Zuzu, seeing those new roses at Kordes and Tantau was a dream come true for me. It is early in the season here, so many are just starting to bud. There is another rose called 'Airbrush' that was unique.

How exciting Cindi! La Villa Cotta Air Brush looks really cool too.

Thanks, Neal. Wow you are up late! To see the real beauty of Airbrush, you have to enlarge the picture and scroll right and up. I hope that rose makes it to Palatine soon. Neal, you would love this park in Hamburg. The design is what they are calling the "New German Style". It's essentially what you and I are doing--mixes of perennials, roses, grasses, and annuals. No formal drifts in lines, but more of what I think of as a prairie look with informal, very natural groupings.
Sharlene, I am debating where to drive next. The people here that I've asked seem almost phobic about any car drive over an hour. I asked about visiting Sangerhausen, and was told it was ridiculously far, because it's 5 hours. To a midwesterner, that's a day trip, no big deal.
I want to see more gardens, but I also want to see Switzerland, Denmark, Netherlands, Berlin, and more of Hamburg. I'm running out of time! Where should I go? I may never get to come back, so I have to treat it as my only chance. I love that daylight here extends from 4 am til almost 10 pm. I've always wished for more hours in a day, and here, I get it!

Oh that place looks like heaven! Can't wait to see more photos! I'm actually up early, I keep waking up between 3-5am lately. I have a wedding to finish up today, and I never sleep very well when I've got a job the next day- the details I don't want to forget keep spinning through my thoughts.

I'm working with a rose called Mother of Pearl for this wedding, a lovely florist rose! The name is perfect, its a lovely blend of pastel colors. I snapped some pics with my phone I'll post shortly.

Your excitement is contagious, Cindi, and I hope the day trip is fruitful!

We used to drive that long before when we lived in Upstate New York, and roads and sights were pleasant. Here in the MD-DC-NoVA metro area... the first two hours would consist of getting out of the metro area, lol. It's just exhausting to think about, but you know, it can be done.

Oh Cindi, can so feel how excited you are! So glad you are enjoying your visit to Germany!
I really am the wrong person to ask for advice because I am still sort of a foreigner here! As far as the distances are concerned, it is sort of a European thing but if you feel up to driving to Sangerhausen I would do it. It is one of the biggest rosariums in the world and with over 6000 rose cultivars, you will surely see some blooms. It is a once in a life-time opportunity.
All depends on how much time you still have?

Cindi, these things are all relative. I once drove 8 hours each way to buy a hydrangea I had fallen in love with. So it involved an overnight stay in a hotel and an expensive evening meal, on top of the petrol, etc. Possibly the most expensive plant I ever bought! But I was thrilled to get it and took the opportunity to visit the Lost Gardens of Heligan. (Of course I then had to go back to see the Lost Gardens again and visit the Eden Project.) If you want to visit Sangerhausen, go for it!
Oh dear, now I sound like an enabler...

I also hope you do go to Sangerhausen, Cindi. It could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and it would be a shame to miss it.

I love Airbrush. It reminds me of some of my favorite hand-painted roses.

Has everyone seen new member Khalid's fabulous photographs? Some people may be missing them because they're in one of our informative threads.

The thread "Please help us 'grow' the Rose Database with your images!" in Roses forum

Enable away! I don't know who has it better, the Europeans with such efficient public transportation, or us with the ability to get in the car and drive anywhere, any time. We are sure stranded without a car, though. No bike paths and very few cabs where I live.
Today I didn't go as far as I wanted because, as Taqiyyah said, just getting through the traffic to get out of town was stressful and exhausting. I made it as far as Denmark. Also, I took a long hike through a nature preserve along the Nordelbe. It is a tidal forest, the last of its kind. There were supposed to be all sorts of rare plants and birds, but all I could hear was an obnoxious cuckoo bird that could not shut up. It sounded just like my grandmother's cuckoo clock on an endless loop. I still have that sound stuck in my head! I actually was laughing out loud at the absurdity of where I was and the whole experience. I texted my daughter and she told me to get video of it. I did video the herd of sheep who were mowing the grass on the dike. And the sheepdog with hair in his eyes!
Neal, I saw Mother of Pearl growing in California and had to have it. Regan carries it, so I got it this spring. It's already blooming!

