22,795 Garden Web Discussions | Roses
Diane -- some of the blooms on Souvenir de la Malmaison seem as if they're intricately crafted of the finest reeled silk, and they especially look that way to me in photographs. Because of the raves on this forum, I had high expectations of this rose, and I'm glad to see she is meeting them.
Here's the odd rose on the climber that does not have the pintucks:
Hi John, congratulations! I grew the original seedling freestanding in Newhall, umpteen dozen years ago and it didn't climb, but got "stout". Most climbers will thicken instead of elongating if not supported. The shrubbier types can make very large shrubs and eventually build upon themselves, using the older, dead wood as support. My impression is that is likely what ALmD would do if left to her own devices, but I've not attempted that since the very beginning. I'll PM you now. Thanks. Kim
It's also called a vegetative center and besides too much nitrogen I think I've read it can also be caused by some weather conditions during the time the bud is forming. I had one on Quietness once that grew another flower bud right out of the center of the rose. It was weird!
The ones I get are usually same color as the green leaves and it's a bugger to find them. They tend to stay with the same bush till they are found. Try going out after dark with a flash light they wrap themselves around the bud and munch till dawn.
The bush was planted 25 years ago and was deer food for a long time. I noticed a bloom last year and caged it. It is a tall skinny bush and I built a tall skinny cage. I'm hoping it will fill out when protected. I got about six blooms last year on repeats. When I cut off the stem for the picture I posted I accidently got a branch and there was another bud on it. It opened in a vase but has faded a little. The first picture was taken in the evening and the color wasn't quite right. Here's the faded bloom taken in sunlight.
I'll photograph it again next time it blooms.
Hi Sincerely 100, it's interesting that you mention our similar climates. Do you have alkaline soil, too? In spite of the heat here, we have a short growing season because we are so far north. I could really like a little longer to enjoy everything. I've noticed that heat does dissipate the rose scent, and that more humid climates get better wafting, which almost never occurs outside here, but inside the house the scent of a rose bouquet is much more strong in the air. I get no scent from Augusta Luise which is on your list. But I'd like to add Angel Face and Young Lycidas to my list.
Have a good winter. Diane
Hi Diane, thanks for your comment. I don't think our climate is that similar as my is so hot for so long. However I think we may have similar noses as we seem to enjoy similar roses for scent. Yes I have alkaline sandy soil. Our bore water has a pH of 9!! I have to keep adding acid and trace elements to the soil to keep the garden green. I do have an Angel Face and it does smell good too but not as consistently as the above mentioned roses. I've just ordered a Young Lycidas today as well! Heard some good comments about its scent. I will keep you posted. Many of my roses are not scented in the first year. PAOK is one of them. It flowers a lot and I hope it will become fragrant next year. I smelled one at a rose show earlier this year and it did have a very strong perfume and a note which I enjoy. Beverly also took a year to produce perfume. Do you cut the Augusta Luise? I cut them when they are half open and keep them indoors. As they open in the vase overnight they become very strongly scented and the scent will last for about 3 days. I got this rose because of its perfume alone. I smelled a vase of these at a rose show and they smelled like strong pot pourri. Everyone was in awe of its fragrance. I knew I had to grow one.
The good news, is that as much as I hate those same kind of weeds you are battling in my garden, they pull up pretty easy and I have fewer and fewer each year. I don't think we had hardly any and then there was a forest fire near by and wow coated with them.
I agree with Sharon that the Easy Elegance roses are very nice for our zone, and they're sold pretty widely in our area (Mulhall's in Omaha has a fantastic selection). My favorite among them that would do nicely for a hedge is Sweet Fragrance, which is a lovely saturated peach color that blooms all summer at around 4' high once established. Some of the other Easy Elegance roses, as well as some of the Kordes Veranda and Flower Circus roses, may be too short growing to serve as a hedge if you want it to be chest high or so. Those latter two varieties are bred to be 2-3' high, though the Fairy Tale series are taller in general. Among the Easy Elegance, Sunrise Sunset gets bigger for me with support, but it really wants to be 2' high and 8' wide without support. Yellow Brick Road or High Voltage might do OK as medium sized yellow bushes, but they're pretty loose blooms and they turn cream pretty quickly.
If you have access to a Bonica you really can't lose in our zone, and that'll give you enough confidence in your rose skills to plant a lot more roses elsewhere (sneaky, aren't we?)
Cynthia
Campanula, that Summerwind is so pretty! I'm a sucker for frilly blooms. Wonder if it's available here in the U.S.....