Hi kstrong,

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.

I am sorry Neptune is not good for you. I have to admit our new this year bareroot is pretty much a one cane wonder. But what a cane! Just about 3' tall and about 3/4-1 inch wide.

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.

Might I suggest Lavender Simplicity, Enchanted Evening, or Blue for You. I love Enchanted Evening and Blue for you. My EE blooms allllll summer but does get blackspot. Blue for You doesn't bloom near as much but the color is so worth it. I am always looking for a purple rose. I have a new one I got this year from Palatine called Poseidon. Its very pretty. Judy

Boy that S&W photo of Love Song is sure doctored! Someone has been playing with the color levels.

My favorite lavender Hybrid Tea rose is LAGERFELD (he is actually a Grandiflora but who pays attention to that bogus classication anymore?). He grows well on his own roots and has the high centered, silvery lavender, sinfully fragrant blossoms you crave. Yes he will black spot without spraying but so does every other modern mauve rose on the market. Summer heat doesn't stop his bloom production either. The easiest lavender Hybrid Tea that I've grown to date.

I've also heard good things about CHARLES DE GAULLE & BLUE MOON but haven't tried them yet.

I currently have Shi-un, Babs, Neptune, Blue Girl, Blue Moon, Moonlight Magic, Lagerfeld and Stainless Steel. Shi-un has (to my nose, no fragrance), the others are quite strong. In the desert, at least in my experience, nothing smells overwhelming. Babs behaves more like a grandiflora with few long, single stems. I think any of the above would make a fine addition to any garden.

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

Anyone know much about that new Carruth lavender "Love Song" that is listed in Edmund's new catalog? It's gorgeous, or at least it looks that way in the photo. Diane

Is Charles de Gaulle as pale a lavender as Neptune?

Any thoughts on Poseidon?

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

I got Poiseidon last year from Palatine. Its a nice big strong bush. Been good about not getting too much blackspot, quite healthy. The blooms look like the photos - ruffled, pretty light lavender color. Cant recall about scent. I am pleased about its growth and health. As last year was its first bloom year, it didnt have lots of blooms, but hoping for better this year, even though its the "creep" year [as in sleep, creep, leap]. I have Nicole Carole Miller and its similiar to this rose. I like it - its been one of my best lavenders. I have Heirloom as an own root next to it and this is still a puny, small rose. Hoping to see it grow more in the spring.

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

Love the look of Mamy Blue! Will have to keep an eye out for her.

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.

flaurabunda, I'm coming late to this thread, but I have to second and third (and fourth!) the recommendation for Lila Vidri. Oh.My.Gosh!
If you didn't get on RVR's wait list, do it. It will be worth whatever you have to pay for it, lol. I'm not usually one for enabling, but I have this rose from my brother's neighbor. I saw it, and begged a cutting. She couldn't remember the name, but said it was "something like Lily V...". After a little research, I pinned it down to Lila Vidri. Long story short: as a first year cutting this rose threw two canes, with 17 blooms total in three flushes. I usually disbud cuttings for the entire first year, but after seeing the first one, I couldn't bring myself to do it. It didn't care. I think it may be the ONLY robust mauve HT (it acts like a floribunda for me) I've ever grown. It's now three years old, and doing swimmingly. It does get BS in the fall, but I live in a horrible area for BS. It's a gorgeous rose. Its fragrance reminds me of lemons and raspberries. Don't understand why it isn't grown more. GET IT.

*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: Stephensâ Big Purple. Gorgeous, Healthy. Smelly :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Stephens' Big Purple

What is the average wait time for RVR?
It seems to always be out of stock!

kittymoonbeam mentions 'Love Potion' in the thread linked below. Has anyone got an East Coast disease resistance report about it?

