I missed that, I guess -- but I have to say that I have never seen Reine des Violettes dark purple.
I guess it can do it, and this spring has made many roses bloom in abnormally dark shades, but I've always found it more shifting shades of slate-violet, unless very hot weather turns it hot pink.

Jeri

Yep, I suppose you could call it slate-violet. I'm looking at the picture I took from the HP table at Celebration, and there was a tiny bud not opened yet and the outside of the petals are sort of a dark lavender... but the open one was very dark violet. I guess even though it's called Reines des Violettes (you'd think that would be my clue), the way my computer rendered that color (like when I go to the HMF photos) it always looked more of a reddish/pinkish violet closer to the color of my EvS that's blooming now. When I saw the intensity of the dark violet, it was a surprise. I hope I'm not making a big mistake, but then again, I can always order it later. :-)

Thanks again, Jeri, for all your help.

Yes. You sure can. And its color IS changeable. Soft shades of violet, like a watercolor swirl, in cool coastal temperatures (or a cold spring, like this one) -- hot pink in hot, sunny places.

Pie IX is richly-colored and perfumed! I saw a glowingly healthy one in Cliff Orent's garden on May 7.
{{gwi:264070}}From Pie IX

Thanks for the pic of Pie IX. Are those crinkly violet blooms in the picture the Pie IX, or some other rose? I'm hoping the Pie isn't as dark as the RdV. Boy it sure is a beautiful rose.

-km

Hi km,

Those are the dried, spent blooms on Pie IX. In the desert heat of Morongo Valley, the flowers dried into a purple shade, that was quite gorgeous looking at the plant from a distance. The petals do fall off on their own, of course, and if you deadheaded, they'd be gone sooner. But the combination with the very bright fresh flowers was striking. The color of the flowers was very tempting, very beautiful. So many roses, and so many choices!

Uh oh. I hope I haven't made a textbook newbie mistake for my climate. I don't know *why* I zeroed in on HPs but looking back on this list there are several in all the main focal points of my yard. Probably because I love the colors and the scents... but I REALLY want something to blooom blooom blooom and bloom some more from spring to fall.

I *thought* HPs would do well in my climate (probably because I extrapolated the vigorous description of Grandmother's Hat) but then I just found a post where someone from Emeryville said that HPs are the worst rebloomers for the Bay Area. Yikes.

Uh. Oh.

I may need to go back to the drawing board in search of a (thornless) tea or china.

Thanks for enduring my many questions.

-k

km, don't panic needlessly over vast generalizations about HP's in this climate. Yes, some don't do so well, but others are great. Grandmother's Hat and Ulrich Brunner are good bloomers on healthy plants here (50+ year track record for UB at my Mom's in Santa Rosa!). On the other hand, Reine des Violettes was all rust-bucket all the time at my place and didn't look happy or bloom much either place I tried (two different plants). I don't know about La Reine or Pie IX.