Koko Loco

Bouquets fade

Lagerfeld

Beautiful, Mauvegirl, I like those too!

Lovely!

Does anyone have experience with:

Silver Shadows
Stainless Steel
Smoke Signals (mini)

Thank you!

Unusual and, as you noted, the muted colors of vintage watercolors. Lovely! You might also like Distant Drums. Matches your color scheme and has great scent. Mine have been pretty healthy in Portland. Carol

I can second Carol's suggestion of Distant Drums. The colors are fascinating- always something different to see. In this climate, it's also a VERY reliable bloomer. The scent has myrrh in it, which most people seem to love or hate, but I think it smells nice.

I'm lovin' Distant Drums too. I grew Stainless Steel "eh". Poseidon is HUGE "floribunda" that I use for cutting....not much scent but beautiful abundant flowers and healthy bush. What about Lilac Dawn and Lilac Charm? Those are two I really like. I so badly want to love Grey Dawn but for me, it grows to 2 and 1/2 ft. send out two blooms, defoliates and starts again. It's a beauty of a bloom.
Susan

Susan, where did you acquire Grey Dawn?
Its almost sepia.

Carol, love words "vintage watercolors".

I have an own root Poseidon. No blooms yet.
Soon, mauvegirl8, soon.

I do not have Distant Drums. In some HMF photos, I don't care for the mustard yellow shade. This rose seems to be more of a chameleon in comparison to Koko Loco.

The climber Ash Wednesday may be the shade you're looking for. I

Marianesse, very nice suggestion! It is currently out of stock.

Last Christmas I gave my mom a band of Lavender Pinnochio that has bloomed a few times. The scent is nearly as good as the coloring I think. I enjoy the tan/mauve roses, but she really loves them.

Koko Loko and Distant Drums have been good for her. I recently gave her a Pam's Choice for Mother's Day and the picture she took of the first bloom is great, but it's too soon to say how it will do.

Tantarra, Julia's Rose, Cafe Ole, Grey Dawn, Grey Pearl, and perhaps Ripples all have some of that color quality. Several of those plants have less than great reputations for own-root vigor and health though.

Jay

Jay, I think your mom would love Vol de Nuit (Night Flight).
Read Rogue's description ....."haunting, even eerie, unforgettable."

I have.

Mauvegirl8: my DD has never shown a mustard shade. Always soft watercolors...almost like a water lily...a graceful rose.
I believe I got Grey Dawn from Burling???? Let me just speak to Jay's mention of:
Tantarra, Julia's Rose, Cafe Ole, Grey Dawn, Grey Pearl,
I have grown or attempted to grow them all and I believe I got them all from Burling. Kim (roseseek) and I joke about what weaklings these beauties are. I would say Cafe Ole had the "best" shot at seeming like it was going to make it (a gorgeous little poly with ghostly lavender blooms) but winter seemed to really do a number on all three plants I had of it.
I would really like to try Ash Wednesday but I'm just not sure where it would fit....
If I tried any of the grey beauties I would have them grafted on fortuniana....that might get em out of the 1G. HA!

I have to agree with Susan on the wimpiness of the 5 greyish roses listed - they're gorgeous but wimps even in warmer zones. I've grown every one of those to a rapid death over the winter, except Tantarra has hung on this year by some miracle (who knows if he'll bloom though- he's always teeny).

Another ash-lav-grey rose that you really need is Nimbus. It has a haunting indescribable lavender grey bloom and is reliably hardy and healthy for me. I'll post a picture below of one that was blooming just today.

Cynthia

For a preview of rose glory in that bed, you could plant a truly mysterious Patty's Plum poppy. The foliage disappears by the time the roses start, but she has that indescribable "greyge".

Cynthia

I'm wondering why the colors of roses affect a rose, period.
What is it about the colors in the purple family: aubergine, lavender, violet, mauve, even grey & chocolate? What contributes to its weakness?

Niptress, I saw pictures of Nimbus. I have already emailed Angel Gardens.
Your recommendation and snapshot makes me want it even more!

