This is a color palette I haven't worked much with, but I'm adding a section of garden dedicated to these colors. It is an extension of a bed where I now use fire colors like orange, gold, and red. The inspiration for this bed has come from my increasing obsession with bearded irises. Lots of autumnal colors among them that I don't care for used with bright, saturated colors- it makes a beautiful flower look dirty to me. However, when combined with gold and bronze foliage plants they look warm and beautiful. @Calif_Sue Suzanne's garden photos have been a major inspiration in this endeavor too! Fantastic use of these plants with roses is where I'm looking for direction.....

The only rose I have ordered for that area is Buff Beauty. I have been intrigued by Hot Cocoa for years, and Koko Loco has caught my eye as well. I don't spray, so I go for the most disease resistant and vigorous varieties I can find.

What varieties would you recommend?

Neal, here are a few off of the top of my head. I can come up with more.





http://www.helpmefind.com/rose...

Neal ...

I forgot ...

You can do a search of the database for "apricot or apricot blend" and a lot of roses will come up in your color pallet.

I think beige and brown would show up better if you searched for russet-colored roses.

Here's a thread I started way back in Cubits in March 2010 for our russet roses.

The thread "Russet Roses" in Roses forum

I agree, Zuzu. I just suggested adding apricot to the mix because a lot of the russet roses were introduced to the market with that color classification rather than russet because they sold better ...

Also, many of the "brown" roses will often turn to a garish orange in many climates.

Lots of food for thought!

I'd forgotten about Honey Dijon, I wonder if it wasn't as widely sold and marketed this year?

Lots to ponder in that thread! It's so nice to have our photos here that show more of the true qualities of the blooms.

I love Hot Cocoa but had to move it to another spot last year as the color clashed with other plants where I had it. It's a tall upright plant too so take that into consideration when placing it. I don't spray either and the foliage is nice, both the unique color and general good health convinced me to keep it rather than toss it when I dug it up.

My favorite in these colors is:


It looks so good with the Russian sage planted nearby as well as a couple of purple clematis

These colours are exquisite, I think I need to replan and replant a big chunk of garden!

@Calif_Sue WOW I just added "Cafe" to my must have list! Beautiful!

Cafe looks very Victorian to me, both in color and flower form- beautiful!

What about Distant Drums ???
I've only seen it a few times but it seemed to be that earthy buff color with a hint of lavender.

@Calif_Sue What is a good source for "Cafe"? As Neal said, both color and form are beautiful.

I bought it years ago from Hortico, before they became unreliable, so no idea if its still available anywhere. @Azgarden

Mine also came from Hortico, about 12 years ago. It's occasionally offered by some own-root nurseries (Angel Gardens, Roses Unlimited, etc.), but I'm not sure it's a good candidate for growing on its own roots. Even my grafted Cafe is a bit temperamental, so I wouldn't expect the best performance from it without a graft.

Zuzu ... based upon the lineage of 'Cafe', I, too, doubt if it would be a good own root rose.

The lineage of the seed parent has the possibility of creating a strong rose, but the pollen parent is 'Lavender Pinocchio' which is a cross between 'Pinocchio' x 'Grey Pearl' both of which are not strong plants.

You're right, Lyn. My Lavender Pinocchio is grafted, but it's nevertheless weak and fragile. My Pinocchio is an own-root plant and is, quite frankly, a disgrace, producing only one or two bloom clusters each year. I bought Grey Pearl three times as an own-root plant, watched all of them fade away almost immediately, and finally paid big bucks for a grafted one. Even that one lasted only a couple of years before giving up the ghost.

Zuzu ...

Kim simply loves 'Grey Pearl' because it is so odd and he has a hard time keeping his plant(s) alive, even tho' he buds his own roses. He told me that there is no reason in the world for that rose to survive. It's the only rose he has given TLC to over his rose life. He once told me that GP carries a "death gene" and any rose with GP in its lineage is sure to inherit that gene ...

'Pinocchio' has a lot of good roses in its lineage, but the lineage tree also shows a lot of unnamed seedlings, so its anyone's guess as to what makes that rose such a poor plant.

There might be something to that "death gene" theory. I have four of Grey Pearl's first-generation descendants: Brownie, Intermezzo, Lavender Pinocchio, and Orchid Masterpiece. All of them are temperamental, even though the latter two are grafted.

Zuzu ...

Even grafting often cannot provide enough additional vigor for a rose with the death gene ...

I'm incredulous at how you three know all this genealogy about roses, their children etc. etc.
Did any of these roses come over on the Mayflower ??? (No sarcasm intended.)
How on earth do you keep track of it all ?