This is a favorite rose of mine, and as I understand it, getting harder and harder to find. The name of this rose is Calico.

Alan

Another favorite, delightful fragrance. French Perfume.

I've wanted Calico for years. Vintage Gardens finally offered it this year and I ordered it back in February or March. I still don't have it. Each successive delivery date brings me only a notice saying it isn't big enough to travel yet.

As I recall, at one time the wholesale Nelson's Roses in Florida was distributing this rose. I have a friend from this list who lives in Florida, did some scheming and evil planning and she found it at one of the local Nurseries in Florida that sells Nelson roses and shipped it to me. The advantage for me was, that it was on Fortuniana rose stock, and here in Arizona, we have found that to make for better roses with more blooms. Now if I can just get to Spectra Roses on Fortuniana, I will have it made :)

Alan

I love Fortuniana rootstock. In addition to giving roses incredible vigor, it also doesn't appeal to gophers.

I've bought a lot of nice roses budded onto Fortuniana from K&M, but the very best ones were the grafted ones MerryGro put on sale when it was going out of business. I bought lots and lots of them for a song, and every single one is huge and thriving.

Yes, I know...I wish more folks would sell roses on fortuniana for us warm climate folks :)

Really though...if I just had Spectra on fortuniana I would be a super happy camper :)

Alan

Have you tried asking Mr. Mills at K&M? As I recall, the plants listed on HMF represent only a fraction of the ones he's growing. I haven't talked to him for a couple of years. He had some family problems that were distracting him at the time and it took him months to cash the last check I sent him. I hope he's okay.

He doesn't have a website, darn it.

http://www.helpmefind.com/gard...

Do you still have that glorious Spectra you once had?

Yes, spectra is still shining, but need two more for another arbor

Sometimes the universe pays such close attention to me that it's positively eerie, as if I were the star of something like "The Truman Show."

Yesterday I said I had ordered Calico long ago and hadn't received it yet. This morning it was on my doorstep.

Vintage had kept saying they couldn't deliver because some plants were still too small. I automatically assumed Calico would be one of the ones they were talking about, but the only small plant is Marbree. This surprises me because it's a Portland and I expect all OGR's to grow like weeds. The other roses in my order are modern and they all look quite nice: Bischofsstadt Paderborn (a replacement for a gopher victim), hybrid teas Mischief and Calico, and floribunda Violet Carson.

Looking forward to seeing their pictures - sooner or later.

An orange blend! Congrat to both Alan and Zuzu for growing a beautiful and now rare rose. Thanks for posting the photo.