Glad you decided to follow up on Nimbus - it's a keeper for sure.

As for the wimpiness of the uncommon colors, I think it has something to do with how far the breeders have to go from the "usual" colors of roses, namely pink, dark pink, and white. Once you mix in breeding from less normal colors you get less normal roses with less than stellar health. It's maybe like a pedigreed dog - I've heard that mutts have way fewer health problems than most pedigree dogs because they have a richer mix of genes.

It might not be like that, but it's my theory anyway.

Cynthia

Do you grow the DA Cymbeline? I saw it once, it was a sort of short climber/bush with greyish lavender pink flowers, with a nice myrrh fragrance. Definitely not a wimpy shrub!

Nippstress, love the analogy.

Muscovy I have two Cymbeline and was going to mention it. I love that rose!
Nimbus is a dud for me...weak, blooms, spots, defoliates, foliates, blooms, spots...
Love the poppy Cynthia! I am enjoying Lauren's Grape and "Drama Queen".
Susan

Mauvegirl - that's good feedback from Susan about Nimbus in her yard. It might be one that doesn't like the heat, though we in the prairie states don't have as much BS pressure as the east coast does. It's something to consider. Cymbeline does look hauntingly beautiful - do you get much repeat on yours? Glad the analogy helped.

Susan, I know Lauren's Grape but not Drama Queen. Is that another in the same greyish purple range? Fortunately the poppies don't seem to have the hardiness issues with weird colors that roses do, but mine took the dickens of a time to get established.

Cynthia

Here is a link to a picture of Drama Queen I took this Spring. I generally like poppies and this was no exception.

Jay

Here is a link that might be useful: Drama Queen Poppy

Wooo, that is one amazing poppy! Wherever did you get it, and does it establish relatively easily? Poppies hate to have their roots disturbed, so I feel like sometimes I need to plant them at the perfect temperature under a certain phase of the moon to get them to "take". If I find this beauty, I'm planting it! Thanks for the photo.

Cynthia

I happened to be at a nursery in Orange County that carried a surprisingly large selection from Annie's Annuals in Richmond, CA. Annie's has a wonderful variety of plants, but I imagine you're at least acquainted with them.

'Drama Queen,' 'Danebrog,' and 'Persian Princess' were the poppies I picked up. Danebrog and Drama Queen bloomed and transplanted much better than Persian Princess. They went in the ground in February I believe.

I just got quite a few seeds from each of the varieties mentioned above when the pods finally opened up. I'm drying them now and if they come out without issue, I'd be happy to send you some. I know some states have issues with poppy plants, but I don't think seeds are a problem.

Jay

This post was edited by ArbutusOmnedo on Wed, Jun 4, 14 at 20:25

I ordered:

English Perfume
Grey Dawn
Annie Laurie McDowell
Silver Shadows
Smoke Signals
Stainless Steel
Aschermittwoch - Ash Wednesday
Madame Violet
Cymbeline - thanks for the recommendations!

I want to main these small to medium sized.
Let's see how they do in Texas.

This post was edited by mauvegirl8 on Wed, Jun 4, 14 at 21:57

Hi Jay - That's a very generous offer. If you have some of those poppy seeds to share, I'd be happy to pay postage and see what I might have to trade. I don't maintain a lot of seeds, but I have a ton of columbine that are a nice double purple "bonnet" type that I could easily collect this year if you'd like. You could drop me an email at my home email if you're interested - my address is my login name with the number eleven at ymail.com. I don't check the home email that often but I'll try to check in and we can see what might work.

Mauvegirl - you have some great roses picked out. In my zone, many of those are unfortunately wimps but hopefully they'll work out well for you in your much warmer zone. As always, we love pictures!

Cynthia

Cynthia- I'll get an email out soon! Mine is my name with middle initial at gmail.com, so look out for an email from jay....gmail.com.

Jay

Smoke Signals, first bloom
a pale dusty mauve miniature
Tom Brown is a seed parent (HMF).

That is so pretty!