My Paul Barden roses are all pretty young--less than 2 years old, so things will probably change as the plants mature. This has been my experience with them: Golden Buddha: a bloom machine, but check the photos on HelpMeFind. If you're expecting a yellow rose like the pictures at RVR, you might be disappointed. The color is described as varying with temperature--I've only seen apricoty-orange blooms on mine so far. Very pretty blooms cover the bush in flushes most of the summer--some balling in the fall. Had some pretty severe dieback this winter--1/2 to 2/3 of the canes died completely. Pretty healthy otherwise--I don't spray, and it was very clean until the rains started in the fall, when there was a minor amount of blackspot. Again, all these comments refer to young roses and things might change as they mature. Oshun: Didn't survive a spring freeze. Had a bloom on the band when I received it, and it smelled great--color was much paler than expected--maybe because it was just a young rose. When I pulled it up after it died, it had next to nothing in the way of roots--it might not be the fault of the rose, I might have gotten an inferior specimen. Jeri Jennings: A great rose so far. It's grown like a weed and has a very pretty arching form. Flower color has been variable from pale yellow/almost white to intense yellow to almost pink. Lots of blooms for a young plant. A little mildew late in the season--I'm hoping she'll grow out of it. Probably my second-favorite Barden rose so far after Marianne. Marianne: Very vigorous. Several blooms the first year. Color was variable, from cream-colored to the wonderful peaches and yellows shown in the best photos of this rose. No disease problem at all. May be my favorite of my Paul Barden roses. Fara Shimbo: A little slow getting started, and hasn't bloomed yet, but it looks like it's starting to get established. I have high hopes for this rose this year. A little powdery mildew--something it might grow out of--otherwise no problems. Carol's Favorite: Too new to tell. Planted last fall, looks like it got through the winter just fine. Mel Hulse: To new to tell. Planted last fall, looks like it's about to bust out in leaves any minute now. Just got bands of "Crested Damask" and "Dragon's Blood", and they look like healthy little plants.

redwolfdoc -- For me, 'Golden Buddha' is more apricot when it's cooler, and "yellower" when it's hot. But at its "yellow-ist", it's about the color of orange juice. Unfortunately, my iPhone tends to tilt it toward the "orange juice" shade more than it is in real life -- but sometimes the stars aligned. I dug through my facebook albums to find pics of it...... This was from May 22, 2013 -- it's first bloom since coming as a band just a few weeks earlier. These two were taken October 5, 2013 -- note the quality of the foliage, without the use of fungicides. These next two were taken in the beginning of June, 2014. The second pic was taken a few days after the first, and that bloom in the first pic is the faded bloom cut off in the top of the second pic. Even after the color fades, petals hold their form for a long time before looking messy. This pic below shows a little "plonk-o-gold" -- 'Golden Buddha' and 'Golden Celebration'. In indoor lighting, the colors are more accurate. These blooms were from July 2014. Here's the first bloom on May 25, 2015 -- leaning too far toward "orange juice" than in real life. Two days later, more opened -- and again, the color isn't accurate, for either 'Golden Buddha' or 'Prospero' to its right. Another color-inaccurate pic taken May 29, 2015, appearing more washed-out than in real life. Finally, I realized what I needed to capture the colors accurately -- an overcast day. This last pic was taken in October of this year, just as we were getting our first major cool spell, and which prompted a touch of mildew on 'Golden Buddha'. This is the first time I saw that, and it went away after the weather warmed again. But most importantly for my area, no blackspot. Mildew is far more rare, occurring only during cool wet periods in Spring and Autumn. In Spring, the heat comes in fast and wipes it away. In Autumn, usually frost comes and puts them to bed, and they drop leaves anyway. But this year we had several warm spells after cool spells, and that let some mildew linger on. :-) ~Christopher

I should show photos that depict its lack of vigor too. Great for dry heat, no crisping... but maybe not good for other areas. No new little canes yet. I really should be pinching off buds as instructed, I just got too busy. One got some black spot and defoliated, which isn't a problem ever here so if you're in a black spot area it's probably not so good. The others all have a little black spot too. This one gets the most sun and heat... it's the happiest. All my broccoli and celery, lettuce and radishes bolted in that bed too. It's hot.

I gave my mystery rose a few gentle rubs on the buds and new growth this afternoon. I definitely detected a light resin scent. Not as strong as on say Henri Martin, which I used to compare, but definitely present. The buds are still small, but hopefully if it stays warm and sunny, I will have color soon!