I went to watch my daughter's match this afternoon, and that was a good call, because they will not be in finals tomorrow. That kind of limits how much I can do tomorrow also. It's a quick trip out to Tantau roses, so I may go back there. I would love to see Sangarhausen, so maybe that will work instead. More later

Westerland is a street rose here.




My dream house!

Ooooh, dream house indeed! Nothing like a ticking clock as an enabler! I hope you get lots of pics to share from Sangerhausen (would you listen to me, lol--this is my first time hearing of the place)!

Nordelbe sounds beautiful, too!

Hi, sharing a few pics of my roses. All my roses are grown 100% organically, no chemical pesticide / fungicide ever used and since last one year, no use of synthetic fertilizers too. I feed my roses with homemade compost. I have been experimenting on getting an NPK value in my compost that is rose specific, ie. rich in N & K (almost equal percentage), enough Ca and Mg, little P and trace elements Mn, Fe, Zn, Cu, Bo, S etc). So basically it's a N, K & Ca rich compost. Ingredients come from my kitchen waste but added in a manner that I achieve something close to the desired NPK. My roses are doing well with this compost and I do not feel need of feeding my roses with anything more. I give my roses a top layer of compost and now I am experimenting on feeding them with compost tea. I believe in creating an "Alive Soil" that has the chain of mycorrhizae fungi, beneficial microbes and worms well established that optimizes mineral intake to the plants instead of overfeeding the plants with all kind of minerals that prompt extraordinary growth and make roses vulnerable to diseases. I had to be a little patient in the beginning but now the system is working well for me and my roses are healthy, capable of fighting many diseases and pests at their own and producing more and bigger blooms than ever before.

Nowadays temps in my area range between 105 to 112*F during hottest part of the day, staying around 100*F most of the day. At night the minimum temp generally doesn't go below 78*F. Many roses are in the survival mode and producing small size blooms with little fragrance. Few are performing quite well in this hot weather too and I will keep indicating those rose in my posts. Sharing a few pics..... most of these pics were taken in April as many of these roses have small size mediocre blooms nowadays.


Lovely strong fragrance that reminds me of tropical dessert. Performs better in dappled shade in my area.


Lovely tea fragrance, not as strong as Jude the Obscure but it holds on and even at 105*F and higher, my CPM has some fragrance. At this temp, many other roses become almost non-fragrant. Vigorous grower in my area with abundance of 4-6 feet long canes.

Love the fruity fragrance of LEH but overall performance of LEH is just average in my climate. Blooms fryout within hours when temps are above 100*F. This bush is on multiflora root stock while my most other roses are on centifolia root stock which performs much better in my area as compared to multiflora or Dr Huey root stocks.


Very long bloom life and a delightful fragrance is what makes this rose special. Blooms last for 4-5 days in temps over 100*F which is simply outstanding. And of course, La France comes with lot of history too. Propagates very easily through cuttings in my climate and forms a nice own root bush in just six months. Doesn't rebloom that well.


A delightful sweet old rose mix fragrance that is moderate in intensity but holds on even in high temps. A prolific bloomer..... prefers dappled shade in hot months for optimum performance. Blooms last whole day in temps over 100*F which is very nice.

More to come.......

This is 'Rosarium Uetersen', in the Rosarium Uetersen!!!

Khalid, those are beautiful! I'm amazed that they can be grown in pots in such heat. How are you watering? Is there a special soil you use?
The Dark Lady only lasts a day or so here when it gets to 95, so you are really doing well.

Elmshorn. I just couldn't resist. Beautiful rose, too. Hope it makes its way to us soon.

