I have one Ebb Tide. The smell is heavenly. Mine never has gotten the smokey dark purple I've seen in pictures. It is a lavender raspberry. I was going to dig it out. I cut it back to the crown. Before I could dig it out, new shoots grew out. I figured if it wanted to survive that much, I would give it another chance. It grows tall and skinny for me.

I have had one now for 3 years. It started out in '06 pretty good. Then in '07 we had the disastrous Easter freeze. While it survived that, it got set back pretty hard. Last year it began to come around again. Flower color is variable. It can be a dark, dusky purple when the weather is cool, and it can also be more maroon to red in the heat. There are a number of roses that are finicky about color in relation to temperature. I think it is a nice rose overall, but it does have some variation in color.

Mine is a tree. I have chosen not to prune it this winter to see how does. Best blooms in spring.

I love mine. Wonderful rich coloring just like you see in the best photos, but you get those colors only in the Spring and the Fall. At Mid-Summer you often get paler lavender hues, which are just as pretty IMO, but not as rich as what you see in cooler weather. The fragrance is magnificent, the plant has reasonably good vigor but takes a couple seasons to build up size. (Prune lightly in the first two years, please) It is upright and tends to max out at about 3 feet or so. (YMMV) Disease resistance is not good enough to call it a "no spray" rose, but far better than most of its type.

If dark, blackish purples are your desire then consider 'Midnight Blue' instead. Smaller flowers but more of them in huge candelabras, great clove scent and a bit more vigor. Color pales a bit during hot spells, just like its sibling, but not as much. Both are superior roses.

Regards,
Paul

I really like Ebb Tide and Midnight Blue. My growing experiences for both are the same as Paul mentions above. My midnight blue is definitely more vigorous, but I like both just the same.

I am in full agreement with the last two posts CJ, I live in the same area as you and my Ebb Tide keeps it's dark color pretty well all summer,
(We don't have the sun to fry it up here) Mine are both only two years old. Both have incredible fragrance.

I just planted a band this past fall of each (Ebb Tide and Midnight Blue) directly into the ground here in the PNW, and they got through those horribly cold days around Christmas without a problem. Ebb Tide had started to grow as soon as its little roots hit the ground. I have high hopes for it.

Mine have done well with excellent rust resistance and no mildew at all. The first year the purple color did not hold, becoming magenta, but the following years the purple color has held well even in the heat of summer.

One flaw in my opinion is that the foliage is somewhat sparse, but perhaps that sparseness contributes to better air circulation and therefore better disease resistance.

My nose cannot detect much fragrance. Rebloom is steady if not spectacular. The purple color really is amazing.

And one more thing, not many thorns. Blooms almost always in clusters, very few single flowers.

I agree with Hoovb about the scent. Mine has very little scent to it. But I love the color and the plant blooms a lot at one time. Mine dies to the ground every year so I don't know what the bush form would look like if it was left alone. Mine is a very bushy 3' shrub with a few longer canes by the end of the summer.

My wee bubble has been burst. For a lot of the reasons I planted Ebb Tide, I am now discovering here that I planted it in the wrong location! Duh! It was a replacement for my Austin Belle's Story, which was skinny with sparse foliage, I needed something to fill out this space, so picked Ebb Tide, now it looks like Ebb Tide has these attributes. It was newly planted last year, and I love the little purple clusters, but I do not want a skinny bush with sparse leaves there. So now to move it, and pick out another bushier, probably a floribunda for that space, but have you noticed, not too many floribundas have a good fragrance, ugh! and that is very importand to me too!

Ah well, put it down to experience, or someone else's experience.:)
Pauline

I'm beginning to wonder if mine is an Ebb Tide. It has such a strong scent. What do you think?

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Ebb Tide on HMF

It can pale quite a bit when the heat is on in Summer, but I have not seen mine get quite that pale.

Ebbtide is moderately fragrant to my nose. Midnight Blue has better repeat, is less fragrant and much more subject to thrip problems in my garden.