Hi Hiedi, I don't know if you still have the rose available but I have a Alcea - Hollyhock Blushing Bride for trade if you would like that. Also check my trade list to see if there is something there you are interested in. Denise

I should have mentioned I've grown Paul Neyron before. Ghastly thing was a rust bucket of the worst order. Also badly afflicted with rose mosaic virus. He gasped along for many years but finally went belly up. Rarely bloomed (and the flowers he had were not the big beauties he is capable of producing when happy) on an ugly, sickly plant that never grew very big. The comparison with my results with Baronne Prevost is striking. Another really good pink hybrid perpetual for me is Marchesa Boccella. Very clean and heathy. Paul Neyron has a bad reputation in the hot areas of Southern California for good reason. On the other hand my local botanic garden (about a mile and a half away) has an offspring of Paul Neyron crossed with R. nutkana called Schoener's Nutkana and it is a tank of a plant. BIG single flowers (repeat bloomer) and healthy as a horse. I've checked those leaves throughout the year looking for rust, and haven't found a trace. And I've checked all their plants, the one in a very shady spot and the ones in the sun. R. nutkana must have done a great job cleaning up the rust tendencies of Paul Neyron. Melissa

Holly, one warning if you decide to order from Regan. Since they are retailers and not a nursery that grows its own stock, they have no cooling facility and will ship only in January and may close bareroot ordering very early in February. That means that having received your plants and after soaking them for 1-2 days in a bucket of water - (or a bigger container, if they are from Pickering since those are big plants), - be prepared to plant them in 5 -gallon pots and keep them in the garage till your outdoor planting time arrives. * My apologies that I forgot to mention this; I never ordered from Regan myself. Regan has good reputation but the shipping coast is high from CA; in addition I prefer ordering from nurseries that grow their plants not from middlemen. But in the case of SDLM you do not have much choice this year if you want to start with a good- sized grafted plant. Still, do ask where the plants originated. You do not want to bother with plants from Hortico. *Northerners can tell you if other Bourbons also need this kind of precaution or just SDLM should be protected. My guess is that the other Bourbons are hardier but I should keep quiet when hardiness is an issue since I garden in zone 8. I just wanted to be of some assistance to get a good quality plant you have such a serious craving for.:-)) Diane-nj and Olga already gave you good advice as to when to plant outside. Please let us know what you ordered if you decided to go ahead. Inquiring minds want to know...

ann beck 8a ruralish WA How does your soil look like, being high in iron? The top layer of my soil is black and rock hard clay, but the lowest layer is lighter color clay (orangish), and red roses do well here. Red roses like Double Delight & Munstead Wood both have a higher need for iron. I check the web, and it stated: "The most distinctive characteristic of an iron-rich soil is a ruddy orange or red color, though not all red soils are rich in iron. When the iron deposits in the soil oxidize, they turn a distinctive rust color that tints the soil red. " In early summer when the stems of cut-blooms are softer, they wilt easily if I use acidic rain. My cut-blooms always last longer in my alkaline tap water at pH 9, rather than acidic rain water. My tap water leaves whitish calcium and hard magnesium deposits on pots. We have hard well water, and our soil is high in dolomitic rocks (calcium plus magnesium). In the fall when the stems are harder, cut blooms can tolerate acidic rain water better with less wilting. Below are some recent cut blooms this Sept. 2022. Dark red are Munstead Wood, it's a constant bloomer as 8th-year own root, light pink is Princess Charlene d. Monaco (4th-year own-root), and whites are 12th-year own-root Mary Magdalene, lowest ruffled pink are Augusta Luis: The Dark Lady (red), Tchaikosky (light yellow), and Sweet Mademoiselle (salmon) are heavy bloomers this Sept. Tchaikosky is 4.5" across and Sweet M is 4". They are fertilized with biochar at pH 8.6 which supplies calcium and potassium for large blooms.