Seil, those are both so beautiful! I think maybe where you are Tiffany is a prettier pink, I love it here, but that color is perfection! I always think the touch of yellow adds to the beauty of Tiffany. Your Moonstone is gorgeous too! My Julia Child roses are doing good also.

Viking queen . took a few years . but now it's the perfect rose.

Two have impressed me.

The first is my new hybrid musk Felicia. I don't know why, but I have no pic of her, but her blooms are so delicate--wonderful pastel mix of white, peach, and yellow. She is only a bit over one foot tall so far, but broke out in a big bloom in mid-summer. Can't wait to see what she does next year as she matures.

The second rose that keeps on surprising me is Munstead Woods. Everytime I look at it, I'm amazed again (and again) at how gorgeous those dark burgundy/purple blooms are!

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Kate

I second Julia Child. A new one for me that has really done exceedingly well is Deja Blue.

Viking Queen looks like it would be a very good rose, seems like it would be more widely grown, or is it more for colder climates? Felicia is beautiful, there are some very nice hybrid musk roses, I need to learn more about them. Kate, I always love seeing your Munstead Wood, I love the richness of the color. And yes, Julia Child is definitely a winner!

I have grown Erfurt in the past, but it was too far down the hillside for me to see the blooms. Now that I have some new Erfurts, they are a pleasant surprise. Another is Nur Mahal.

I need to try Felicia and a few other hybrid musks.

Sammy

Sammy - Several years ago I sought the advice of a Consulting Rosarian through an email that I sent. He recommended Nur Mahal and several other Hybrid Musks for this area, Ballerina, Vanity, and Mozart were three that he also named, indicating that Hybrid Musks do good around here and also Bourbons. I have intended to get Nur Mahal, but haven't yet. About the time he gave me this info was around the time my rose growing got put on hold.

Sydonie definitely. Whatever the class is, HPs/Portlands have a poor reputation here, but Sydonie is now on its fifth flush -even if the flushes were smaller at first- and up to about 4' or 4.5'. I recently started winding it around a 6' tripod in case it wants to get tall here. The blooms are lovely and very strongly scented with the classic Damask fragrance. It hasn't suffered from any mildew or rust which are regular problems here. I'm very happily surprised by its success. I got mine from Rogue Valley in January as a band.

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(With Salvia guaranitica)
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Jay

Jay, that's fantastic! What a great surprise for you, I love success stories! Beautiful rose too.

This post was edited by Sara-Ann on Mon, Sep 8, 14 at 10:30

The rose which has surprised me the most is Bonica. I have 7 of them along a drive purchased at (dare I say) Walmart 8 years ago. They bloom from March until October if I deadhead. I love this rose because it is so faithful.

I would imagine that is quite a display, would love to see pictures if you ever have a chance to take them. The blooms are lovely on Bonica.

Great thread sara-ann! The roses that have been a pleasant surprise this year have been Frances meilland, freckles, dream come true, quietness, McCartney rose, polonaise, and the very best one has been pope john Paul. It really amazed me with the incredible amount and size of the blooms. My roses have been trial and error but this site has been so helpful. Now the bigger surprise will be if I can figure out how to post pics of my roses! Lol

Oooops! I forgot Beverly. She s been fabulous!

Bayourose - I would love to see some pics of your roses too! I need to try Beverly again, I read good things about it all the time. The McCartney Rose is a good one for me, vigorous and a good bloomer. I love Francis Meilland, beautiful and fragrant, mine just needs to bloom more. I can tell my PJPII is going to be a good rose, just needs to become established, it's a lovely rose. I'm glad you have so many that have been such pleasant surprises!

After what happened to just about all my roses from last winter, My most pleasant surprise came from a HT. Remember Me just shrugged everything off and went about doing what it does best. Growing like a weed, putting on some of the most beautiful foliage I've seen and pumping out those beautiful blooms non stop. I have 2 planted about 12" apart so it looks like one huge bush. I will be adding 2 more to my garden this coming spring. Plus I will be getting 2 for my Church's garden and 2 for my work place's garden. One of the few HT's that doesn't need any spraying for any fungus disease's. Just water it, feed it and enjoy.

