|
| Hi Rosefolks, Is anyone growing "Happy Child"? It is such a wonderfully bright yellow, but is it healthy and does it repeat well? Block-spot prone, by any chance?? I know that a rose in your garden may not perform the same way in mine, but I would like to hear from y'all before I buy this one. thanks, Avalon |
Follow-Up Postings:
|
- Posted by Nippstress 5-Nebraska (My Page) on Fri, May 2, 14 at 13:36
| I grow Happy Child, albeit in a much colder and less humid zone than yours so take it for what it's worth. I find HC a relatively small growing Austin (maybe 3-4' tops in my zone), with pale yellow blooms that fade in color pretty quickly. I've had it 5 years and it never seems to live up to its name and be particularly happy, though it's not all that unhappy for me either. I don't get any more BS on it than any other Austin, it's just that it doesn't seem to bloom all that often. I find it a largely forgettable rose for me, and certainly not the bright yellow that it might be for a short time when it first blooms. In short - it's not a problem for me and fills in some small space without complaining, but I wouldn't strongly recommend it over other Austin yellows like Teasing Georgia or other more prolific yellows like Julia Child. Cynthia |
|
- Posted by avalon2007 (My Page) on Fri, May 2, 14 at 14:53
| Hi Cynthia, thanks for your reply. It's interesting that you find Teasing Georgia to be a good rose for you- it's the best rose I have! Huge, covered with blooms - very vigorous. Well, I might hold off on HC if it's not such a good repeater. I'm living in a unique microclimate that favors rapid rebloomers. So, Julia Child might just be my next yellow rose. |
|
| I adore the blooms on Happy Child, but it sure was a wimpy plant--both of them since I replaced one wimp with another wimp. Took forever for both roses to break dormancy in the spring, always tagging behind the other roses-- timewise. Had some BS problems but not too serious, but was slow to rebloom. After several years in the ground, I finally spaded the short little wimp. But I do miss its beautiful yellow blooms--no problems with fading here. Kate |
|
- Posted by the_bustopher 6, MO (My Page) on Sat, May 3, 14 at 1:58
| I have two Happy Childs. One is grafted; the other is own-root. The grafted one does better, but neither one does very much. It is a treat to see the sunny yellow flowers on the rare occasion they show up. They are quite pretty, but rare. I am hoping that Charlotte will be better or that another better yellow one will come out soon. They are not too bad for disease overall. |
|
- Posted by Nippstress 5-Nebraska (My Page) on Tue, May 6, 14 at 23:10
| For what it's worth, Bustopher, Charlotte is similar to Happy Child for me, though it blooms a little more often. It's also small, a slow grower, and fades to an unremarkable light yellow. It's fine as a rose, but I rather expect my Austins to be more than fine. So far, Graham Thomas is more what I'd expect a yellow Austin to look like, but it's too young to see if it blooms more often than the others. From what I have seen, Austin seems to do better with the big yellows (Teasing Georgia & Golden Celebration) than the smaller yellows. Cynthia |
|
- Posted by avalon2007 Z10SFL (My Page) on Wed, May 7, 14 at 13:31
| Hi Cynthia, Kate and Bustopher, Thank you kindly for your replies- you have all confirmed my suspicions about HC: Beautiful photos but disappointing in real life. There really isn't enough space in my garden for roses that only bloom occasionally. The rapid rebloomers are the best ones here. I just purchased Golden Celebration- I'll let you know how it performs. If it makes it through 2-3 years here and repeatedly blooms, that is usually an indication that it will survive here. Many roses just die after a few years of the perpetual spring-summer in Florida- there's no "dormant period" and some just need their sleep! thanks again, Avalon |
|
| I've heard the reviews, but ordered one anyway. And today it arrived. It's going into a mixed border, and its "shortcomings" will actually be a benefit in the spot I chose for it. :-) ~Christopher |
Please Note: Only registered members are able to post messages to this forum. If you are a member, please log in. If you aren't yet a member, join now!
Return to the Antique Roses Forum
Information about Posting
- You must be logged in to post a message. Once you are logged in, a posting window will appear at the bottom of the messages. If you are not a member, please register for an account.
- Please review our Rules of Play before posting.
- Posting is a two-step process. Once you have composed your message, you will be taken to the preview page. You will then have a chance to review your post, make changes and upload photos.
- After posting your message, you may need to refresh the forum page in order to see it.
- Before posting copyrighted material, please read about Copyright and Fair Use.
- We have a strict no-advertising policy!
- If you would like to practice posting or uploading photos, please visit our Test forum.
- If you need assistance, please Contact Us and we will be happy to help.
Learn more about in-text links on this page here