Khalid, you're certainly doing the right things for your roses. They're all perfect! La France, in particular, looks absolutely delicious, like some type of dessert served at a summer wedding. I've been looking through all of your photos on HFM.com and I sincerely hope you'll be adding all of them to our database.

My Lady Emma Hamilton has been disappointing this year, perversely producing one pink bloom after another. David Austin has never disclosed its lineage, so I don't know whether it's reverting to one of its parents, but that's a possibility, I suppose.

Cindi, that's a beautiful picture of Rosarium Uetersen. I once had a lovely Rosarium Uetersen that looked very much like that one. I didn't bring it with me when I moved, but I bought a replacement from Chamblee's. Regrettably, I find that the one Chamblee's sold me doesn't climb beyond 4 or 5 feet. It behaves more like a short shrub rose.

Elmshorn is gorgeous! According to HMF, it's carried by High Country Gardens and Hortico.

CindiKS said:Khalid, those are beautiful! I'm amazed that they can be grown in pots in such heat. How are you watering? Is there a special soil you use?
The Dark Lady only lasts a day or so here when it gets to 95, so you are really doing well.

CindiKS. Thanks for your comments. I am growing over 70 roses in pots at the moment. I use natural river / canal soil that flows down to my area from glaciers located in high mountains. It is basically composed of finely crushed rocks, is quite fluffy and has very good drainage. It is very rich in trace elements and also contains enough K, P, Ca and Mg. The nitrogen content is very less though and has to be provided. My potting mix is 4 parts river soil and 2 parts homemade compost (that I talked about in the post above). After having tried them all, I strictly avoid using any artificial potting medium like peat or sphagnum moss etc as nothing worked better for me than a mix of river soil and compost. I try to keep the things as natural as possible. This is how I have seen roses growing in high altitude mountains naturally, river soil and lots of naturally decayed matter mainly composed of plant matter.

In hot months (May & June), roses have to be kept moist all the time. I water my roses in pots everyday and those in ground thrice a week when temps are high. When it crosses 110*F then roses in pots have to be watered twice a day because if they dry out in the hottest part of the day, they can dehydrate in short time. However, this is not the biggest challenge as with due care, high temps can be managed. If taken care properly bush growth is not affected even in high temps though bloom size and fragrance are seriously affected. However, bigger challenge comes in monsoon when it might rain for days continuously and if drainage is not well looked after, many roses die during this period. Monsoon is from mid July to end August. With all said, roses grow vigorously in my climate and we enjoy at least 10 and sometimes 11 growing months here.

best regards

Two nurseries on my "no-fly" list. Good to know it's in this country, though. I had never seen that one before. I am trying to take photos and notes on both roses new to me and roses I have seen elsewhere, but I had to leave some out. I have taken over 2000 photos this week. With many of the rose photos, there is a separate photo of the nametag. Some of my photos are of diseased plants so I know what Not to buy. 'Clementine' is on that list. It was diseased in every garden.

this is 'Deep Impression'. Maybe it has another name?

CindiKS said:

• Rose (Rosa 'Elmshorn')
• Uploaded by CindiKS

Elmshorn. I just couldn't resist. Beautiful rose, too. Hope it makes its way to us soon.

Great pic Cindi - this one should be added to the data base - totally unique with the road sign in the background!!

Khalid, the soil, compost, and mineral mix you've developed sounds perfect. I've wondered if the potting mixes that contain peat are what cause potted roses to boil in the summer heat. My eldest daughter grew potted roses in the summer heat of Las Vegas, so I know it can be done!
How big are the pots you are using? Are they clay? I can tell you put a lot of work into growing your roses and they are stunning.

Deep Impression has no other name, Cindi. Please add your photo to our entry.

Rose (Rosa 'Deep Impression')

I agree with Sharlene. Your Elmshorn photo also belongs in the database.

Rose (Rosa 'Elmshorn')