth through the sweltering heat and drought and just started putting out new, red growth last Thursday. It usually just sits there & mocks me if the temps are over 75.

I adore my WWII Memorial, but it's such a light mauve that it really looks white most of the time. I have a few other minis and minifloras that are various shades of mauve, and I love them. But I'm looking for that oh-so-glorious juicy, big, fat bloom with lavender hues. I think the one I've considered most heavily right now is Nicole Carole Miller. I do not want Angel Face or Babs.

I'm looking for:
--Lavender [not pink, and not so light that it's white or silver]
--Doesn't shut down in normal summer heat
--Doesn't have ruffled petals
--I'd prefer high-centered, exhibition form
--I can spray periodically but I don't want a total disease-ridden dog
--Fragrance doesn't need to smack me in the head as I walk by, but it should at least be present. I don't want to order anything else that's unscented.

I don't want much, just everything.

Melissa

Melissa

I don't know if Magenta would be a good one for you or not. You're looking at nearly sixty year old breeding, with sixty years of improvements in health, vigor and durability missing from what you may find in newer types. Are the later ones you are dissatisfied with own roots or budded and on what stocks? There has to be a common reason why they haven't performed acceptably for you. Kim

I do have Ebb Tide and I love it so far. It's just a baby, but it fills my desire for that deep, smoky purple.

I have Paradise as well, and love it, but I wish there was a way to keep the foliage from turning into fried chicken.

Heirloom appears to be a lovely rose, but perhaps too pink or red for my taste. I may end up with it, though, if it's the most suitable rose.

One I keep forgetting about; Fragrant Plum? I often overlook Grandifloras just because I'm used to searching HT's and Flori's. Any opinions on that one?

I know there are 2 new ones out there--Carruth's Love Song and Poseidon/Novalis from Kordes. Poseidon doesn't appear to have exhibition form. I haven't heard a word about Love Song yet, and didn't see anything about it in Horizon Roses.

Kim, I've been thinking that my Blue Girl has sported on me, but I'll be darned if I know what to do with her. I'll admit that I stink at taming climbers and I don't know how to make them happy. It's absolutely impossible to train canes on her; they are stiff as a 2-by-4 and grow like an unforked family tree. For now she lends some attractive greenery to the front of the house & only airplanes can see the blooms.

I have honestly contemplated Stainless Steel & Lagerfeld, but I'm afraid that in our summer sun they'd look like just another white rose.

I think, though, that RA is probably at its best in conditions that are more temperate than what I can provide. In my sultry zone 8 garden, the blooms seldom achieve the refined look you'll find in many of the RA photos at HMF. As I mentioned above, I consider it a good, colorful garden rose -- it gives me lots of blooms, but few that I'd care to cut.

I had to look up my spreadsheet on the others. Neptune & Blue Girl are both on Huey, Paradise is on multiflora, and Ebb Tide is a baby own-root. The original part of Blue Girl above the graft is what has pooped out at 3 feet tall; I'll get around 5 or 10 blooms on the first flush and then---kaput. The climbing portion appears to be own-root and is a foot away from the grafted part.

I just saw some pics of RA over on the gallery and it is quite pretty.

Of course you all know how this is going to end.....ordering 5 roses for 1 spot in the garden and doing some sort of cosmic voodoo getting them all to fit.

Hmmmmmm........Charlie looks like he might be right up my alley. Heat tolerance?

I need to get a good, recent pictre of it. The last ones I have out there are from 2011, when she was just topping out at 7 feet. Even the portions that are thinner than a pencil are stiff as rebar. There's no bending this gal, only snapping.

I still like the evil idea of buying 5 of the roses suggested above to go into the 1 empty slot. When they arrive next spring I can claim temporary insanity to my husband & make puppy dog eyes to get him to cede another portion of the lawn.

.....I'm thinking I should have posted that last part under an alias. He's been known to peruse our forum.