Here is a link that might be useful: Favorite Fragrance in the Garden

Lavender HT's are simple for me. Two Royal Amethyst's planted about 12" apart. One bush doesn't produce enough of those beautiful blooms for me :)

I so love the lavendars. Hoping to come here and hear about experiences with Love Song (photos make the bush look messy from HMF). After my first year with Stainless Steel, I'm smitten. The fragrance is heaven, the blooms really perfect exhibition HT, very light grayish lavendar for me. Did fine in my heat. I love it so much, I broke down and bought it's ever-so-harassed parent, Sterling Silver, which already has some black spot, but the few blooms I've gotten from her so far are going to be SO worth it. I also just planted Neptune as a bareroot - I sniffed her at Armstrong Nursery, and about went to my knees.

Harmony, I like Blue Girl and Sweetness, also.....Ginger Hill isn't lavendar, but is another one I'd recommend for fragrance...just heavenly.

To me lavender means deep purple :) If you can handle a light lavender, Stainless Steel is the way to go. I have 2 huge bushs of this beauty. Grows like a weed. I grew it in Fl and was one of the first roses to go into my garden up here. Wouldn't be without it. It should grow well up in your area. Just looked at Sweetness on HMF. Doesn't look bad. Good parents and that full bush photo gives you an idea about what it should look like. If I was to have a garden full of lavenders, Sweetness would be in there.

Can't recommend Lagerfeld. Vigorous shrub, lovely when it opens, good fragrance. . . What's wrong with this picture? The blooms quickly fade to an icky sickly grey resembling concrete (or perhaps a bad imitation of Karl's own grey pompadour.) He sleeps with the shovels.

Kay

In case you are interested, here is a fairly accurate picture of Charles de Gaulle. It is quite fragrant and has good form when the weather is not too hot. Its drawback is that it is very slow to repeat.

{{gwi:318604}}

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.

{{gwi:318605}}

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

Love lavenders & have had quite a few. One nobody has mentioned is Macho Man. Was it a poor performer? I had it years ago from Chamblees & recall it as having large fragrant blooms about the color & look of the gorgeous Charles de Gaulle photos above

I do have Macho Man, but it is not all that great for me. It is very prone to blackspot and only looks good in cool weather. It also does not flower all that much either.

Sweetness looks lovely, and I have my eyes out for Stephens Big Purple, but haven't come across it. I did find Della Reese which seems to have similar characteristics, at Armstrong and just planted her as a bareroot in the same bed as Neptune.

Okay, that pic of CDG looks fantastic. I got mine in the ground last month (Hortico) along with Mamy Blue. Can't wait for spring to see how they do.

Does anyone grow Poiseiden? I got it last year from Palatine - it grows well, little disease, the flowers were bigger in spring, smaller in fall. Cant remember about scent. The bush has done well even tho its not in full sun, it does get good light. I cant say if I really like it or not yet until it has another season. Anyone grow it? I do like Nicole Carole Miller. Its a tall plant for me and blooms pretty well. It gets good morning sun then the house protects it from the hot afternoon sun. I think I need to feed these roses a bit more - but plan to do better this year. I have several lavenders ordered - Magenta, Blueberry Hill, Taischa, Intermezzo, Ripples. Most are bands so will be grown out in pots for a couple of years.

I completely forgot about my other new addition - Monet. She's new from the CCRS Auction, and I can't wait to see the results. Will post pictures if I get blooms this spring.

Speaking of lavender, please be careful of your source. Stupidly, I forgot that 'you get what you pay for' and bought it online.

Turned out to be a pest control (I kid you not) company that outsourced to a potpourri (again, no joke) company and I ordered the plants in July.

THINKing they would ship...........oh, I don't know, in THE FALL?

They arrived yesterday, in the middle of a heat wave in NY. I emailed them constantly, telling them we were in the middle of a heat wave, and not to ship until the Fall.

I planted them in the shade, am tending them every day, and they may or may not make it.

Oh, and my emails to them were ignored. Therefore, I reported them to the BBB, where, interestingly, they have 316 complaints against them!

Be careful out there, gardeners.

Springhill did that to me many years ago. They advertised "Extra heavy, Grade 1+ bare roots" of several varieties I wanted, but which were notorious for producing average to below average plants. Springhill was Week's retail outlet. I took the chance as the supposedly larger plants were only a bit more than body bag plants available locally, plus shipping.