Ohh I have so many.
I ordered from Palantine for the first time this year. All thanks to Nanadoll.
I ordered TWO ASCOTS AND ONE BRIDE'S DREAM.
They both arrived as giant bareroots in Mid March..very late for North Central Texas. I planted them and they took off and were blooming by May. They are even taller than Crapemyrtles that I have had in ground for 5 years!

PRINCESS ALEXANDRA OF KENT and PRINCESS ANNE have also been phenominal. They have flowered in so many flushes that they have outperformed Carding Mill which is touted as a heat loving rose.

My final drum roll is for.....
MUNSTEAD WOOD, MOLLINEAUX, BURGUNDY ICEBURG and POPE JOHN PAULII. I am truly impressed with these roses.We have had a slightly milder summer, but still Texas hot. These roses just never stopped blooming! The Austin Roses were the ones that truly surprised me the most because they are often so maligned.
Just some of my success stories. What a great year for gardening this was!

Ken - Remember Me is such a beautiful rose, so unique, how exciting to have all those lovely blooms!

Shopshops - I would be in Rose Heaven if I had all those beautiful Austins doing so well and the others too, sounds wonderful! I miss Nanadoll so much, she is certainly an asset to this forum.

I love this one but don't know its name.

The roses that have suprised me the most are my climbing pinkies that I planted this spring, they haven't bloomed much but man oh man have they grown! I am constantly tying up new canes and most of them are 6-8 ft by now, I totally did not expect that this year. I am so excited for the spring to see them covered in blooms!

Boncrow- Sounds great! Hope you post pictures next season.

I would have to say mine would be the Fragrant Cloud we bought from the local (mom&pop) garden center. Looked scraggly and woe-be-gone when I got it, but now it's so, so beautiful. Absolutely disease free and the blossoms keep coming strong.

REGINA LOUISE -- Got it from RU last year, it got burnt by the sun while trying to put out its first two flushes, ALL the new canes and buds got scorched and wilted, it was a very sad sight. Never would I think that within the same summer, it could shoot out another flush again with so many fragrant blooms on long stems, it's such a work horse. Meanwhile the moles have been digging underneath it everyday!

HONOR--Oh Honor! I feel very touched by how hard it works to produce flush after flush after flush, even in the extremly hot drought. The poor Dear had its soil hollowed out by the moles, and I had not watered it much. The minute I firmed the soil and watered it, it perked up and started giving me beautiful flowers again! I truly have a lot of repect for this rose.

I also want to add how great my Julia child is doing, she was planted late June and is doing awesome. I am so impressed with her I will be adding 2 more next year!

Hi Sara-Ann,
I was going back to read threads that I've missed, and yours looked so interesting I began to read it. Liebezauber is just stunning, and now I must look it up on HMF. I confess the name is familiar, but I know nothing about the rose itself. I can see why you chose it as one your most pleasant surprises. And thank you for the sweet comments you made about me. That was a pleasant surprise, too. You are a wonderful asset to this forum, as far as I'm concerned, and your love of roses shows through in your posts. Keep them coming, and may this winter be kind to you and your roses. Diane

Diane - Thank you for the kind words. We've had some cold weather here, but so far not nearly as severe as last winter, hopefully my roses will be OK, I'm definitely ready for some warmer temps, which we are supposed to have by Friday. Liebeszauber is a Kordes rose, I got it from Palatine, which I think was probably a good choice. The bush itself can get really tall, but so far the blooms are worth it. It has been a healthy rose for me. I wish I could combine the vigor of Liebeszauber with the beauty and fragrance of roses like Chrysler Imperial, Oklahoma, Mister Lincoln and Firefighter and I would have my perfect red rose! Liebeszauber is pretty and sometimes fragrant, but the others have a more classic look.

I'm so glad you're back!

I bought Drop Dead Red as an impulse buy because my sister love the show Drop Dead Diva. It ended up being a superbe rose. Throughout the whole summer, it is abundant with flowers when other roses took a pause between flowering. The flowers lasted quite a long time and the bush is well behaved, like a natural bride bouquet. It only has BS later in the summer. I would definitely recommend this rose to anyone who is looking for a red floribunda.

JJ - I agree about Drop Dead Red. I planted mine in a container in 2013, it did great. I think I'm going put mine in the ground this spring. The bush has a lovely shape, it's a good rose.