Colleen

Okay, the rose also must be available. After a $5 handling fee, $6 for the waiting list, and $23 for the rose, I'm at $34 before shipping for 1 plant. Does RVR allow you to order just 1?

My Paradise blooms very easily and often. Mine's a third year plant on multiflora, and it's the largest and healthiest rose in the backyard. It's never without a bloom and it's one of the few that didn't shut down in the heat. The drawback? Leaves that really do have appearance of fried chicken. I noticed in the most recent Weeks catalog that the listing for Paradise discloses its tendency to have burnt foliage. Everyone should believe it.

You know the most painful part about my disappointment in Blue Girl? Zero disease. Beautiful shrub with beautiful, healthy foliage. So I can see why I shouldn't part with her.

'Poseidon' doesn't meet the OP's specs for form, but Pat Henry at RU thinks it is exceptionally good compared to the run of mauve roses (the weakest color group by far). I notice in pictures that it seems susceptible to brown-spotting of the petals, which is probably botrytis fungus, worst in cool weather with rain.

Melissa

And what a great name!

Any first hand knowledge outside of that already referenced? Or updates from those in the referenced material?

Otherwise, my roses are liking Isaac alot already.

Flaurabunda, in researching more on Sweetness I found the thread where you'd already tried to find it. Did you have any luck?

The foliage was afflicted with every fungal issue possible. Crown gall ran rampant. It showed RMV from its first leaves. Of the nearly 70 different Buck roses I've grown over the years, this is the one I enjoyed shovel pruning. I hope something has been done to clean it and it likes your climate a whale of a lot better than it did mine. I had to have it to see Buck's "Blue Rose". The ARS description of "Ageratum blue" sounded wonderful. It absolutely was not. Good riddance. Kim

Hope you are happier than your post, lol.

I think we'd all agree that we shouldn't hold the rose accountable for its mismanagement in propagation. I am sure it didn't want RMV anymore than we would want the flu. A recent thread that you probably read as well concluded that VID rose stock is currently available to the trade....

Also, you know my own root mantra.

Back in the day bare roots by default were grafted (or budded if you prefer) onto rootstock. In fact, the only national bareroot own root supplier I'm aware of even now is Bailey's Nursery which handles zone 4 hardy roses.

No wise gardener would plant a grafted rose in zones 3 or 4. I wouldn't do it in zone 5.

Anyway, the point is that Bucks were intended to be hardy in zone 4 like the Bailey's lines and so should never have been propagated anyway other than own root.

Speaking of which, I have experience with only two grafted plants - Don Juan & Ebb Tide. After reading your discussion about the removal of Flaurabunda's climbing problem and while disbudding Ebb Tide this morning, it occurred to me that I might have a double budded Ebb Tide on Fort. And that all or most of my problems with my Ebb Tide might be a result of Fortuniana being asked to support more than it is capable of - given its age. Is that possible? And if so, may I remove the weaker bud stock without risk? I ask because we're in our rainy season and if that's the solution, I certainly don't want to lose 3 years of effort to rot or who knows.

If it is true, then you can imagine that my anger over this situation mirrors yours over the 'Blue Skies' you received.

As I studied it, the basal stems are too far apart to be the same graft.
Boo budding/grafting. Boo!
May I remove the weaker bud stock without risk?

I don't think so. Fortuniana is an incredibly vigorous plant. It flows a ton of sap. Your problem with Ebb Tide is probably because it is Ebb Tide. I have an own root one. It is a one cane wonder. I also care for an original Week's budded Ebb Tide which is also a one cane wonder. Ebb Tide has pretty foliage (sometimes), pretty flowers (usually) and great scent but it is not a great rose PLANT, IMHO. As a plant, I find Midnight Blue far superior, but it doesn't have the flower shape of Ebb Tide.

You don't have to remove one of the buds. I wouldn't. If the roots can't support them, it will shed one, but I seriously doubt that will ever be an issue with that root stock.