I'm in California, just a hundred or so miles south of where the plants were produced. Springhill was somewhere like Ohio. The ad stated, "will ship at the appropriate time for your location." OK. By late March, I was already calling them about WHEN they would ship. They hadn't received the plants from California yet! Supposedly, they shipped as soon as they received them...the last week of April. It was already in the nineties here that year and it was a real bear bringing them from dormancy into growth, but none were lost. There were nine plants and only one could be called "extra large", the others being what I found in body bags all over. I complained and received a partial refund equal to my shipping and tax. They all lived and flourished and every one of them eventually went to live at friends' homes because the varieties were OK, but not what I had hoped they would be, or the "huskier" plants weren't any huskier than what I already grew. There's nothing really new under the sun, except the plumbing. Kim

alameda,

Did you see what the Rose Hybridizer group thinks about Poseidon? Link below.

Here is a link that might be useful: Novalis/Poseidon (mauve)

I grew Poseidon this year and it is a fine rose. Vigorous, frequent repeat, slight fragrance. I posted a bloom over on the gallery recently. It is NOT small.
Holds color and bloom for a better than average time. Disease free no spray.
Susan

Flaurabunda,
I'm surprised you are asking this question when I live two blocks from you and grow 465 roses! Call me and I'll tell you! I know which ones do best in our area.

Boy, this thread does seem to have a life of its own. I stand by my much earlier recommendation of Blue Bayou, if one wants a true lavender, the bluest lavender rose I've ever seen, too. I have two Stephens Big Purple roses and their blooms are a bright magenta, not exactly lavender. They are stingy with blooms and are big, ungainly, very upright hybrid tea types. Sweetness was a total turkey for me and is one of the very few roses I have shovel pruned. Angel Face is excellent here in the land of no blackspot as is Blueberry Hill, a large shrub which loves cool weather. If you want a dark, true purple, I think Twilight Zone is best, and I like Ascot, if you want a dark, wine red. Here's a pic of Blue Bayou. Diane

Here's Twilight Zone. Diane

Here's Ascot. Diane

Way back in this thread, I said I was waiting. If you haven't guessed already, my wait is over. I knew I wanted Novalis as soon as I read about it, but it wasn't available my way - they weren't holding the pickles and the lettuce - I mean the rootstock. But it is available own root now and WILL be in my garden next year.

Yes, I'm quite keen on Kordes. Just as I learned to give up rootstocks very early, I've since learned - also pretty quickly - to give up growing weak disease prone roses. And Kordes is to variety in color and form with health what Knock-Outs are in their own healthy category.

I am even compromising my principles for Kordes - sacrificing fragrance and height requirements. The latter I'm adjusting with pruning and the former I'm optimistic is only a matter of time. Also, fragrant healthy Kordes roses already do exist as I've read on this forum - just not in abundance. One of those will also be joining my garden next year.

I won't however compromise my own root requirement which means all y'all 'don't-mind-grafted' folks get to have them before I do while I wait for them to become available own root. I don't mind. For me, it's worth the wait.

So no, Novalis (Poseidon) has little if any fragrance, but IT is lavender and healthy.

Weak necks on modern roses of the caliber of Kordes are IMHO more likely a result of over application of nitrogen fertilizer than genetics. The photo by Prof. Zlesak on the hybridizer forum thread seems to be taken from above....

Prof. Zlesak refers to his recollection of seeing it in person as "gorgeous." (Prof. Zlesak is one from whom and for whom emeritus is increasingly expected in my esteem. So his comment is like a gold seal for me).

The Hybridizer/Breeder group thread is linked in a post above.

Poseidon is not a Hybrid Tea.

Poseidon is a Floribunda.

While hybrid teas are sometimes expected to have good cut flower properties, the same is not usually expected of floribundas.

To the question:

Here is a link that might be useful: Poseidon in a vase?

This post was edited by sandandsun on Sat, Nov 2, 13 at 10:53

Blue Bayou is a Kordes rose, sandandsun, and is very upright with nary a weak neck. Diane

nanadoll,

Yes, I know that 'Blue Bayou' is a Kordes' rose.

