Sophy's Rose Inside

11 years ago

I spent quite some time today trying to capture the true color of this rose, and I confess it was more difficult than any rose I've ever photographed. I don't think I succeeded completely, but I hope the pictures capture some of the charm of Sophy's Rose. I discovered it can be a good cut rose if it's picked as soon as the sepals are down, and I even tried on or two with some of the sepals still up, and even those buds opened, which is quite a feat.

As a counter to all those rose pictures, the last is of the front yard, just past the garden and concrete parking area. Just a little later now it's raining and hailing!

Ingrid

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Comments (15)

jerijen
11 years ago
Really lovely Ingrid -- and I hope you get a decent rainfall. Here, Nada.

Jeri
nanadollZ7 SWIdaho
11 years ago
I had no idea Sophy's Rose was so gorgeous. I love your bouquet, Ingrid. The colors do remind me a bit of Young Lycidas, one of my favorites. Thanks for posting your lovely photos. Diane
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I think you are right abot the diagnosis of ME. I demand more from a cultivar that is marketed as "Healthy" and then in my garden turn out to be susceptible to 4 fungal diseases ...all at once. In my book that is pretty bad performance... Sure if it had a fragrance to die for (Like Gertrude Jekyll) or was exceptional beautiful (like James Galway) as floriferous as John Clare (many hundreds flowers on each bush each bloom cycle) Then I would nurse the rose like a ICU patient!!! I look for roses with good disease resistance or tolerable disease resistance if sprayed (the way I grow it in my garden/climate). So my conclusion is that Sophys rose does not meet those criteria. What particularly worries me is the rust... cultivars that show stage 1 rust has to be remowed ( I grow nearly 600 rosebushes in my cutting garden) since I have seen rust spread like wildfire.... So yes I demand a lot from the cultivars I grow ... they better have good/tolerable disease resistance or they will get showelpruned like Sophys Rose got this morning. Euthanasia can be justified in a world with so many good roses :-)
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sherryocala
11 years ago
Ingrid, she's absolutely luscious. I've always wanted Sophy's Rose, and you've made me want her even more. I'm pretty sure she's good in Florida. It would be great if she were a small bush, but I guess that's asking too much.

Sherry

Here is a link that might be useful: If only sweat were irrigation...
harborrose_pnw
11 years ago
Pretty, pretty, Ingrid. I hope you got a lot more rain than hail!
ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
Original Author
11 years ago
Thank you everyone; she's been a very good rose for me so far, although still young. This rose began blooming while still tiny and has never stopped. I'm not sure what's going to happen now since it's 35 degrees. Jeri, I was sad to see that L.A. and northwards had no rain at all. Fortunately we only had hail for a short time in the morning.

Sherry, this is one of the smaller Austin roses with quite thin canes which at this point are bending over with the weight of the large flowers, but no octopus arms and my two bushes are still quite short. I hope the thin canes will improve with greater age and/or judicious pruning.

Ingrid
buford
11 years ago
I've had Sophy for a few years. She isn't a monster DA. She gets tall, but not wide. And very disease free (can get PM, but resistant to BS much more than other DAs). Now, if only she had a strong fragrance, she'd be perfect. I know the frustration of trying to get the right color on the roses.
thahalibut
11 years ago
Very pretty Ingrid!
mendocino_rose
11 years ago
What a wonderful job you did with these photos Ingrid. I love Sophy's Rose. Mine must be ten years old now. I would lable it sort of lax and spreading. I'm happy that it doesn't get as big as some of the Austin Roses.
ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
Original Author
11 years ago
It's interesting that for buford this rose gets tall but not wide and for mendocino_rose she's lax and spreading. Mine is actually a bit of both with the middle canes upright and the outer ones spreading. I guess she hasn't made her mind up yet!

Ingrid
hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
11 years ago
I miss my 'Sophy'--it got Crown Gall. Your flowers will get better and better yet as the plant matures. I should get another. It was always a bit on the floppy side, lax, as medocino_rose says. Beautiful photos, and the one of your wild California slope too. That is home.

We got a little rain and hail, but it's never enough rain. :(
michaelg
11 years ago
Hmm--I'd describe the habit of mine as very bushy and twiggy, compact but somewhat spreading, about as wide as high. It makes me wonder if the tall narrow plant is really Sophy's Rose.
rosefolly
11 years ago
Ingrid, it's a bit off topic, but I wanted to say that I really love the view of the hillside in your back garden. Just lovely! Do I see a ceanothus off to the right?
ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
Original Author
11 years ago
hoovb, I'm glad to hear the flowers on SR get even better; they're rather awesome already. We also didn't get nearly enough rain; I have a feeling we're heading into a drought year.

michaelg, I like your description of SR's habit, it sounds very attractive.

Thank you for the compliments about the landscape view, hoovb and rosefolly. The purple bush and six or seven others I have further along that same stone wall are blooming rosemary bushes, which the bees are having a field day with. I do have two wild ceanothus but one grows out of a crack in a rock formation and the other is near a pepper tree so neither puts on much of a show.

Ingrid
ingrid_vc so. CA zone 9
Original Author
11 years ago
Here is another view, this time from the other side of the house, looking toward the valley.

{{gwi:230592}}
Krista_5NY
11 years ago
Wondeful pics, Ingrid. Sophy's Rose looks spectacular in a vase.