In my experience, small own-roots do not have the energy to produce "mature" blooms. They will continue to improve in quantity and quality for several years. The fragrance will also improve.

Even small own root Lavender Lassie blooms shouldn't look like single blooms. I can imagine this with other roses you mentioned, but not with this one. Where did you get it? Could it be a mislabled rose.
Olga

Thanks, hoovb and Olga, for the quick response.

I will try to be patient with the babies and hope things will turn out well in a few years.

ItÂs my own fault -- as I often get overly excited in anticipation for the first couple of blooms. IÂve memorized all those lovely images and claims of fragrance for each rose, that I sometime feel defeated once the first blooms appear.

The blooms are either smaller than photographed or not as full (it may be that I have a large computer screen and those were actual close ups of the rose blooms), but either way, I just canÂt help myself and become discouraged.

Note to self, I need to relax and enjoy the garden in its young stage now.

You know the saying, First Year Sleeps, Second Year Creeps, and Third Year LEAPSÂ.well, right now I crave for the third year experienceÂ.not with all of my roses, but at least a few, just a fewÂ

Olga, I purchased LL from ARE. I've called them to let them know that I suspect a mislabeled plant, but they said that LL sometimes have single petal blooms as the bloom ages. I mentioned on the phone that my LL starts out single from bud -- no overlapping petals at all to indicate double bloom formation, etc. ARE stood by their claim that LL can and sometimes have single blooms. I'm so disappointed :-(

you could take a photo and then send it to the dealer to check with them??

They're right. Immature plants generally do produce "immature" blooms.
That's why I usually pinch off all but one bud.
I keep one, to be sure it's the right color, and is probably then the right rose.
Pinching off the rest of the blooms will force the little plant to put its energy into growth and roots, rather than bloom development.

That said, it is also true that the petal count of Duchesse de Brabant seems to be very, very variable.
I've seen some that were quite double, and others that weren't much better than semi-double.
And I've seen those variations in very old plants -- so it's not some new alteration.
Still, ARE probably knows what their particular clone of it usually does.

Jeri

Also it's hot in Texas and many roses produce smaller blooms in hot weather.

I have found that petal count varies as a function of temperature during bud development: the cooler it is during this time, the higher the petal count.

I looked up my Lavender Lassie's baby pictures and found this one. The photo is from April, 2007, when she was two years old. (What is that bug, anyhow?)

{{gwi:278927}}

The first bloom I had on Mlle. Jeanne Philippe was nearly single, and it was not the apricot color I was expecting. BUT... it was one of the most exquisite rose blooms I have ever seen. That was last Spring, and of course, it is now a year older and is producing the kind of blooms I had originally expected - but, do you know, I miss that nearly-single lovely flower.

My DDB threw off some single blooms last year. I got excited and thought I had a sport, but now it's full double blooms. Mine was a first year band when it happened.

Where did you order from?

Jeri is right about Duchesse de Brabant. My first plant never had more than 17 petals and I was really disappointed. The plant just didn't look pretty to me. Fortunately it didn't survive a hot summer and I purchased another own-root which as its first bloom had a flower with 30 petals. I was one happy camper! I'm really sorry about your disappointment, and hope that perhaps when your weather turns cooler in the fall you'll see a great improvement.

Ingrid

What everybody has said is correct, and you'll find that even on mature roses bloom size and petal count can vary considerably depending on the weather when the flowers develop. Cooler weather and lots of moisture make bigger, fuller blooms. Many Teas and some Chinas are quite variable this way.
Melissa

not only is there a variation in petal numbers over a plants lifetime, the cultivars themselves are very variable. 30 years ago, the red climber 'Etoile de Holland' was fully double whereas now, clones of this rose have changed to semi-double status (17 petals or so). I have noticed this phenomenon on several other roses and concluded that, even though these roses are meant to be genetically identical to the original varieties, there are continual changes as the characteristics of the mother plants recede further back into the mists of time and circumstance. Audrey, are you a fairly new gardener? In a couple of years, as you continue to add to your plant collection, you will look back on this time with bemusement. We don't so much as learn patience but find that, as our gardens are evolving all the time, there are always going to be new plants to look forward to and old ones we can rely on. If you grow plants from seed, you will find the same phenomenon - it seems so hard to have to wait for YEARS for a seed to reach maturity but if you do this every year, then there will always be some that have finally made the grade. I know 2 years seems like a long time but it really isn't and rather than waiting endlessly, satart right now by sowing some perennials from seed and add a few companion plants, buy bulbs in autumn and more bulbs next spring. Bulbs, by the way, are a great lesson in deferred pleasure which never let you down....while appearing in the gloomy parts of the year to cheer you up.Enjoy what you have already achieved in the knowledge that it is a work in progress which will never be finished.

Thank you everyone for your inputs!!!

Also, thank you to those who advised me about the weather/heat effects on petal count  I was only aware of increase in temperature causing smaller blooms, not a decrease in petal count  IÂve learned something new today.

IÂm new to OGR, only gardened with HTÂs and Austins. On Austins I havenÂt noticed petal count differentiation, only smaller bloom size when the weather gets hot.

random_harvest, thank you for the picture. My LL has fewer petals than yours but at least it looks similar  will wait for it to mature to enjoy her fullness.

ThatÂs very interesting about DdB variable petal count. I will give her more time to produce better blooms, but in the meantime, IÂll enjoy her wonderful fragrance.

campanula, I do enjoy bulbs and have plenty in my garden, along with other companion plants. ItÂs funny how one little bulb can produce and multiple in a few years! I hate to dig and divide them but do rely on them when the heat gets up in the triple digits in the late spring through summer.

Last year was my first introduction to daylilies, oriental lilies, irises, and tuberose (well, they arenÂt bulbs but you know what I mean). I love to mix varying scented plants throughout the garden.

My favorite bulbs are daffodils! I was so ecstatic when I found out they naturalizeÂ.hey, free plants each year is always a plus in my book!

"Deferred pleasures" are what I get from sowing seeds. Goodness! It took two years before I even saw a bloom on my Shasta daisies.

Thanks again everyone for sharing your wisdom and comments.

Random Harvest -- that bug is a katydid. Bad guy.