This issue has come up several times in the past year. Some people claim their MW is more pinkish rather than the dark colors the rest of us get. I do not know why there is a difference, but one person who got more pinkish colors said her soil was very alkaline and speculated that maybe that was affecting the color. I honestly don't know if that has anything to do with it. I've only grown my MW one season--it was dark--that's all I know.

My MW won't be blooming until mid-May, so all I can say is I will be watching its colors with interest and report back here at that time.

Kate

i had this problem during the early summer months.. but when autumn comes, the colour on MW will become more darker - almost black-red.

I planted bare root Tradescant about a month ago. The very first bloom was an intense pink, rather than deep burgundy. But subsequent blooms are turning out closer to the burgundy I was expecting. Our weather has been exceptionally hot this spring.

I'm relieved to hear someone else is getting blooms on a bare root so quickly after planting. My Austins are the only roses doing this; all of them bushed out and started blooming in no time. I'm wondering whether I should be pinching off the buds for a stronger plant.

Best of luck with your Munstead Wood -- it's a beautiful rose if it turns out as pictured.

Thank you all for answering.

Hoovb, if I make him nervous, will I have to purchase rose valium?
So ok, I will stop staring, I will just peak around the corner at him.

I hope he gets darker (I wonder why I think this plant is a 'he'.)
as he gets older.

But Sow What, it's funny about Tradescant, my bare root Tradescant, is the same age as Munstead, and is extremely dark and beautiful....

Thank you all for responding to my whining.

andreark

andreark, stop stalking them. lol

Don't worry, they will darken up. These are my early blooms from last year. The very first to open were even lighter. A month later they were quite dark, more on the crimson side than some nearly deep purple photos I've seen.These are grafted, purchased from DA. My soils is acidic.

I am reading this thread with interest, since I planted several of MW in February.... bareroot own roots from DA in Tyler. I was very pleased with the size and health of the plants they sent. But, after eagerly awaiting the blooms.... they opened magenta. Yikes! They are in a bed with Hot Cocoa and White Licorice... I thought the deep red would look good next to those two. Magenta, not so much. lol They are planted in big holes of rose soil, but perhaps the water they are getting is alkaline. It is encouraging to hear the reports of others getting crimson blooms in subsequent cycles. I had the same experience with Tradescant. After barely blooming for two seasons, and throwing out blooms more magenta than red, its blooms this spring are a deep, beautiful crimson. I was ready to shovel prune it for its octopus canes without blooms, but it is doing its best to convince me to keep it!

Excuse me, I'm here to whine too... and to grieve.

I've wanted this rose since last year, as I was preparing my orders for this year, I thought "this is it, I will buy MW this time". But seeing ragdollhead's photo has thoroughly crushed my dream--there's no way I can use blooms like those for bouquets :(( Why do the gorgeous blooms droop so?

My MW was dark colored from the beginning.

MW perks up as it gets more mature. I occasionally need to prop up a bloom if we have a hard rain, and its "neck" does seem to have a slight but graceful bend to it, but otherwise the flowers are reasonably pickable.

Munstead Wood--first blooms (last year).
{{gwi:215625}}

Kate

As MW gets a few years under it, the stems start to hold the blooms up with no problems. For me, it's a great bush with beautiful blooms (and lost of them).