I've also read your reports of minimal disease pressure.

I quote from the thread linked below: "You know we are really lucky in SW Idaho not to have any fungal disease problems, especially the scourge of roses, blackspot, and I don't find insect trouble to be much of a problem, either--maybe a few thrips on certain, selected roses (not Julia) and leaf cutter bees that can really notch leaves (but they're good guys, of course)."

Your experience with your roses can in no way indicate anything of value about the performance of those roses for my no spray garden in the very high disease pressure southeast. Of this I'm aware.

Blue Bayou was introduced in 1993. It may be a great rose, but it is unlikely that it has the disease resistance of Poseidon.

Here is a link that might be useful: 7A Hardy Fragrant Roses

I bought several lavenders from Chamblees when I was there a couple of weeks ago. I really like Lavender Veranda. Its a small rose, but a pretty rich shade of lavender. Blooms are quite small but it seems to bloom a lot. Its still in a 1 gallon pot - cant decide where to put it - I think I might have to get a couple more of this one. Foliage is very healthy too. Its not on helpmefind yet.....I think this might be a very nice rose.
Judith

Another vote for HEIRLOOM! ! ! She is a workhorse in my garden and I wouldn't be without her. Repeats all summer long.

First of all, I'd love to second Twilight Zone - healthy, happy, deep purple rosebush.

And then I'd like to post a pic of a Love Song rose I brought in from my garden on Hallowe'en.......the thing has opened to an enormous size in the vase over the past week! There are still three buds left on the bush trying to defy the frost, as well. I'm so impressed with this lavender - the hardiest I've ever seen.

The photo in the following post without my fist for reference is closer to the actual color of Love Song. It's a pretty mauve. It has a nice scent - not strong, but pretty, and soft, and there - when it first opens, too.

This post was edited by Julietlovespurple on Tue, Nov 5, 13 at 23:42

This is closer to the real color...

Twilight Zone!! :) They have a lovely and long-lasting lemony tea scent, as well - even one open one scents my whole walkway. They've had a second wind since the Autumn, and are extra-purple in the cool weather.

This post was edited by Julietlovespurple on Tue, Nov 5, 13 at 23:43

OK-- I have to chime in and agree with molineux... Karl Lagerfeld is just as lovely as could be! Like HELLO?! If you don't think that this bloom is gorgeous then I think you need to make an appointment with your optometrist stat! All of his blooms look like this for a solid week.

Karl has been good to me.. hardy.. fragrant.. consistently beautiful.. And for me, his coloring doesn't turn gray until the verrry end right before his petals fall off. Most roses (at least the ones I have) have a color change after a week or so.

Oh how I love the enthusiam, photos, and sharing on this thread! Thanks all!!! I love lavender roses with a passion. So far my experience has been that I can grow them beautifully, no spray in my semi-arid garden. You've started off my morning on such a happy note! Thanks again. :-)

I am looking for a lavender rose for zone 6b that need spraying. I like Fragrant Plum, Royal Amethyst, Barbara Streisand & Charles de Gaulle.. would any of these fit the bill or could you suggest one that will? Ty

This certainly has been an interesting chat among like mined purple and rose lovers. I noticed mention of "own root". I had a chat about that with a local nursery. They told me that they'd prefer to sell own root, but sell grafted because it takes a year or more off the time to make it to selling size and those few dollars mean the difference between people buying or not at their nursery. That aside I was surprised by the planting advise they had given me the year before when I purchased Carefree Wonder. They suggest planting the graft several inches below the soil line. One reason is for stability of the plant and taking pressure off the graft and the other is to encourage "own roots" to develop. I was rather sceptical, but planted CW that way. Has anyone else noticed better results with their roses when the grafts were buried? I just purchased Love Song and am considering planting with the graft buried.

I bury all my grafts for winter protection. I think it has now been a few years since I lost a grafted HT. I tried to overwinter a rose I planned to give away in a pot under the basement storm doors and forgot to water it. About 1/3 of my 200+ roses are grafted HTs.

Zack, I haven't attempted Hybrid Teas in my zone 4-5. What zone are you in?