I just planted it in late December and it's now breaking dormancy. I heard a lot about it and thought I'd give it a try. Also got Paradise Found.

I was going to get one at Armstrong's but all the canes on all the plants were all covered with Downy Mildew. :(

Got 'Twilight Zone' instead.

I have one ordered own root from Rosemania. 6 feet tall is the given size. Heaven only knows what it will be here. Maybe it will be another F. Mistral or bigger? Where to put these new oversized HTs?

Hoovb- that's not good at all. . >__...I had just ordered it.

Dang it. Well, I'll quarantine it now for sure.
I've yet to see twilight zone in person, but I like its parent Ebb tide a lot. So dark it's almost black.

My new Francis Meilland is in the ground. I bought it from San Gabriel Nursery, which has a huge selection of roses. At the time I bought mine (early January), they seemed to have a lot more Franks in stock. Of course, that was then, but if you are SoCal local and still lusting after Frank (and yes, he's supposed to get as tall as Queen Elizabeth) you might want to give them a call.

Kay

Kay, I was at the SG Nursery today and they still had a few.

I got mine from Navlets as a just-potted bareroot. Looks like it's going to be gorgeous, although I already know I have it in the wrong spot - in a front row where it's supposed to be smaller than what is behind it! Oops.

The Meilland HTs have always been monsters here, with canes double the size of broomsticks. That seems to be their style of choice. 'Peter Mayle' is enormous.

All the hybridizers seem to have their distinctive picks on traits. Meilland and their huge canes, McGredy has this every petal must be perfectly clean quality, Austin has the "charm", Kordes the we-can-do-without-fragrance-because-the-foliage-is-so-clean. After some years of growing them, you can see what the hybridizers are after.

hoovb, that is a great summary of the roses. I never thought about it that way but you are exactly right! I think you will like Twilight Zone. The deep purple comes on in cooler weather and the magnificent burgundy-plum reigns supreme in summer. I didn't love the deep purple at first but it's growing on me. The fantastic fragrance + shape doesn't hurt either.

Jim in AV--did you pick up a Francis Meilland at San Gabriel, or did you buy something else? And were all of their flowering trees putting on a show?

I picked up Francis at San Gabriel as well as Sugar Moon and Paradise Found. It's worth the drive from the AV just to wander through there. Some of the trees were blooming but I honestly was focused on the rose selection. Their prices seem better than Armstrong's, too.

Glad you got a Francis Meilland for yourself, Jim. SGN's selection is amazing, and their prices are indeed generally reasonable--even more reasonable if you preorder before December and get the 10 percent discount. What I learned by asking others on this forum, however, is to take my new beauties out of their cardboard pots and just plant them bare root. In many soils in southern California, the cardboard doesn't really break down fast enough, and impedes roots development.

Kay

lola-lemon......

I just checked the US Patent .. same link you provided above on the HMF page .. and the foliage is supposed to be dark green. The photo showing the varigated foliage could be a "spontaneous mutation" as stated by the site user in his photo comment, or it could be something like "leaf scorch", but it is not a normal trait for the rose.

Smiles,
Lyn