I have Coquette des Blanches, Magenta and Taischa. CdB is a very beautiful rose. Not white as advertised though. More of a pale pink but as you can see from Jeri's pic that doesn't detract from the attractiveness of the bloom. Fragrance is sweet and pervasive. Now if you want pure white then plant Boule de Neige. Magenta and Taischa have both been disappointing. Each is on their forth year own root and have yet to top 1 foot. I'm not kidding. If I didn't know better I'd think they were miniatures. Magenta's flower are sort ho-hum for a mauve rose. I guess having REINE DES VIOLETTES has spoiled me. The dusky mauve color is rather "flat" in my opinion. As soon as I find the time she is getting replaced by PRETTY JESSICA. TAISCHA on-the-other-hand has flowers that make my jaw drop. They are so beautiful it is impossible to describe adequately but I shall try. Tightly quartered in the middle but with a starry outline in the outer petals, a flower formation that reminds me of some of the older Tea roses. Color is this gorgous shade of lilac. Yes real true "lilac", not mauve nor cool pink or lavender. I define lilac as an equal mix of clear pink and lavender. The fragrance is identical to Sterling Silver. Absolutely stratospheric in both strength and complexity. If she doesn't do better this summer then I'm going to move her to a pot so I can provide maximum coddling. Some roses have flowers that are so beautiful that they are worth diva treatment. Taischa is one of those roses. The picture in the link below is very true to the actual rose. The few flowers I've gotten from Taischa have looked just like the rose in the pic, but only about half the size. Here is a link that might be useful: TAISCHA at HelpMeFind Roses

Yes, I also started with the assumption that this was probably 'Dorothy P'. Hence the subject line... :>) Actually, I decided last year that an accurate ID was pretty hopeless. From what I've read, it seems some of the various 'sweetheart-type roses' were often mixed up in commerce almost as soon as they were released. Online photos add to the confusion, since they're pretty different from one another; moreso that I'd expect just from different growing conditions. I did get some help from a German lady who takes great photos of the ramblers she grows and that she visits at Sangerhausen. She didn't think my rose looked like what is known as 'Dorothy Perkins' over there. It's funny you mention the bronze growth, because that only occurs on one section of the plant, and the rest of the plant has green new growth... that is also the section of the plant that has the reddish pedicels, come to think of it... It's quite possible that I've got more than one rose variety growing in that space. After 60 years, I guess that could happen- ramblers have certainly been known to sport and revert, and there are 4-5 separate cane 'clusters' (for lack of a better word) in that bed. For me, the important things are that it's pretty, it's a survivor, it blooms reliably each May and doesn't have disease problems here. It's not a rose I would have chosen myself, but it's older than I am, and I respect that. How many ramblers do you have? Do you grow most of the Walsh ramblers? Any of the European varieties? Thanks, Virginia

Hello, Christopher, and welcome. It's good to finally hear from you. I was also a lurker for quite some time before I had to courage to utter anything. I have two of the roses you've ordered, Sophie's Perpetual and Mme. Dore. The former is a bit fragile for the heat here in Southern California but Mme. Dore is a beauty, with very good rebloom. I think you've picked very suitable roses for your area and wish you much joy with them. Diane, I added ORG Renae to my order of Marjorie Palmer and Leveson-Gower and am glad to say that all three have been confirmed. I'm hoping to add another rose to my order from the second part of the fall offer that should be available later this month, since shipping for four roses is the same as fewer. Oh well, I did say some time ago that I was done ordering roses....... Ingrid

Someone else on another thread has mentioned that there is a floral spray that does amazing things like preserve the flower right off the stem! However I think these people are mistaken. I haven't found such an item. Looks like you need to preserve with the silica gel use the directions to 'seal' the flowers. After that it's all good! I also tried finding Shatterproof by EnvioShield, didn't seem to exist, then I tried Clear Crowning Glory by John Henry, it's a floral tool to help flowers last longer. Not necessarily preserve them. I am looking for a product as well that will help a flower maintain it's color as it dries. I will be using silica gel, I have tried this and it didn't work. The flower turned brown. So I may try glycerin next but any ideas would be great. for those looking for silica alt. there seems to be a mixture of Borax and corn meal? Kitty litter too. There is a ratio of the cornmeal and Borax, can't remember it off the top of my head. Kitty litter only some of it works. I have also heard that sand ( with some salt and borax may work. I wish you all luck!