Bucks...whether they should or shouldn't be budded is moot. The lion's share of them were introduced by Roses of Yesterday and Today and were budded on infected Huey, then sold world wide. Dr. Buck was a close friend of Dorothy Stemler who owned ROYAT. He named Amiga Mia for her. No one else showed any interest in his roses other than ROYAT, and their reputation for RMV infection is legendary. The Earth Song growing at my youngest sister's home is rooted from a piece of the Earth Song Dr. Buck shared with a gentleman who visited him at Iowa State decades ago. Straight from Dr. Buck's hands, it has RMV. How many other of his roses were "mis propagated" by him or his staff at the university even before ROYAT "mis propagated" them? Kim

Glad to see that you think Ebb Tide is not all that, mine seems to be having issues. I thought from the gophers or heat or??? It sat all summer stewing about being planted. Then threw a whole new set of canes (so much for that wonder vase form) and is now abandoning all the old canes slowly but surely. Ugh...roses...lol

I saw Royal Amethyst at the Tyler Municipal Rose Garden in June. Simply gorgeous! There were lots of bushes planted and huge amounts of blooms. I love it, plan to order it this fall.

I like Nicole Carole Miller - have had it several years. It didnt bloom much in our heat, but then, not alot did. I do like it.

An older rose that I have 2 of and love is Outta The Blue. Smells great! Blooms lots! Really like this one. Not lots of form....but I really like this rose.

I see tons of recommendations for Heirloom. Charles de Gaulle really floats my boat too......toughie. And I've always wanted Stainless Steel, ever since I can remember. Perhaps I need to re-evaluate what I have and find 2 others that can either be put to rest or re-purposed in someone else's yard.

And yes, in case anyone is wondering, I am a huge fan of the real Barbra Streisand too:)

Maude

I've ditched a few (Silver Shadows, Royal Amethyst, Fragrant Plum and another one I can't remember the name of among them).

But the rare-ish rose mentioned above that you really need to find is Lila Vidri. I bought it originally from Arena as Leila Verde. I've since made tons of cuttings of it for myself and friends. I have three in my current garden. The fragrance and performance are amazing.

Thanks for your explanation from first hand knowledge. In this case, I'm really thinking that we're possibly saying the same thing differently. In retrospect, it was the already apparent die back of the weaker bud stock in combination with Kim's triggering post about the climbing sport which led to my deduction/conclusion. If the double budded plant will naturally shed the weaker of the two bud stocks if it is more than can be supported, wouldn't it be beneficial to speed up the process - allowing the stronger stock to "get all the candy" I think Flaurabunda said? Especially if it is already demonstrating that it doesn't want the second one (with die back)?

If it died back naturally one would prune it off then, no?

So throwing caution to the compost pile, I removed the weaker one about a week ago.
And (drum roll please) the remaining stronger graft is already demonstrating more vigor.

I know we reached different conclusions from the facts, but I sincerely appreciate those facts, kstrong. Thank you.

She has 3 beautiful blooms that have been holding and holding and holding. It is in the upper 70's (at least) in the bed she is in.

On order, I have Charles de Gaulle, Moody Blue, Purple Beauty and Mamy Blue. I am most curious about Charles and Mamy.

Was looking at the local nurseries bareroot 2013 list and saw it there.

I saw Royal Amethyst last year en masse at the Tyler Rose Garden and loved it! Thinking of ordering it. Anyone have any comments on it?
Judith

I currently only have Deja Blu and Blue Moon, but both were first year bands last year so no blooms. Looking forward to what they do this year.

*uh oh...after writing all that, I hope that LV will be hardy for you. HMF lists it for 6b. I'm 7a, but don't winter protect...

And one more that might not be hardy: Stephens’ Big Purple. Gorgeous, Healthy. Smelly :)

Kay

One of the nicest lavenders that I have is the recently available Twice in a Blue Moon. The flowers are well-formed and have a clear color. The plants repeat reasonably well. I don't remember if it smells. This is what this rose looks like.

Perhaps this will serve as food for thought and a little help.