Viewing comments posted by Mike

The first time I saw this rose was in Hartford's Elizabeth Park Rose Garden. So many of the bushes throughout the garden had terrible black spot, but it didn't stop this rose from dazzling me with its large and remarkably vibrant blooms. I immediately ordered it when I got home and have been richly rewarded with large, strong blooms. The petals have a durable substance, and yet the blooms don't last as long as I wish they would. Still, it looks stunning on the bush or in a vase - an excellent cutting rose for arrangements.

I remember when I ordered this plant from the original Edmunds by accident. By the time I realized my mistake it was too late to change the order, as it had already been shipped the next day. Up until then I had avoided planting "singles" as I thought the bloom structures were too simple and not as attractive as full doubles. Boy, am I glad I clicked the wrong button when I placed the order, because this quickly became one of my all-time favorite roses. It blooms profusely in partial shade, on a large bushy plant. Rather susceptible to blackspot where I had it placed in a cooler area of the garden, which can defoliate the plant quickly. But a dose of nitrogen will restore the leaves in time, allowing the plant to continue photosynthesis, which feeds the next bloom cycle. One of my favorite roses to photograph.

The climber of this cultivar has a rather different habit not only from the grandiflora, but from many other climbing varieties. The rigid canes are bolt upright like a bamboo, very tall, with inconsistent blooms at the tops, and not very quick to repeat. I tried pegging the canes to force some lateral growth in an effort to produce more blooms, and succeeded only in snapping many of the unpliable canes in the process. One of the very few roses I eventually shovel pruned. When I eventually dug it up after only three years in the garden, I was truly astonished at the size of the root mass, which had grown enormous in those few short years.

The 'hand-painted' look of the petals makes this a relatively unusual rose, but what is even more unusual is the rubbery texture of the petals. The only other rose I have encountered with a similar substance is Wedding Cake, another hybrid introduced by Ralph Moore. I acquired my specimen as a tiny plant growing on its own roots. Alas, it didn't make it past its first winter in my New York garden, as the soil was too moist when I overwintered it in the garage. But it was fun while it lasted!

A truly unusual rose, not only because of its unique combination of pink, yellow, and green hues, but its tightly packed, folded-over petals have a rare, rubbery texture and seem to last forever. I acquired my specimen as a tiny plant growing on its own roots from the hybridizer, Ralph Moore, a couple of years before he passed away at the age of 102. Being grown on its own roots has a pro and a con: My plant has remained tiny in size over the past 6 years, but has survived some brutally cold winters here in New York, while other roses grafted onto root stock gave up the ghost.

True to its name, the blooms hardly resemble a traditional rose and are a dead ringer for dahlia blooms instead (albeit smaller). I acquired my specimen as a tiny plant from Ralph Moore, the hybridizer, when he was 100 years old. My plant never grew beyond its tiny, spindly size, but the blooms were so unusual that I kept it and simply treated it as a very small miniature in the front of the border, until it failed to return its fourth year in my New York garden.

Known as the climber by which all other climbers are judged. In my experience, that would certainly be true where vigor and size and sheer volume of blooms are concerned. However, it has never repeated for me. In that respect it's almost like an Old Garden Rose (OGR) rather than a modern rose. Its massive height and width have taken over two sides of our elevated deck, and it puts on a stunning show each year. As the petals gradually fall, it's like snow in summer. It can be rather high maintenance if the canes get heavily tangled in the top growth, and it can be a challenge to get up under the plant to thin them out. I actually wear a hard hat when I do that, to protect my head from scratches.

Such a fun rose! The colors start out vibrant and strong, but the orange gradually fades to the color of pink grapefruit. Grows to 6 feet tall if tied to a trellis. Heavy bloomer, with several repeats throughout the season. Canes will arch out with sprays of blooms that can get heavy enough to weigh down the branches and snap them. Keep it in bounds, and cut back branches where the clusters of petals have fallen, as it won't always grow past that point to rebloom. One of the few roses my husband consistently comments on year after year. It's also one of my mother's favorites, but she has difficulty finding it in North Carolina, and tells me it's because it's known to be more suited for cooler climates. Here in New York, it's among my favorites, even if it's a bit of a "novelty" rose.

I always think of this as the most "feminine" rose in my garden. Alas, the blooms never last very long, and it's not very quick to repeat. It also gets a bit leggy at times. But the captivating fragrance makes it a worthwhile addition to the garden; I always stop to admire it when in bloom.