Hello my long lost rose friends :)

I've been "out of commission" for a while, personal issues and the financial crash have made shopping for roses a distant dream. However .... things are looking up and I'm thinking about ordering some roses ...

Now rose experts, I need your advice.

I would like a red moss rose and have three choices: Captaine John Ingram, Nuits de Young and Black Boy. Judging from photos on the internet it's hard to see which is the best. Peter Beales mentions the first two in his Passion for Roses, but Black Boy is a more recent addition so doesn't quite qualify as an antique. I've read excellent reviews on that one though. So what do you say - which is the prettiest .... and hardiest of the three?

Rann

Hi, Rannveig! Welcome back.

I've never grown moss roses, so I can't give you any helpful advice or information. I just wanted you to know how happy I am to see you.

on both it's wonderful to see you & the fact I'm worthless when it comes to Moss roses..

Well, thank you for the warm welcomes It's nice to be back.

I might not buy a moss rose after all, but if I'd pick one of those three I'm leaning toward Black Boy. This is the first time I have the opportunity to order pretty much any rose my heart desires (well, not any rose, it's not an infinite list, but the product range is pretty darn impressive - they have just about every rose I've ever wanted ) ... and my list is already WAY too long ....

I think I really need to try Jacquelin du Pré - do you guys have that one? It looks so incredibly pretty in the photos. Another must have is Bukavu ...... I'm afraid both might be too tender, but I really want to give them a try. If they don't make it outside there's always the greenhouse. Well, there will be a greenhouse.

I'm moving this spring - so I'm starting over on a new garden. It's pretty huge and a totally empty canvas (well, except for the weeds) Don't know how good the conditions will be for roses there so I'm going to try to pick just 3 .... or 4 Ofcourse I'm moving all the roses I already have with me .... well, most of them. I'll have to leave a few of the bushes behind ... It's going to be one heck of a move ....

Once again, I know nothing about the roses you've mentioned in this post, but I'm delighted that you now have a larger variety to choose from, and I'm really excited about your move. A new home without any bad memories is something to celebrate.

I love the pictures that HMF has for BlackBoy, but don't like that it's a single bloomer. http://www.helpmefind.com/rose...

Zuzu - you are so right - a fresh start with a clean slate. Both very exciting and scary at the same time :)

Jacqueline du Pré is one of the most gorgeous roses I've ever seen: http://isearch.avg.com/images?... and right behind her is Bukavu - I just love the color of that rose: http://isearch.avg.com/images?...

skiekitty - I agree it looks really pretty in the photos I've seen. The fact that it's a single bloomer doesn't really matter here - all roses are essentially single bloomers with our short growing season. The problem with many of the single bloomers (antique roses) however is that they flower on second year wood and if there's a lot of die back there won't be any flowers. That's been a problem with some of the antique roses I've tried. York and Lancaster for instance has flowered once. It dies back almost to the ground every winter - grows back vigorously but of course there are no flowers. That one flower was very pretty but I'm starting to feel it's a waist of space .... In that respect the modern roses work better - even if they die back there's still a chance of flowers with the right treatment.