I rarely buy yellow or white roses because I have so many volunteer poppies and feverfew plants springing up in my garden that I usually have no need to add those colors to a flower bed. When I saw Mike's photos of Paloma Blanca's blooms looking like the swirly ice cream cups of my childhood, however, I immediately ordered the rose. Unfortunately, it's impossible to find grafted, so I had to buy the own-root version. This probably is the reason that my Paloma Blanca, which has been growing in my garden for about 10 years now, is never going to be more than 2-3 feet tall, although the descriptions of this grandiflora always state a height of 4-7 feet.

Despite its smaller size, however, even the own-root version is healthy, produces new basal shoots regularly, and never suffers from dieback in my garden. In addition, the blooms are distinguished by superior rain resistance, retaining their pretty shape even after a downpour.

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